The Buckeye Thread

[sumi]

Quote: Jeff has some nice birds and I know of at least one very successful breeder that got his start from Jeff. You'll do well with them. Best of luck and please keep us posted!

 

[slfarms]

Jeff has some nice birds and I know of at least one very successful breeder that got his start from Jeff. You'll do well with them. Best of luck and please keep us posted!

I love Jeff's birds for all the traits they have helped bring into my birds. Dark color, excellent feather quality......and the ones that don't make it into the breeding pool are yummy in the stew pot.

 

[sumi]

Quote: His birds does have some traits I like. The darker colour, etc. IMO the Buckeyes just look better darker. I've been looking at a lot of Buckeyes over the past few months and I like what I've seen with his. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone wanting a start of some good birds.

 

[autumnhearth]

How are everybodies chicks doing?

We are beginning to suspect more and more that our little buckeye chick may be a cockerel both from appearance and behavior. It's hard for me to make a judgement just by feathering, as these are our first chicks and all six are different breeds (Buckeye, Dorking, Buff Orpington, Black Copper Marans, Easter Egger and Golden Buff all sexed as females from Meyer). But the other five girls started getting tail feathers two weeks before the Buckeye. Does anyone that has experience raising multiple breeds together know if Buckeye's tail and body feathers come in slower than other breeds? I know it can be a male thing, but I would like to know if it could be a breed thing.

Behavior wise though the Buckeye is the loudest, one of the bolder ones, though some of the girls are pretty bold flyers, but they have larger wings. The Buckeye often acts as a guard, last night my husband had a huge sneeze and all the girls ran into the back corner of the brooder while the Buckeye stood still and tall, yeah. The chicks have not started a visible pecking order, I watch them closely at feeding time and I haven't observed them pecking each other at all since the first few days. However the Buckeye started jumping, flapping and rushing at some of the others starting a little over a week ago, though at first it was only at Amelia (our sex-link and the boldest since day one, likely to be head hen) especially when she would jump up on the feeder, water or edge of the Ecoglow warmer, as if telling her to get down. Now they do this sort of dance hopping and flapping at each other, Amelia is so much taller and it usually ends when she raises her neck high. But now many of the other girls will do this with each other. I'm unsure if this is normal young pullet behavior, normal behavior with cockerels towards pullets or if it has developed because of the Buckeye in the mix, because or their tendency not to peck each other.

I'm including a link to my album of just pics featuring my Buckeye from day one, they are over three weeks old now, so must recent pics from this morning are on the last page: https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6719169/buckeye-chick-pics/

Any opinions or advice are welcome and if anyone knows anybody in northern to central Ohio who may take a hatchery Buckeye in a few weeks... we can't have crowing on our close town lots. Obviously I'm aware that's its likely "he" will be processed for food and we are fine with that. The chicks have been raised on organic chick starter, dandelion greens, clover, grass, flax seeds, herbs, meal worms etc. and are very healthy and lively. Just putting it out there now, we will of course wait for a crow.

 

[JoshU]

Where are you located at autumn hearth?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Thanks for the detailed definition but you are aware that the term "Heritage" was coined as a marketing ploy. That term is just a fad IMO to sell more birds. Be careful who you buy birds from; that term is being thrown around quite a bit by people that are using it to make a greater profit using "average at best" birds that probably haven't even owned them 3-5 years let alone 5-7 years. It's a pretty good marketing ploy!! It makes people feel like they are getting more than they really are. I've seen what people call "Heritage" Buckeyes are they do not meet SOP guidelines. They were masked hatchery birds......

Yup. Without being Standard bred, it doesn't mean a whole lot. Agree it is largely marketing and it has been somewhat helpful to getting otherwise disinterested folks to consider a better bred bird. But, what the marketing has given as a plus, it has also inadvertently added to the confusion. Hatcheries are now tossing about the word "heritage" in their advertising, describing "breeds" as "heritage breeds". More confusion. Sad.

 

[autumnhearth]

Where are you located at autumn hearth?

Berea, Ohio, small college town in the southwest suburbs of Cleveland. I'd be willing to drive two hours one way for a "good home" even if that means a responsible person with a stew pot, but we probably want to wait at least another three weeks or until we are sure of sex.

 

[slfarms]

Yup.  Without being Standard bred, it doesn't mean a whole lot.  Agree it is largely marketing and it has been somewhat helpful to getting otherwise disinterested folks to consider a better bred bird.  But, what the marketing has given as a plus, it has also inadvertently added to the confusion.  Hatcheries are now tossing about the word "heritage" in their advertising, describing "breeds" as "heritage breeds".  More confusion. Sad.

I agree it's sad. It leads new comers to think they have or are getting something special or different from what a person labeling them as "Standard Bred" has or is breeding. Throw in hatcheries and they confuse it even more.

I wish the marketing term had never been dreamed up.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I don't know what I find more annoying the use of "heritage" of late, or hatcheries calling their mutts with the blue egg gene all "Ameraucanas".

 

[JoshU]

Berea, Ohio, small college town in the southwest suburbs of Cleveland.  I'd be willing to drive two hours one way for a "good home" even if that means a responsible person with a stew pot, but we probably want to wait at least another three weeks or until we are sure of sex.

That's a little far to me. I'm sure you can find someone who will take him. Either for the pot or their yard.