Out of curiosity, if anyone else has a mixed flock of different breeds, do they find that their Buckeyes are always at the bottom of the pecking order? I am also finding that my buckeyes seem to have more skin irritation than my other breeds (I think the dark plumage could possibly be attracting more pests - especially here in Florida), and that laying eggs seems more difficult for my buckeyes than my other breeds. Just some observations I'm making as a first time chicken mom. Of course, they are still lovely, polite, mild-mannered, curious, gentle, and AMAZING insectivores. When free ranging, they have a knack for immediately finding the place in the yard with the most insects, while the other breeds seem more-or-less oblivious.
I have a single Buckeye pullet (ordered 10, but the breeder was short that week) that is part of an 11 month old flock with one Speckled Sussex pullet, one Barnevelder pullet, one Speckled Sussex cockerel, and seven turkeys (non-broad breasted). (Yes, I know, weird flock -- it was supposed to be seven turkeys, 10 Buckeyes, and 10 Speckled Sussex, but plans don't always match supply, and all the substitutes except the one Barnevelder pullet have been culled.) They free range over an acre. There were a few other Barnevelders and Speckled Sussex before culling, and those two breeds each tended to separate off into their individual groups when young, leaving poor single Buttercup (the Buckeye) to move from BV to SS to turkey group, looking for the right clique but never really fitting in. She was never really picked on, but she is at the bottom of the pecking order, even though she is the largest of the three remaining pullets. Both she and Misty (the SS pullet) are equally good and very assertive foragers, essentially working from dawn to dusk turning over the yard, while the other birds casually forage or just hang out. The SS cockerel stands over Misty about half the time to watch for eagles while she works, and Buttercup works independently. She seems unconcerned that she is not surrounded by a flock or protected by a rooster. When the gate to their acre is open she will independently explore the rest of the farm, and occasionally mingles with my Red Dorking/Croad Langshan flock of 22 adult birds. She just walks right in with no concerns about being attacked, forages in their acre for a few hours, then returns to her own yard.
I suspect if I had more aggressive breeds or individuals that she would be quite picked on, as she is a sweet bird that is very willing to walk away from a fight. But I don't keep any individuals that are bullies or cause stress to my flocks, and there is plenty of room and plenty to do, so there's really nothing to fight about. Even though there is a pecking order, there is really not a lot of pecking going on, so even those on the bottom aren't stressed.
She does not have any skin problems, but I'm in the Pacific NW, so our biggest insect problem is 5-10 evenings of biting gnats every spring, and some mosquitoes throughout the summer, both of which are kept to a minimum by the numerous Barn Swallows that nest in my barn and have hungry chicks to feed by day, plus a little dry ice about 25 feet away from the coops, just below the ultraviolet bug zapper by night (the dry ice releases CO2, which is what attracts biting insects to their prey from a good distance away, and the UV light attracts insects that are close by into the zapper). Dark plumage does attract more biting insects than light colors, and you have more than enough biting pests in FL, so that could be an issue, although usually their dense feathers protect them from the majority of flying pests.. Have you checked for mites or other external parasites?? Even if you don't find any, if you think the skin irritation is due to insect bites instead of fighting, dusting her with permethrin might help repel some of the bugs.
I've not had any problems with Buttercup laying eggs. She's amazing. She started laying in mid-March, about a month after Misty, and those two girls each lay 5-6 eggs per week. Buttercup did have one episode where things got out of coordination a few weeks ago -- she laid an egg that was about 1/2 to 1/3 normal size. It had just a tiny strip of yolk in it, about the size of a small white navy bean, with normal egg white around it. Then about 10 hours later (the next morning) she laid a soft shelled egg in the middle of the yard -- I didn't get a chance to see the intact yolk because another bird ate it within moments of it hitting the ground, spreading yolk material over the grass. Then about four hours later she was listless, got on her roost and seemed to have some abdominal cramping, but she was still willing to eat. I gave her some antiinflammatory pain medication, and an hour later she felt great, went out in the yard and passed a large amount of what looked like thin egg white. After that she was fine, and was back to her normal laying schedule 2 days later. I suspect that a yolk broke open when it was ovulated and came down the oviduct in two separate parts, causing the whole egg producing mechanism to fall out of coordination, but it was a one-time incident that has resolved. At this point both she and Misty are co-brooding, peacefully sharing the same nestbox on ceramic eggs. With first year pullets that I think have great potential to be either good breeding stock (conformation, size, and temperament) or good mothers (temperament), I typically let them brood for a few weeks to evaluate their willingness to hold a brood, how well they take care of themselves while brooding (because you don't want to propagate the broody who goes into such a deep trance that she has to be tube fed to survive), and how aggressive they are while brooding (I want hens that are protective enough to warn me off, even though they are tame pets who know me, but not attack aggressively enough to draw blood). It's been 5 days so far, and she's doing great -- getting off the nest 2-3 times a day, just long enough to keep from getting stiff and all the essential functions, then right back on the ceramic eggs. She puffs up and does a little broody scream when I approach, but doesn't do anything to me when I pet her or reach under her to handle the eggs. Nice quiet, dedicated broody that stays on the nest and doesn't fight with the other broody, so is unlikely to break eggs or trample chicks because she's too high strung or aggressive. So far, ideal mama material. I typically break their brood after two weeks, and if they did well they will be given 6-8 eggs to hatch on their brood next year to see if they do well with real chicks.
So overall, she is at the bottom of the pecking order, but is not overly shy or timid. Non-aggressive. Not a troublemaker. Excellent worker. Quite independent. Healthy and vigorous, with excellent skin and plumage. Reproductively sound with good egg laying record, fertile eggs, and good broody habits and temperament so far. Nice conformation and slow steady growth, reaching 2 lbs by 9 weeks, 3.7 lbs by 14 weeds, 5.7 lbs by 20 weeks, 6.6 lbs at 28 weeks, and 7 lbs at 11 months (SOP is 6.5 lbs for a hen, so she'll finalize at 1/2 - 3/4 lb over, but it's all muscle on a nice long back, so I'm happy with it). Overall a great bird. Some day I may get more and breed them, but am not ready to set up additional pedigree breeding runs right now. I might hatch out some of her Buckeye X Speckled Sussex eggs, as the combination of her thighs and his breast should make some DELICIOUS free range meat birds.
