The Buckeye Thread

[camilleathome]

Both of them have huge wattles for Buckeyes. It is evident that your color is 'off' in these, as you have clearly stated. I would look at the bird overall before worry about color anyway. Not crazy about the comb on the first one, it looks long and skinny. You should get some better pictures from the side and down at the birds level to get a good assessment via picture. The true test is picking them up and feeling what is under the feathers. Feel for a good keel, strong and straight. Feel for condition, not too bony and knobby. Feel for width in the frame structure, especially over the back. Fold out the wings and see how the shape is formed and if the feather quality it good, same for tail. Realizing that you are in Canada, I was wondering if you by chance have an APA Standard for Buckeyes to following if you are wanting to breed Bucks to meet the standard?

Aoxa would know more. ive never showed yet. All my birds are young and Im growing them out and plan to start showing next year. Im am as newbie as they come. But the birds I did get were from sources that are known for producing good quality heritage breeds that win at shows. I know I have a few Buckeye hens that look great. The rooster I gave aoxa looks amazing. Ill try to get some more photos tomorrow as I have one rooster that I think has the more desirable comb. For size I find that my Buckeyes are MUCH bigger.(Wider) than the HRIR. Do you have a link to standards(With visuals)?

 

[Canieldonrad]

Had a male suffer from heat exhaustion about a month ago. He perked up nicely, and quick, after the nasty weather passed. However his leg color has faded. Has anyone else noticed this in their Buckeyes? His legs are still yellow, just not as vibrant as they once were.

 

[Pathfinders]

Had a male suffer from heat exhaustion about a month ago. He perked up nicely, and quick, after the nasty weather passed. However his leg color has faded. Has anyone else noticed this in their Buckeyes? His legs are still yellow, just not as vibrant as they once were.

Yes, I have seen some fading in the legs of my males as well. I attribute it to the fact that it got very dry here at the end of summer, and the grass has lost most (if not all) of its Vitamin E and beta carotene. Annoying, but not anything to worry about overmuch, I'd say.

 

[Canieldonrad]

this was a bird i was introducing to my flock. i was medicating to insure nothing unwanted was carried over. he cut back his water intake the days following, which is when the weather shot to the 90s.

 

[knittychickadee]

We're evaluating our 5-6 month old birds using the ALBC assessment guidelines and ran into a few questions. I know that the goal is to have everything in one bird, but for those who use these guidelines to evaluate their stock is there one measurement that you would weigh heavier than the others? It seems that the heaviest cockerels and the ones with the biggest heart girth also have keels that are less than straight. Last time we evaluated cockerels we decided not to keep any of the ones with the crooked keels.

Well, how big are the heaviest cockerels. Maybe the boys that are a little smaller than the big guys are still good weights? Sometimes the biggest ones are just the piggiest ones, but no good anywhere else lol. I have a chart that I personally follow for my cockerels. I know that if they hit these weights they will be correct in weight as adults. 4 months 5-6 lbs, 5 months 6-7lbs, 6 months 7-8 lbs, and 7-8 months 8 +lbs. They really slow down in growth after 7-8 months and if they aren't 8 lbs by then they aren't going to hit 9lbs as adults, for me at least. First year I went for good heads, and deep wide bodies that felt meaty, not scrawny. Its hard to get size later if you don't have it to begin with, and since I wanted birds with good meat qualities that's where I started.

 

[cgmccary]

Well, how big are the heaviest cockerels. Maybe the boys that are a little smaller than the big guys are still good weights? Sometimes the biggest ones are just the piggiest ones, but no good anywhere else lol. I have a chart that I personally follow for my cockerels. I know that if they hit these weights they will be correct in weight as adults. 4 months 5-6 lbs, 5 months 6-7lbs, 6 months 7-8 lbs, and 7-8 months 8 +lbs. They really slow down in growth after 7-8 months and if they aren't 8 lbs by then they aren't going to hit 9lbs as adults, for me at least. First year I went for good heads, and deep wide bodies that felt meaty, not scrawny. Its hard to get size later if you don't have it to begin with, and since I wanted birds with good meat qualities that's where I started.

