The Buckeye Thread

[fowlman01]

Actually I haven't been "reading to much online". I have seen knock kneed bucks and other breeds at shows in Indiana and Ohio.

If I believed everything I did read online there would really be unicorns lol .

I asked for your weigh in which should show you that I do want your thoughts on the subject.

Thanks Walt

Good. Anything can be said online is true until someone can disprove it . There is a ton of knock kneed birds around right now. I have never seen it this bad, not in New Hampshires though. If you don't pay attention to the width between the legs they will gradually get closer and then knock kneed. Your Buck can't be knock kneed if you can put your lady fist between the legs.

 

[Minniechickmama]

thanks for the answers. leaning more towards wyandotes and ameracanas now, like the idea of colored eggs. buckeyes lay a brown egg, right? dark or light brown?

Wyandottes lay about the same or lighter eggs than Buckeyes. Bucks lay a medium shade of brown. I have had several that lay a good large egg, while a few lay between medium and large.
Ameraucanas can be a fun breed. What variety are you looking for? I had Blue/Black/Splash, but has some losses this last year and won't be offering them this year. Some people breed them for SOP type, others breed for egg color, make sure you ask which the breeders tend to look at more.

If you change your mind about Bucks, give me a shout. They have proven their worth up here in the cold of Minnesota.

 

[Blueface]

This seems like a good time to ask this; buckeyes are a wonderful breed of poultry. For those that breed and maintain this breed; what are the traits or the reasons why you've decided to keep them?

 

[JoshU]

I am a proud American. So I first looked at the American class. I am proud to be an Ohioan. And a OSU buckeye fan. I have to admit when I first saw a buckeye, I wasn't that impressed. It was faded and splotchy. Not an even shade of anything. And kind of orange. The first thing you see in a bird is the plumage. I became more impressed when I saw some good SOP bred buckeyes. The dark red fowl really got me excited. They are a good sized bird for eating culls. They produce a good number of large eggs. They have a personality like no other breed. They are friendly but independent. They seem to be pretty healthy, vigorous, and adaptable to their surroundings. They don't seem to start a fight but won't back down either. These are some of the reasons why buckeyes will always be a permanent fixture at Circle U Farm.

 

[slfarms]

Our reasons for breeding, showing and keeping the breed are the following:
1. Dual purpose meat/eggs
2. Personality- raised several different breeds this is the one we prefer for their friendliness and chatter.
3. Cold hardiness- peacomb and health.
4. Color- love the deep mahogany red (garnet) shade of our birds.
5. The game look in their eyes.

 

[JoshU]

I also have to admit that I have never seen a more diverse club than the buckeye club I am a part of. Without those people, I more than likely would have continued looking for some other breed. So I have to add that the people in the buckeye community, as a whole, have a lot to do with my fascination in the breed.

 

[Arielle]

Jeff Lay, Grand Poohbah as we call him lol, of the American Buckeye Club wrote about Mr. Blockbergers Bantams over 5 years ago and Chris' source is confirming Mr. Lay's previous article provided to the ABC members.

Thank you Chris for doing research and confirming what I had stated and Jeff had relayed to our group. There is a wealth of old knowledge out there. Finding the right resources is key to helping us build the breed and understand the origins.

There were also the Pierce and Rhodes lines of buckeyes in the 70's on the east coast which I understand were large flocks.

I will PM you to find out more about what the bantams of that time consisted of or you could share on here so that all can benefit from the information.

I talked to Mr Rhodes about 2 years ago and at that time, he had reduced his flock to 2 roosters and just a few hens. 5 comes to mind, but I can't remember for sure now. The last time I saw him was a year ago at a show. I haven't been out to the shows this year. He was a remarkable gentleman to talk with. Honest and humble about his birds.

 

[sumi]

The dark red fowl really got me excited. They are a good sized bird for eating culls. They produce a good number of large eggs. They have a personality like no other breed. They are friendly but independent. They seem to be pretty healthy, vigorous, and adaptable to their surroundings. They don't seem to start a fight but won't back down either. These are some of the reasons why buckeyes will always be a permanent fixture at Circle U Farm.

Our reasons for breeding, showing and keeping the breed are the following:
1. Dual purpose meat/eggs
2. Personality- raised several different breeds this is the one we prefer for their friendliness and chatter.
3. Cold hardiness- peacomb and health.
4. Color- love the deep mahogany red (garnet) shade of our birds.
5. The game look in their eyes.

Tell me, how heat tolerant are the Buckeyes? I know it's hard to believe there is such a thing with all the snow and ice going on by you at the moment, but how hot does your Summers get and how does your Buckeye cope with the heat?

 

[slfarms]

Tell me, how heat tolerant are the Buckeyes? I know it's hard to believe there is such a thing with all the snow and ice going on by you at the moment, but how hot does your Summers get and how does your Buckeye cope with the heat?

Buckeyes are actually heat tolerant as well. The extremes in temp I get in the summer is 80's-100. The temps usually come with high humidity and heat indexes surpassing 100 degrees. The birds will find shade and pant to stay cool.

I've heard of some people buying misting fans for the birds when the heat becomes dangerously high. All I've done special for them one summer when the heat index hit 110 was put ice in their water pails and a kiddie pool. They stood in them and cooled themselves.

 

[JoshU]

In the summer, we have had 90+ degree days for weeks on end with very high humidity. The egg production slowed just a bit but the birds seemed fine with nothing more than fresh water and shade. Some were out scratching around in the middle of the day like nothing bothered them. I'd say they are both heat and cold tollerent. Very adaptable breed.