The Buckeye Thread

[Justso]

Are Buckeye eggs more of a cream or a brown? Would anyone like to post a couple pictures? Thanks!

 

[goodb]

They are a light tan color. Most of mine are one color but occasionally speckles will show up.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Blackbriars, nice looking flock you have there and such well behaved dogs! I have to keep my dogs and chickens strictly separated.

Minniechickmama I have excess fluff on my pullets too, I think. I read that roosters with excess saddle feathers contribute to that problem so ones with shorter saddle feathers should be selected........ is that true?
Here's my only 20 week old rooster, looking much better I think. Still too many flaws to breed but at least he's not an eyesore any more like he was a month ago! Still, that comb..........

and I think his body shape is off (? do you think?)
The second shot shows a younger buckeye rooster and a dark cornish doing a fly by. The orange fellow at the front is a mystery cross, perhaps Dorking- he's got six toes on each foot. He's an odd looking fellow, almost completely saucer shaped, massive, with short legs. I've posted pictures of his feet in the chicken defects thread if anybody's interested.

 

[stryker]

and I think his body shape is off (? do you think?)

Stop crying about this rooster.

..... Show us pics of that younger roo in the background. Now he has some potential.

 

[stryker]

I forgot to say that the rooster with the big comb is getting a blocky chest. I might be wrong but he might get big.

 

[goodb]

Blackbriars, nice looking flock you have there and such well behaved dogs! I have to keep my dogs and chickens strictly separated.

Minniechickmama I have excess fluff on my pullets too, I think. I read that roosters with excess saddle feathers contribute to that problem so ones with shorter saddle feathers should be selected........ is that true?
Here's my only 20 week old rooster, looking much better I think. Still too many flaws to breed but at least he's not an eyesore any more like he was a month ago! Still, that comb..........

and I think his body shape is off (? do you think?)
The second shot shows a younger buckeye rooster and a dark cornish doing a fly by. The orange fellow at the front is a mystery cross, perhaps Dorking- he's got six toes on each foot. He's an odd looking fellow, almost completely saucer shaped, massive, with short legs. I've posted pictures of his feet in the chicken defects thread if anybody's interested.

I think your cockerel looks good. The comb is a bit large for my liking and the color feels "blocky" but he looks like a good bird for you.

 

[stryker]

Hey I would agree. That rooster is starting to look very good. But I like that blocky chest look. I butchered over 15 spring roos and I would love to have more breast meat instead of just big legs and a small chicken strip breast. He might be a good one to keep.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Thanks stryker and goodb. Yes he's a big fellow. Sweet too, that's why I cry

because I have too many roosters.

Stryker I'll post a photo of the cross rooster- now there's a chesty fellow. You'll like him! He might even be part buckeye.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

Here's a photo of the hatching eggs I got this spring. The top 2 rows are dark cornish, the bottom 2 rows are buckeye. The buckeye eggs were long and torpedo shaped, the cornish were much rounder and generally more heavy. I don't know the age of the hens these eggs came from, but most eggs were in the 50-60 gram range. The egg marked 75 grams is from a red sex link. The smallest egg I set was 50 grams, that produced a tiny cockerel chick. I don't know if it was because the egg was so small, but that chick never caught up with the others and was way undersized.

 

[Minniechickmama]

Blackbriars, nice looking flock you have there and such well behaved dogs! I have to keep my dogs and chickens strictly separated.

Minniechickmama I have excess fluff on my pullets too, I think. I read that roosters with excess saddle feathers contribute to that problem so ones with shorter saddle feathers should be selected........ is that true?
Here's my only 20 week old rooster, looking much better I think. Still too many flaws to breed but at least he's not an eyesore any more like he was a month ago! Still, that comb..........

and I think his body shape is off (? do you think?)
The second shot shows a younger buckeye rooster and a dark cornish doing a fly by. The orange fellow at the front is a mystery cross, perhaps Dorking- he's got six toes on each foot. He's an odd looking fellow, almost completely saucer shaped, massive, with short legs. I've posted pictures of his feet in the chicken defects thread if anybody's interested.

I will say this, you sure are picking up on noticing things! I think the same about him. First I thought he was a different bird, he has matured so much, but I almost thing he has an RIR shape to him more than Buckeye. I would have to compare to SOP on the RIR, but that was the first thing that hit me is his body carriage and shape are just not right. Then he has the lighter breast feathering.
I never heard about shorter saddle feathers, per se, but it is correct you need to watch how fluffy their saddles/backs get on the males as well as the females. BUT sometimes, not a lot, but sometimes, you will see one that is maturing and you think, "Oh man, look at all that fluff!" But you leave him to grow the feathers out for another month or so and they settle down. I think it is because there are so many new feathers still coming that it can appear too fluffy, but as they grow and length, the puff settles.

Are you sure that bird is 6 toed and not 5 toe? 6 surely would be bizarre in my book. I could tell what it was, he was moving too fast Name him Flash! LOL

Edited, change that from RIR to Plymouth Rock. He has no upward carriage, and his tail is like a PR. I have that in some of my New Hampshires...who are being culled.