The Buckeye Thread

[AletaG]

Thanks. I don't have that much knowledge on what to look for between breeds yet, or what is good or bad about a bird. I have an Standard of Perfection though, as a relative who used to raise birds years ago told me that I should have on if I am thinking about breeding them. He said that I would need to learn to breed them to the breed standard.
I do like the dark red. I really like the looks of the first hen's head. Kind of reminds me of a dinosaur shape. Hahaha Do chickens make sounds like dinosaurs? Someone on another site somewhere said they do. That would be really funny.

From what I've read on this thread, Buckeyes are the closest thing... They chase and eat mice, they make funny noises... Mr. Blosl (may he R.I.P.) would say make sure you like, no LOVE what you breed, and have fun. If you like dinos, go B. If you want that darker red, go RIR.
If you want to pick brains, Laura is awesome about PM questions on Buckeyes, and YellowHouseFarm would be the most prolific "go to" right now on HRIR. Ron Fogle is a great resource, too.
Good luck! Hey, at least you've got it narrowed to 2!

Lots of people feel like this poor little emoticon when they realize the cornucopia of choices out there...

 

[Sparky1999]

From what I've read on this thread, Buckeyes are the closest thing... They chase and eat mice, they make funny noises... Mr. Blosl (may he R.I.P.) would say make sure you like, no LOVE what you breed, and have fun. If you like dinos, go B. If you want that darker red, go RIR.
If you want to pick brains, Laura is awesome about PM questions on Buckeyes, and YellowHouseFarm would be the most prolific "go to" right now on HRIR. Ron Fogle is a great resource, too.
Good luck! Hey, at least you've got it narrowed to 2!

Lots of people feel like this poor little emoticon when they realize the cornucopia of choices out there...

Oh, I know! There are SO many breeds I have never even heard of! I am just trying to be practical with my choices, but my husband likes the look of the eggs.
But aren't Buckeyes supposed to be a dark mahogany red? That is a pretty dark color to me.
They really chase mice? I thought maybe that was an exaggeration. My grandparents had Rhode Island Reds when I was little and their rooster was always mean. I don't think I would want those. I have children and I would not want them to have to worry about the mean old rooster like I did.
Laura has already contacted me and it seems she is more than willing to help me get some chicks. We are getting ready to move from Florida to either Pennsylvania or New York, so we are not sure if we are going to be able to have a place ready for chickens this next Spring or not, but I know as soon as we are ready, we are getting some. I love fresh eggs and chickens seem to be such curious creatures, and being smaller, they would be our first choice in getting livestock. I am interested in having the extra roosters for eating too. We have great plans. I just hope they all can be worked out the way we envision them. First things first though, we need to find a place to live first.

 

[AletaG]

But aren't Buckeyes supposed to be a dark mahogany red? That is a pretty dark color to me.
They really chase mice? I thought maybe that was an exaggeration. My grandparents had Rhode Island Reds when I was little and their rooster was always mean. I don't think I would want those. I have children and I would not want them to have to worry about the mean old rooster like I did.
Laura has already contacted me and it seems she is more than willing to help me get some chicks. We have great plans. I just hope they all can be worked out the way we envision them. First things first though, we need to find a place to live first.

They are pretty dark, but at least from what I've seen, the RIR are darker. Your grandparents probably had production Reds. They ARE mean. Heck, the Prod. hens I have aren't exactly friendly. I have 2 HRIR roosters, no trouble at all. Real buckeyes are pretty mellow too (have a couple friends I met up here after I'd already decided on Reds)
Many peeps I chat with have a simple rule. If it's mean, it's soup, because it's a heritable thing.
I've seen plenty of pics of chickens with mice in beak... and mine seem pretty keen on anything that moves, and the higher protein the better. Guineas are known for organizing snake kills... I spend way too much time reading these threads LOL
See, that there Laura, she's gonna run the HRIR right out of town that way! Getting her oar in first, dagnabbit! Ok, will be responding via PM from now on... anyone have some more Buckeye pics to post?