I find this to be true too. SIZE, SHAPE & RATE OF GROWTH ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO ME. I have not seen the crooked keels in my Buckeyes (I have in my La Fleche, and I culled them all) but would not want that problem in my Buckeyes.

I have kept a few Buckeye cockerels before at 4 months who were a bit shy of 5 lbs (4.5- 5.0 lbs) and found they could make close to 9 lbs at adult but not on the schedule set out above -- in other words, 5 lbs at 16 weeks is sort of a bench mark AND I would not keep any cockerel for my breeding who was not at least 4.5+ lbs at 16 weeks NO MATTER any other trait -- they could be the best color, straightest keel, best comb, yellowest legs, etc but if they were not proper size at such and such age (& pretty much laid out above), then they were not keepers. If you do keep & breed from too small or too narrow, in cockerels or pullets, then it will catch up with you in very short time.

One other note, I have had 6-7 lb cockerels at 16 weeks that did not make proper adult weight (either they failed to grow much more or were way too heavy). In other words, rate of growth, either way {i.e. too slow or too fast}, fails to meet or make SOP weights. I keep them sometimes for particular traits. Anyway, for my line, I find the hens seem to be more responsible for size, weight and type -- look to them first! I do not pretend to speak to growing traits for all lines -- this is just what I have observed in my short time of keeping Buckeyes for my line.

The best colored birds for me are not always the best type or best sized birds, especially my females. I keep & breed from the best type & sized birds. I am mindful I am breeding for meat for my table -- if you are breeding for something else, then your priorities may be different.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Thanks, especially to knittychickadee and cgmccary. I am also focusing a little more on meat qualities, color is not really a priority for me right now. I don't have my weights, the notepad with my records is in the Jeep, which is currently away from the house. Off the top of my head, I believe they were all right around 5lbs, with the smallest ones being just a few ounces short of 5lbs and the heaviest one being close to 6lbs.

I haven't evaluated the girls yet. Last hatch we only had 3 pullets, so we kept all of them. This time around we have more than we need, so I do need to evaluate all my girls (the younguns and the hens that are 9 months now) and decide who to keep. A few of the girls do seem quite small compared to the cockerels and my adult chickens, but some of them are nearly as big as the boys. Do you have similar growth targets for pullets?

 

[uphilljill]

I'm hoping to get some advice on a lone Buckeye cockerel (Urch stock) that I hatched in May.

He was the only chick to hatch from 12+ eggs, and I don't have any other Buckeyes. Simply because I don't have a mate for him and don't want to keep superfluous roosters thru winter, he was on the short list to go when I thin out the flock next month. But since I really want to start working with this breed, I thought I'd get a second opinion. If he shows any promise at all, I may hang onto him a bit longer and start looking for some hens. If not, I'll cull him and start over with a batch of chicks next Spring.






He's about 17 weeks old now, and feathers are still coming in. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Pathfinders]

I'm hoping to get some advice on a lone Buckeye cockerel (Urch stock) that I hatched in May.

He was the only chick to hatch from 12+ eggs, and I don't have any other Buckeyes. Simply because I don't have a mate for him and don't want to keep superfluous roosters thru winter, he was on the short list to go when I thin out the flock next month. But since I really want to start working with this breed, I thought I'd get a second opinion. If he shows any promise at all, I may hang onto him a bit longer and start looking for some hens. If not, I'll cull him and start over with a batch of chicks next Spring.






He's about 17 weeks old now, and feathers are still coming in. Any thoughts? Thanks!

It's hard to assess young males at this age, but I like what I see, as long as he's not cow-hocked (that might just be the way he's standing in the photo.) Good color, looks nice and broad.

See this link for all the ALBC assessment info to help you decide if you should keep him (seeing is nowhere near everything, you must feel the bird and measure him to assess his frame and type):
http://pathfindersfarm.com/Assessing.html

 

[uphilljill]

I think that may be the way he was standing.

He is wide and broad (even more so than the Barred Rock cockerels I'm keeping) which is why I'm having second thoughts about his future. I'll probably keep him until December, then reevaluate.

Thanks!