The Buckeye Thread

[Blueface]

In light of the nice debate happening.....going back to promoting the breed. It's nice to see dark buckeyes winning There is nothing confusing about that!

 

[Jeff Lay]

In light of the nice debate happening.....going back to promoting the breed. It's nice to see dark buckeyes winning

There is nothing confusing about that!

Talk about beating a dead horse.....that is certainly a nice Buckeye Cockerel Mr. Shumaker and I think Butch really liked him, too!

 

[Blueface]

You think....he was happy to see buckeyes that were not orange!! Like I've told everyone....the buckeye is the breed to beat IF* you can avoid the gossip and rederic of the ALBC and breed them correctly! They are an inferior line that can win if nothing else is available to pick!

Lol...watch me get beat at the ON?!?! A blind hog finds a nut every once in a while......but the heckling will be entertaining to say the least.......

 

[bunnibird55]

Ok, question here - how do you prepare your Buckeyes for a show as big as Nationals? I still have mine out running around in the pasture - I think it would really depress them if I put them in cages! They are so friendly but do I need to do more to make them happy and content when they are in cages? Advice please!!!! My entries are in and I want to do my best to make my Buckeyes look as terrific as I know they are!

 

[Blueface]

Ok, question here - how do you prepare your Buckeyes for a show as big as Nationals? I still have mine out running around in the pasture - I think it would really depress them if I put them in cages! They are so friendly but do I need to do more to make them happy and content when they are in cages? Advice please!!!! My entries are in and I want to do my best to make my Buckeyes look as terrific as I know they are!

The Ohio National is no different than any other show, there is just more birds present. All of my males grow up free ranged and are penned (processed) as needed to allow the younger males to develop properly. When you have 100+ males growing, it's important to process the lesser fowl to allow for the rest of the birds to better develop. My pens are very large, so they have plenty of room. My free range birds graze over 5 acres. Preparing for shows begins at birth...it's a 365 days a year job with only the best of care, feed, and fresh water. There is little you can do in just a months time if you haven't been working on the birds ensuring good condition and health for the past couple months...feathers take time to grow. There is no such aid that'll improve the bird outside its genetic capability. It all starts with the brood stock chosen. If you put lesser quality birds in the show pens, you are going to get lesser quality birds out! Good breeding stock is the cheapest thing you'll ever buy with poultry.

I have never washed a bird before a show!! If you provide the birds adequate pens, they will maintain themselves! Anybody that has to use "in-the-can-sheen" to help improve gloss either has one of three things (or all three)....a mental block, poor feed, or poor breeding stock!

Personally, the Ohio National is my least favorite show.....there are far better shows available for people to enjoy and get a great perspective of the fowl they are working with.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Ok, question here - how do you prepare your Buckeyes for a show as big as Nationals? I still have mine out running around in the pasture - I think it would really depress them if I put them in cages! They are so friendly but do I need to do more to make them happy and content when they are in cages? Advice please!!!! My entries are in and I want to do my best to make my Buckeyes look as terrific as I know they are!

DId you mean over all conditioning or just the getting them used to being caged and handled part?

 

[bunnibird55]

Mostly I need to know how to get them all accustomed to being in the small cages at the shows. I have one Roo that is a very handsome fellow when he is out here running around, but I put him in a cage and he actually looks sick he droops so much! His tail goes down and he kind of hunkers over. The first time he did that at a show, I actually thought he was sick but as soon as I took him home and put him in his pasture, he was strutting around acting like a winner - totally different chicken! I wash the dirtiest ones a week before the show, but at the EOP show the one that wasn't muddy and I didn't wash and was pretty much clean on her own was the one that got reserve - beat out the ones I had washed! So, I guess I really need to know how to present them at their best to the rest of the world! How much do you take off their toenails - they freerange so they mostly keep their nails in the shape they need for foraging. Is it best to reserve double coops for the cocks and cockerels? A lot of questions I never thought I would be asking since I started out only worrying about how hardy they are and how many eggs they lay! Thanks!

