The Buckeye Thread

buckeyechicken, what is that white material you're using for siding?

Something I've learned the hard way from my first tractors is that the roof has to be at least a little slanty, or water and ice collects on it. But the good news is that I have lots of small bits of roofing and other materials that I can scavenge for some tractors.

This is what my coop, run and Yard looks like 32' wide 25' deep and 5' tall. coop is 8' x 9' run is 9' x 9'
 
Hello all,

I'm looking for some Buckeye chicks in Maine. Does anyone in Maine have buckeyes for sale or know where I could find some?

Thanks!
 
Do you remember who was exhibiting them? I was sent pics of them.

Probably Bridget Riddle. The same four or five have been shown all year at other CA shows. Douglas Hayes of Napa Ca has raised about 5000 Buckeyes the last few years and ended up keeping 90. They are bred to the APA SOP but Douglas does not show. I will be looking at them in a couple weeks. He is an excellent breeder so I expect to see some very good birds.

Walt
 
As I have seen/read/experienced, roosters housed with their hens tend to have their favorites and those are the ones who end up with bare backs. From what I see in my own flock, that is quite believable. I see the roosters on those hens with bare backs a lot during what I call breeding season. In the same pen has been some hens that have a good coverage of feathers. I had one Buckeye rooster to 9 hens last year and still about 6 of them were bare backed by summer. I am making hen saddles to help reduce the damage like I have seen in the past. They do help, but they don't always stay on.

I wish I had space during breeding season to keep my cocks separate from the hens, but since I don't have that many pens, and if I were to swap the boys around like you suggest by putting them out with the mixed flock, I would have bloody roosters all season, if not a few dead ones from fighting. Since I have a few breeds here, some methods just are not practical.

Yes, they do have their favorites,, but it doesn't mean the other hens are not being bred enough for fertile eggs.

Walt
 
Yes, they do have their favorites,, but it doesn't mean the other hens are not being bred enough for fertile eggs.

Walt
You are absolutely right. I still got good fertility out of all the hens in the pen. I am starting to see some feathers that look like they have been pulled out from breeding, so time to get that sewing machine humming. I just don't like to see the bare backs because I am concerned about them getting ripped open. It isn't usually those older boys that do it either, it is those young, over-zealous cockerels that usually do real damage.
 
You are absolutely right. I still got good fertility out of all the hens in the pen. I am starting to see some feathers that look like they have been pulled out from breeding, so time to get that sewing machine humming. I just don't like to see the bare backs because I am concerned about them getting ripped open. It isn't usually those older boys that do it either, it is those young, over-zealous cockerels that usually do real damage.

The males do a lot of the feather ruffling with their feet and claws, but the lethal part is if the spurs dig in. Sometimes we don't notice it because it is usually lower, but they can rip a female open.

Walt
 

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