 

[Pathfinders]

They are pretty dark, but at least from what I've seen, the RIR are darker. Your grandparents probably had production Reds. They ARE mean. Heck, the Prod. hens I have aren't exactly friendly. I have 2 HRIR roosters, no trouble at all. Real buckeyes are pretty mellow too (have a couple friends I met up here after I'd already decided on Reds)
Many peeps I chat with have a simple rule. If it's mean, it's soup, because it's a heritable thing.
I've seen plenty of pics of chickens with mice in beak... and mine seem pretty keen on anything that moves, and the higher protein the better. Guineas are known for organizing snake kills... I spend way too much time reading these threads LOL
See, that there Laura, she's gonna run the HRIR right out of town that way! Getting her oar in first, dagnabbit! Ok, will be responding via PM from now on... anyone have some more Buckeye pics to post?

LOL! Sent a PM because posting links to breed clubs is a no-no in this thread.

And hey, I can appreciate a good HRIR as well as anyone! If for no other reason than they were near and dear to Bob Blosl's heart...

 

[slfarms]

They are pretty dark, but at least from what I've seen, the RIR are darker. Your grandparents probably had production Reds. They ARE mean. Heck, the Prod. hens I have aren't exactly friendly. I have 2 HRIR roosters, no trouble at all. Real buckeyes are pretty mellow too (have a couple friends I met up here after I'd already decided on Reds)
Many peeps I chat with have a simple rule. If it's mean, it's soup, because it's a heritable thing.
I've seen plenty of pics of chickens with mice in beak... and mine seem pretty keen on anything that moves, and the higher protein the better. Guineas are known for organizing snake kills... I spend way too much time reading these threads LOL
See, that there Laura, she's gonna run the HRIR right out of town that way! Getting her oar in first, dagnabbit! Ok, will be responding via PM from now on... anyone have some more Buckeye pics to post?

[/IMG][/IMG]
First pic is our pullet from this spring, second is a relation or hers and last is her pappy.

As you can see all are a deep mahogany brown as bucks should be.

 

[Wynette]

Dr. Hatchet is a poultryman's friend when it comes to sick birds. But I recognize not everyone, especially those who are newer to poultry, with birds they consider pets, is as ruthless as some of the rest of us when it comes to dispatching the weak or ill.

And no one should be turned away, IMO, when seeking advice for such birds. That's what this forum is for, right? To help each other?

I most definitely agree, here. It takes time to get to a place where you can dispatch a bird that is unthrifty. I do not mind admitting that the first time I dispatched one, I ran out back behind the barn & lost my cookies. Still, though, I knew I'd done the right thing.

I think the most key piece of information that ANYONE should take from any thread on this forum or others is that the more feedback you get, the better. You're more informed, have more choices of how to proceed, and it makes it then, IMO, easier to make the decision that's right for YOU.

 

[Wynette]

LOL! Sent a PM because posting links to breed clubs is a no-no in this thread.

All of the "players" in this thread have links in their signature lines to the clubs they wish to promote; thus, there is no need to continually post links in a post itself.

 

[slfarms]

[/IMG][/IMG]
First pic is our pullet from this spring, second is a relation or hers and last is her pappy.

As you can see all are a deep mahogany brown as bucks should be.

Ok that didn't work very well. The pappy is in the previous post. This is the pullet

 

[slfarms]

Ok that didn't work very well. The pappy is in the previous post. This is the pullet

And this is there relation

 

[Sparky1999]

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First pic is our pullet from this spring, second is a relation or hers and last is her pappy.

As you can see all are a deep mahogany brown as bucks should be.

Wow!! That IS dark. That is what I would want in my Buckeyes if I get them! I have seen other pictures on Google searches that come out kind of orangey looking. This is a beautiful rooster! I think I am getting more and more excited every minute I read about them! So, you breed them too slfarms?