The Buckeye Thread

[Metella]

Ah - I want eggs from your 12 year old !!!!!

I have sparrows and mice that are a bane and I don't really want to use poison except to keep the house vermin free (if I have to).

Utility hen - I like that phrase - I have those and pets. AND I really want a broody hen to sit on just a clutch a year to keep my small flock going and self-sufficient.



....


I think my little buckeye is a definate mix - her color seems light even for her young age .... yet she is busy and pushy, and fearless and comes right up to me and really a spunky things - so I still like her very much ... what do you think ? Lowest to the right young chick with a blurred leg because she is ALWAYS in a hurry to get somewhere. What looks like white is NOT - that is the yellow baby fuzz that is fading away.

The two in front of her are close - partridge rock and pecking behind - an EE mix that is a really deep mahogany... ironic, eh ?

 

[Pathfinders]

STRAINS
There is always confusion about what is a line and what is a strain. A STRAIN is a population of birds being bred in more than one location by more than one steward. Each steward may have his own LINE of the strain, after about three years of making selection decisions, but the whole of the population is still the one STRAIN.

The main Buckeye Strains would be (note, these are listed alphabetically, there is no other significance to the order given):

ALBC (strain created using Urch, Brown & Rhodes strains)
BROWN
RHODES
URCH

(There may be other strains in private hands)

Then there are individual Lines of these STRAINS, with breeders who have been working seriously with them for three years or more (this is not an exhaustive list, I am sure there are folks who should be here that I do not have information on): Beranger; Calhoun; Drowns/Shady Hill; Duncan; Empire; Fitch; Gilbert; Haggarty; Hatch; Hobbs; Kerley; Lay; McCary; Page; Pearce; Rau; Sandhill Preservation; Schrider; Shady Lane; Shumaker; Slomski; and others.

The Buckeyes from hatcheries (Ideal, Meyers, Privett) I think the sources are not really known.

 

[LSBuckOE]

I don't think she lays still. They brood. I can't get mine to stop lol. It might be a New Hampshire cross. But some buckeyes are lighter. I got my utilities from welp

 

[buffalogal]

Metella, I don't know if your bird is a mix or not, but you are right, it does seem to be very light for a Buckeye, along with a lack of black in the tail. Maybe you (and it) will be lucky and it will turn out to be a pullet; as you probably know, all eggs are equally delicious.

 

[LSBuckOE]

The ones I got from welp are half decent. Splotchy w no under color but not light. Healthiest hatchery boogers I ever got !

 

[Metella]

Yeah, not being in it to breed or show - I'm happy with her personality - so that I am not disappointed in her.

But the eggs I buy to hatch in the spring - I do want to be pure Buckeyes.

 

[007medic]

Matella,

When you are ready in the spring for eggs, I would suggest you find a breeder as close to your geographical location as is possible. I have a couple of (I think) good reasons for this rule of thumb.

First, if the breeder is actually within reasonable driving distance and will permit you to pick up, you can be absolutely sure the eggs are handled with care. One sure-fire way to put the kabash on any egg's hatching is to shake or jar it unnecessarily. If you can't avoid receiving shipped eggs, ask about how the eggs are packed for shipping. Google the 'box-within-a-box' method of shipping and request it or a similar method if necessary (be ready to pay extra for sound shipping). Remember, the less opportunity for mistreatment of the eggs, the better the chances are they'll hatch.

Second, if you're able to pick up, there's also the added fillip that you may get to see the stock the eggs come from and see the conditions under which they've been produced. Many serious breeders are meticulous about disease control, so if a breeder is willing to allow you to walk the premises, offer to wear newly purchased, never worn before, inexpensive footwear and/or take some lysol spray for your footwear. Your offering to observe this courtesy and consideration will often gain you entry where others are turned away flatly. This could be a huge learning experience and opportunity to ask all sorts of husbandry questions. I don't know many Buckeye breeders aren't generous in sharing their experience with people that show genuine consideration and interest.

Third, all of us in the Buckeye fancy need to support our local breeders as often as we are able. Supporting local breeders improves and enhances the profile and visibility of this magnificent breed at a grass-roots level in the areas that we live. This is one of the ways that a breed is responsibly conserved.

 

[Metella]

All great points !

I always wondered how eggs make it through the postal system - I don't care how many time Fragile is written on the outside - I would bet money they get tossed - literally - around.

Sigh .... the one bad thing about being in Vermont is that almost everything is far away.

However, I am willing and eager to DRIVE to get my eggs. I didn't even think about seeing the breeding stock - great point.

 

[007medic]

Matella, you'd be surprised how many Buckeye breeders are in your general area! Depending on what part of Vermont you're referring to of course...I personally know a fella' with some really fine Buckeyes just down in Holyoke MA. Isn't that just a jog down the river from Vermont? (hey, I know it isn't Williamsburg or North Adams, but it's drivable!) -

 

[Metella]

Living where I do - I consider ANYTHING in MA drivable ! ha ha ha

Well - if someone in MA is known here and a good rep - I'll have to reach out and learn about him.

thanks !