The Buckeye Thread

[AinaWGSD]

I posted a thread about this already but someone suggested I put it here. Does anyone know what gender this is?
I was thinking it's a he because it has thicker legs, "droopy" feathers, and is a lot smaller, but heavier.

Thanks for any advise. These chickens just turned 16 weeks

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At 16 weeks, that's beyond doubt a pullet. There are a few feathers that seem "droopy," but none of them are pointed. All of the saddle and hackle feathers are very round. I have noticed sometimes on my buckeye pullets they do get a few feathers that seem long and droopy for females, but they've all turned out to be pullets. At 16 weeks, the cockerels are usually larger than the pullets, if not heavier. We processed several 6 month old pullets a few weeks ago, and I was quite impressed with how compact and well rounded the breasts were compared to the cockerels from the same hatch. For me, shank thickness is just too subjective. I'm always being fooled by thicker legs if I go by that alone.

 

[slfarms]

You're right.  Sorry, it's been a while since I reviewed the genetics behind sex-links and since none of the barred breeds ever really piqued my interest I am not the most knowlegeable about which is barred and which is not.  To me, delawares look like barred columbian.  However, a buckeye rooster over a delaware hen should still produce sex-link chicks.  They would be red sex links though, not black sex links.

There is a very thorough thread regarding the genetics behind sex-links in the sticky section of Breeds, Genetics, & Showing. 

I would have to agree after reading the doc on that thread. Nice link btw. If a buckeye roo has the golden allele and crossed to a Delaware it should make the sex link chicks for the F1 cross

 

[knittychickadee]

You're right. Sorry, it's been a while since I reviewed the genetics behind sex-links and since none of the barred breeds ever really piqued my interest I am not the most knowlegeable about which is barred and which is not. To me, delawares look like barred columbian. However, a buckeye rooster over a delaware hen should still produce sex-link chicks. They would be red sex links though, not black sex links.

There is a very thorough thread regarding the genetics behind sex-links in the sticky section of Breeds, Genetics, & Showing.

There was a gal in the old Buckeye thread that crossed a Buckeye rooster over a Delaware hen I think for sex links. Just a min and I will see if I can find one of her posts.

 

[knittychickadee]

Yup here it is AinaWGSD- https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/271644/buckeye-breed-thread/4120#post_8933706

 

[homeworkin]

Perfect. Thank you. Just the info I needed. I will also have Speckled Sussex and Salmon Faverolles if all goes well with my current hatch. That would give me two different red sex link combos to play with.

 

[slfarms]

You will see variation in head width in most breeds.  The real question is what is the desirable width and how does that relate to the rest of the bird.  In my experience, if you want a good breadth overall in your bird, then go for the wider head for this carries through the bird.  Narrow heads translate to narrower body, which in the Buckeye is not desirable.  Going back to what I posted earlier quoting Nettie Metcalf's overall vision of the breed is a "modified Cornish appearance".  Looking at a Cornish (I don't mean those skinny and narrow hatchery birds either), you can clearly see, they are a wide bird.  Therefore, the Buckeye should follow suit in have good width throughout.  However, unlike the Cornish that narrows quickly at the tail and has a very short and narrow tail (comparatively), the Buckeye's tail should have a smooth transition from back to tail so as to not appear too fluffy at the base, nor too pinched.

Very nice observation. I have also observed the narrow head equal narrow type in body.

 

[cgmccary]

Here is a young Buckeye pullet I am growing out. Any thoughts on her?

NICE!

 

[HappyBuckeye]

Hi Guys, I'm really trying to learn as much as I can. I've been scrolling though all of the comments from today. I'm a little surprised you all are talking about crossing the Buckeyes and making sexlinks. I'm new here, so maybe this is not so unusual LOL. I just expected this would be a discussion on breeding for shows and improving the traits. I'm sure everyone does things a little differently, for me I just try to keep all my breeds separate so I don't end up with any crosses, but I guess they all taste fine.
My Buckeyes are already pretty stout, meaty with nice drumsticks which the kids love. I've been trying to keep that characteristic. Now I'll be looking very closely at the heads, especially if that's a good way to increase the body size.

So with the sexlinks projects, is that just so you can tell the males from the females earlier? Y'all don't kill off the baby male chicks like they do at the hatcheries do ya?

 

[Marengoite]

Hi Guys, I'm really trying to learn as much as I can. I've been scrolling though all of the comments from today. I'm a little surprised you all are talking about crossing the Buckeyes and making sexlinks. I'm new here, so maybe this is not so unusual LOL. I just expected this would be a discussion on breeding for shows and improving the traits. I'm sure everyone does things a little differently, for me I just try to keep all my breeds separate so I don't end up with any crosses, but I guess they all taste fine.
My Buckeyes are already pretty stout, meaty with nice drumsticks which the kids love. I've been trying to keep that characteristic. Now I'll be looking very closely at the heads, especially if that's a good way to increase the body size.

So with the sexlinks projects, is that just so you can tell the males from the females earlier? Y'all don't kill off the baby male chicks like they do at the hatcheries do ya?

Happy,

I'm a former biology teacher and it's the curious part of me that wants to see what happens with the cross. I agree that Buckeyes are meaty on their own. My F1 cockerels were lean and racy compared to my Buckeye roo, narrower across the back. In profile, they looked pretty big, but they are a soft-feathered variety so they are poofier than Buckeyes. The pullets were killed by my son's dog, so I didn't get a chance to see how well they were as layers. They were just starting to come on when they were killed.

I'm still debating on whether to keep on with the cross I have (since I don't expect the boys to be any bigger) or start all over again with Traditional Barred Rocks instead of hatchery stock. I'm tempted to see what the F2 looks like for both flock replacement and to sell as hybrid layers to some folks at church and in the neighborhood.

 

[cgmccary]

nevermind