The Buckeye Thread

[AinaWGSD]

A plucker is definitely on our list of wants this upcoming year. But with the move this summer and renovations on two houses, and a broken leg and busted engine thrown in the mix it just isn't in the budget right now no matter how wonderful it would be. I don't mind the hand plucking too much, it takes a while and definitely slows us down, but it isn't as tedious as I first feared when we processed our first set of chickens. I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience off hand with purchased vs. home built pluckers. I have to admit, the cheapskate in me is kind of leaning towards a home made one (perhaps the type powered by a drill) at least for the immediate future.

 

[007medic]

alana124,

I use an Oxo battery powered digital kitchen scale to weigh my birds. It's accurate, it has a tare feature so if I have to weigh a bird in a container, I can subtract the weight of the container from the bird- very handy.

You're still 4-8 weeks out from your girls starting their laying, so hang in there. They're probably getting interested in nest boxes right about now, so be sure to have some available. Keep a sharp eye out for eggs where your not expecting tho- sometimes you all but put a neon sign out saying "lay eggs here" and they still lay where ever the heck they want.

Your white tipped cockerel is a different matter all together and there are as many opinions as he has feathers. While any white on a Buckeye is undesirable, I would give you a few things to consider before you jump to cull. White tipped feathers, I've learned from smarter heads than mine, are often feed related especially when birds are young and really going through their juvenile feather sets (come to find out they go through about 7 sets!). Instead of culling based on what might just be a feather fluke I suggest you critically evaluate your fella according to the standard. Pick your boy up and really feel of him. Is he broad all the way through his back? Does his back slope slightly down from the shoulders to the tail like it should? Does he have a nice wide/thick skull? When he's walking away from you, does he have a nice broad spread of the tail? Are his legs well spaced? Are they nice and meaty? Is his keel straight? Does he hold his wing points tucked under the end of his saddle? When you look at him from the side is he more square than rectangle? Does he have a nice neat pea comb with 3 distinct ridges? And of course, what does he weigh? Is it between 6 and 7lbs as it should be for a 5 month old cockerel (leaning toward the 7)? Does he have a slate bar in the under color of his back? Is his coloring even all over with a nice saturated quality?

Taking all of your evaluations in comparison to the standard, how do you think your boy stands up? Do you think he's a good example of the breed? If you think he's a keeper, then keep him!

 

[Pathfinders]

We just skin the birds we slaughter. Neither of us really needs to be eating the chicken skin anyway, as much as I adore it.

 

[Canieldonrad]

Hi all, I'd like to ask a couple of questions...my Buckeye angels passed their 20 weeks of age on 10/10..I have 2 roos, and one unfortunately is showing some white on the TIP of his tail feathers (mail tail or sickles) and white tip on a secondary wing feather (one side only). Will he lose this as he ages? And he acts like a big, big scared baby, and is always cooing under his breath that sounds like: "oh worra worra worra, ohh, oohhh" (it's funny to listen to, really). BUT having the character of a big "chicken" isn't a reason to cull, right? He's really big, but, I don't know how much he weighs since I don't own a scale to weigh chickens.

Will this particular roo lose those white tips?

I absolutely love my birds, and most are beginning to show signs that they'll be true to breed when mature..I'll post pics soon.

I would not breed with it until it shows a first full adult molt next year. White is something that comes out in most colored birds.

As far as making noise, that is what sucked me and my dad in with Buckeyes when we had them years ago. Very vocal breed, and its just entertaining to listen to for us.

At 21 weeks our three current cockerels were at about 7-7¼lb. Laura loaned me a hanging dairy scale(which I'm going to return I promise). It worked well when they were younger and I could hook a pillow case to it and weigh them inside the case. Currently we are using an antique kitchen scale because the birds will just stand on the platform.

 

[slfarms]

Hi all, I'd like to ask a couple of questions...my Buckeye angels passed their 20 weeks of age on 10/10..I have 2 roos, and one unfortunately is showing some white on the TIP of his tail feathers (mail tail or sickles) and white tip on a secondary wing feather (one side only). Will he lose this as he ages? And he acts like a big, big scared baby, and is always cooing under his breath that sounds like: "oh worra worra worra, ohh, oohhh" (it's funny to listen to, really). BUT having the character of a big "chicken" isn't a reason to cull, right? He's really big, but, I don't know how much he weighs since I don't own a scale to weigh chickens. 

So can anyone give me some recommendations on the type of scale to use and to purchase?
Will this particular roo lose those white tips? 
And, when do the females start laying? February? They're under 14 hours of lights, and still no eggs--should I cut it back if they're still too young? 

I absolutely love my birds, and most are beginning to show signs that they'll be true to breed when mature..I'll post pics soon.

Thank you--as always-- for your wonderful and experienced advice

(I apologize if I posted this in the wrong section...)

The white tip/feather could be its baby feather or it was stressed/Ill at some point which can cause white feathers. Pluck the white feather and allow it to grow back. If it grows back white tipped/colored again then don't use the bird for breeding.

Because of the age of the bird it will molt until next year so this is a quicker way to find out if there is a genetic for white tips in your bird

 

[uphilljill]

Timely question and answers about white on feathers.. I was just wondering the same thing about my cockerel who has a splash of white at the base of one of his sickles. Thanks!

 

[AinaWGSD]

Another question about evaluating cockerels. My cockerels are 22 weeks old now, and some of them seem quite well filled out compared to others that are still quite lanky. At this age, would you favor the ones that are more solid in appearance or the ones that are still lanky but appear that they will fill in given a little more time? We are keeping four for now and then narrowing down to two when they are a few months older, so only need to cull three of the seven coming up in the next few weeks. We already have one that is going for sure, and one that I'm pretty sure is going but not dead set on yet, and two that I am sure I want to keep.

 

[Pathfinders]

Another question about evaluating cockerels. My cockerels are 22 weeks old now, and some of them seem quite well filled out compared to others that are still quite lanky. At this age, would you favor the ones that are more solid in appearance or the ones that are still lanky but appear that they will fill in given a little more time? We are keeping four for now and then narrowing down to two when they are a few months older, so only need to cull three of the seven coming up in the next few weeks. We already have one that is going for sure, and one that I'm pretty sure is going but not dead set on yet, and two that I am sure I want to keep.

I would think by 22 weeks they should be showing definitive signs of who is a keeper and who isn't.

Have you used the ALBC Assessment articles to evaluate them using specific criteria? I find them invaluable. I have gathered all the links together on one page in my website, see them here: http://pathfindersfarm.com/Assessing.html

Print out the sheet titled "Chick Assessment Form" and take it out with you when evaluating your birds, it will be a big help! I am hugely grateful to Don Schrider and Jeannette Belanger for creating these files.

 

[chickensnew2me]

Has anyone ever had issues with buckeye cockerels being "aggressive". Out of 10, I have one that is a little mean. When I walk into their run he runs up and try's to flog me. Some of the others bite my legs( I am usually wearing shorts) and a couple bite my shoes but only 1 or 2 have flogged me. They are also the smaller ones and so will be first into the freezer. My girls are the friendliest as can be. Just wondering if I did something wrong raising them

 

[Wynette]

A quick note on bathing birds; I show several breeds, Buckeye is not one of them, but I view bathing a bird as a respectful practice toward the judges. Can you imagine looking at hundreds of dirty birds up front & personal in just a few hours?

Right or wrong, two sides to each story, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something that's appreciated by the judges. JMO, I am also no expert, but I do alright at the shows.