 

[ChicKat]

Mostly I need to know how to get them all accustomed to being in the small cages at the shows. I have one Roo that is a very handsome fellow when he is out here running around, but I put him in a cage and he actually looks sick he droops so much! His tail goes down and he kind of hunkers over. The first time he did that at a show, I actually thought he was sick but as soon as I took him home and put him in his pasture, he was strutting around acting like a winner - totally different chicken! I wash the dirtiest ones a week before the show, but at the EOP show the one that wasn't muddy and I didn't wash and was pretty much clean on her own was the one that got reserve - beat out the ones I had washed! So, I guess I really need to know how to present them at their best to the rest of the world! How much do you take off their toenails - they freerange so they mostly keep their nails in the shape they need for foraging. Is it best to reserve double coops for the cocks and cockerels? A lot of questions I never thought I would be asking since I started out only worrying about how hardy they are and how many eggs they lay! Thanks!

I'm really curious about that double cage question too. I wonder if you put your rooster that hunkered down at the show in a double cage would he have felt less stress? I think - double cage good if he is next to someone he doesn't like he has more space away.....or double cage bad...if he panics at the judge reaching in -- does it make him look freakier than he would in a single cage....so many things to learn.!!!
glad you asked -- hope an answer will be forthcoming.

 

[Blueface]

Mostly I need to know how to get them all accustomed to being in the small cages at the shows. I have one Roo that is a very handsome fellow when he is out here running around, but I put him in a cage and he actually looks sick he droops so much! His tail goes down and he kind of hunkers over. The first time he did that at a show, I actually thought he was sick but as soon as I took him home and put him in his pasture, he was strutting around acting like a winner - totally different chicken! I wash the dirtiest ones a week before the show, but at the EOP show the one that wasn't muddy and I didn't wash and was pretty much clean on her own was the one that got reserve - beat out the ones I had washed! So, I guess I really need to know how to present them at their best to the rest of the world! How much do you take off their toenails - they freerange so they mostly keep their nails in the shape they need for foraging. Is it best to reserve double coops for the cocks and cockerels? A lot of questions I never thought I would be asking since I started out only worrying about how hardy they are and how many eggs they lay!  Thanks!

Personally, I feel that show performance speaks volumes for how well the bird is bred, especially for the buckeye breed. The breed is known for its docile yet confident nature. Age also has to be taken into consideration....anything under 6 months has no business in a show pen anyway....very few big birds are even close to being ready at 6 months.
Going back to the breeding and the buckeye; again the breed should be personable, docile yet proud. They should never fear a judge. They also should never hit a judge aggressively.
You can never really get a bird that is accustomed to running free ready for a show pen mentally. Especially a young bird, the stress is too much for it. You have to work with the birds so they know its OK to be handled. This involves handling them but with the buckeye and their docile nature....it's second nature. One of the best birds, I've ever had the privilege of owning rides shotgun in the front seat of the truck to shows..I no longer put him in a carrier...but again; that is just the buckeyes nature.
I get double coops because my buckeyes won't fit in a single coop. If the judge has to chase birds in a double coop it never looks good. My buckeyes actually come to the door and want to be picked up most of the time. .I like when they start strutting when the judge puts them back in the coops.
Health plays a huge role in how a bird acts in a coop, a healthy bird is mentally alert and active. Stress can effect a birds appearance in the coop. A cage is a cage at any rate and if the bird isn't accustomed to being around large numbers of birds and people; they are subject to act out or hump up?!?! Depends on the bird.
You can't really present them, they present themselves. As for the toenails; if you keep them in good pens; they can usually take care of themselves.
Health and genetics separate the cream from everything else. Look at the face of the bird that I'm holding in the pic....that's health!! All I did was wipe his face off with water!! Didn't use oil or peppers or anything....if the faces aren't red....you better ask yourself why?!?! I get asked at every show what I put on my birds to make them so "shiny"....nothing; it's genetics.....so the next time you see someone spraying "can-shine" on their birds.....just know that breeding can fix that

 

[Blueface]

Genetics dictates feather grow and quality...even health to an extent....all you can do is not hinder it...provide good food, clean water and clean pen space....let nature do the rest.