The Buckeye Thread

[CanadianBuckeye]

I have a question about leg colour, is it OK to have red shading in the yellow scales? I am not talking about green legs, where dark pigment overlays the yellow, but bright yellow and red in the same scale. Are the legs supposed to be pure, bright yellow, no red at all? is some red OK or should that be something to cull out?
You can see what I mean if you look at my rooster's legs, post 3531 on page 354.

 

[hellbender]

hellbender, I had a look at the caponizing thread

and let me tell you, I am very glad that I want my chickens for the eggs!!! I think I could do it if the chicken was unconscious, but to have it look at me wide awake through that procedure.......... naaa............eeeek!

Caponizing is certainly not for everyone but it's better than just killing the high percentage of cockerels or letting them grow so old and tough, a young dog couldn't eat them.

Of course cockerels can be butchered at a very young age but it seems to me, if one can slit a bird's throat at that point, cutting a small incision in it's side and giving it as much or more than 18 additional months of happy living could be a consideration. Far too many day-old cockerels are done-in for lack of public demand.

The way the Cornish-X birds have to endure that awful 6 to 12 weeks of life, wollowing in their fecal matter, unable to rise or walk is far more of a turn-off to me...hardly to mention taste of the miserable retches, compared to a delicious capon.

 

[Metella]

Like anything, caponization takes practice and no little dedication but the rewards are enormous.

Pun intended?

I agree - meatie birds never have it good except right when they are super baby peeps.

 

[hellbender]

Pun intended?

I agree - meatie birds never have it good except right when they are super baby peeps.

Pun intended....actually...yes.

 

[stryker]

I got a big buckeye rooster that is looking really nice. He was born in the spring. I also have some buckeye x rhodebar roosters that are looking very good as well and born in the spring. I need to look into capon because I kept the worst looking to type welsummer x rhodebar chicks that ended up to be 14 roosters and maybe 1-2 hens that are 5 weeks old. I really need to look into capon. I can get rally good practice.

 

[hellbender]

I got a big buckeye rooster that is looking really nice. He was born in the spring. I also have some buckeye x rhodebar roosters that are looking very good as well and born in the spring. I need to look into capon because I kept the worst looking to type welsummer x rhodebar chicks that ended up to be 14 roosters and maybe 1-2 hens that are 5 weeks old. I really need to look into capon. I can get rally good practice.

Again, un-needed or unwanted pullets can be sexually neutered too...They have only one ovary and removing it serves the purpose. There's another way to neuter a pullet....by severing the oviduct. They are called poulardes.

 

[stryker]

Interesting, Do the capon's crow as much as the normal roosters?

 

[hellbender]

Interesting, Do the capon's crow as much as the normal roosters?

If the procedure is done correctly (no slips), the capons NEVER crow again. They just cluck around, don't mess with the gals and will even brood chicks. For all the reasons to caponize, the delicious meat is the major benefit!

 

[Minniechickmama]

I would love to learn to caponize, but it's quite the art, and my older eyes don't see well enough for fine surgery.

It wasn't a hatchery, it was a breeder in Canada with 6-7 different breeds. She made it clear that they do not sex their chicks, even the Welsummers (because obviously they do not sex correctly). I also understand that as a chick it's a chick- it's not till it becomes adult that you even have a clue what you have. Which is why I like to grow out my birds so I know what I'm looking at.

I'm going to add a couple pictures of my Buckeyes now and in the ongoing days. I will keep them if they are workable as a breed- I love the pullets. Chanteclers would have been my next pick because they are Canadian and endangered, but white birds don't do well here- too visible to predators, and I haven't seen any really good type other varieties of Chanteclers in standard size, though I did have some nice bantam whites at one time.

One of the pullets here- she only has a bit of black in her tail. Terrible picture, but she's a busy one.



Another pullet- she also has a tail, it just doesn't look like it!





I culled the other male a couple days ago because it had a retarded feathering gene- and was just wrong, he was stupid/retarded, something very amiss.

This guy above has 2 thin longish sickles and he does have a full tail, just not a good photographer here. He's a pretty guy, just have no idea if he's any use for breeding. If not we can eat him and keep the pullets for laying, and try to get better stock next year.

For the Welsummers, they will be eating birds I guess. I'll stick to pea combs, except for the Marans- which have yet to prove they are Marans- I'm waiting for eggs. May keep one Welsummer who's friendly for a flock rooster.

Then there are my Brahmas- totally different breeders, and whether they are good enough or not...I can only hope they are as I really like all of them. Will have to post some pictures in the Brahma thread...most are quite clean marked but I hear they are likely too red. So we'll cross that bridge after they mature a bit more...

These are actually decent looking birds from the pictures. I would be checking on the size of the females and using the one closest to SOP weigh (6.5# hens, 5/5# pullets) to keep your line going. The cockerel appears to hold his tail low, but could be just how he is holding it at that time. Overall color is not bad, which seems to be a big hurdle to consider. They SHOULD have black in the tail, so no worries on that with the pullet - black in the tail and in the primaries of the wings, but hidden when folded for the wings.

I had to scratch my head when you said Brahmas having fast growth, I found them to be lanky for quite some time, but I didn't have them around all that long. That is one reason I love the Buckeye so much, they fill out very quickly compared to other supposed Dual Purpose breeds. If I were crossing anything to produce a naturally meaty, quick growing bird, it would be Buckeye male and Cornish female. I have done this cross and they grow very nicely. My only complaint was that some were a bit too long legged for my liking, which I found a bit funny also, two short legged breeds produced some long legged offspring in the F1 cross. The females are pretty hefty birds too.

I like that leg color on your Bucks too. Worth keeping if they meet size.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I would love to learn to caponize, but it's quite the art, and my older eyes don't see well enough for fine surgery.

It wasn't a hatchery, it was a breeder in Canada with 6-7 different breeds. She made it clear that they do not sex their chicks, even the Welsummers (because obviously they do not sex correctly). I also understand that as a chick it's a chick- it's not till it becomes adult that you even have a clue what you have. Which is why I like to grow out my birds so I know what I'm looking at.

I'm going to add a couple pictures of my Buckeyes now and in the ongoing days. I will keep them if they are workable as a breed- I love the pullets. Chanteclers would have been my next pick because they are Canadian and endangered, but white birds don't do well here- too visible to predators, and I haven't seen any really good type other varieties of Chanteclers in standard size, though I did have some nice bantam whites at one time.

One of the pullets here- she only has a bit of black in her tail. Terrible picture, but she's a busy one.



Another pullet- she also has a tail, it just doesn't look like it!





I culled the other male a couple days ago because it had a retarded feathering gene- and was just wrong, he was stupid/retarded, something very amiss.

This guy above has 2 thin longish sickles and he does have a full tail, just not a good photographer here. He's a pretty guy, just have no idea if he's any use for breeding. If not we can eat him and keep the pullets for laying, and try to get better stock next year.

For the Welsummers, they will be eating birds I guess. I'll stick to pea combs, except for the Marans- which have yet to prove they are Marans- I'm waiting for eggs. May keep one Welsummer who's friendly for a flock rooster.

Then there are my Brahmas- totally different breeders, and whether they are good enough or not...I can only hope they are as I really like all of them. Will have to post some pictures in the Brahma thread...most are quite clean marked but I hear they are likely too red. So we'll cross that bridge after they mature a bit more...

Caponizing.... you need to have 'the touch' I think. I tried it one year, and I just don't have the finesse must be. I killed most attempting to extract the testes. They are buggers to get to and right along the main artery on the back. I nicked most of them and they bled out. I found it was easier to do them at 6-8 weeks, and I did stitch them.