The Buckeye Thread

[Medda]

Hi all,
I ordered several chicks back in the spring including 2 buckeyes from Ideal Hatchery. Long story short, one of my Easter Egger turned out to be a roo. I am having serious doubts about one of my buckeyes.

This chick doesn’t have a lot of comb development compared to the confirmed roo and is pretty much the same as the laying pullets. No spurs yet either. However the tail feathers are longer and the saddle feathers are not as rounded as the females but the are also not as pointed or long as the Roos. No crowing either although the confirmed roo has been crowing for at least 7 weeks now. The chicks are 20.5 weeks old. This chicken is also the largest in body other than the roo - larger than the other pullets but not as large or tall as the roo.

Here are some pics:

So is this a Buckeye roo? Or is this chicken as confused as I am?
Thanks Medda

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Hi all,
I ordered several chicks back in the spring including 2 buckeyes from Ideal Hatchery. Long story short, one of my Easter Egger turned out to be a roo. I am having serious doubts about one of my buckeyes.

This chick doesn’t have a lot of comb development compared to the confirmed roo and is pretty much the same as the laying pullets. No spurs yet either. However the tail feathers are longer and the saddle feathers are not as rounded as the females but the are also not as pointed or long as the Roos. No crowing either although the confirmed roo has been crowing for at least 7 weeks now. The chicks are 20.5 weeks old. This chicken is also the largest in body other than the roo - larger than the other pullets but not as large or tall as the roo.

Here are some pics:

View attachment 1484127

View attachment 1484128

View attachment 1484129

View attachment 1484130

So is this a Buckeye roo? Or is this chicken as confused as I am?
Thanks Medda

Looks like a roo to me. I've never seen long feathers like that on a pullet.
My roo didn't start crowing until he was 9 or 10 months old, so you may be waiting a while for that.

 

[holm25]

Hi all,
I ordered several chicks back in the spring including 2 buckeyes from Ideal Hatchery. Long story short, one of my Easter Egger turned out to be a roo. I am having serious doubts about one of my buckeyes.

This chick doesn’t have a lot of comb development compared to the confirmed roo and is pretty much the same as the laying pullets. No spurs yet either. However the tail feathers are longer and the saddle feathers are not as rounded as the females but the are also not as pointed or long as the Roos. No crowing either although the confirmed roo has been crowing for at least 7 weeks now. The chicks are 20.5 weeks old. This chicken is also the largest in body other than the roo - larger than the other pullets but not as large or tall as the roo.

Here are some pics:

View attachment 1484127

View attachment 1484128

View attachment 1484129

View attachment 1484130

So is this a Buckeye roo? Or is this chicken as confused as I am?
Thanks Medda

That is a Cockerel. For sure

 

[Amer]

Hi all,
I ordered several chicks back in the spring including 2 buckeyes from Ideal Hatchery. Long story short, one of my Easter Egger turned out to be a roo. I am having serious doubts about one of my buckeyes.

This chick doesn’t have a lot of comb development compared to the confirmed roo and is pretty much the same as the laying pullets. No spurs yet either. However the tail feathers are longer and the saddle feathers are not as rounded as the females but the are also not as pointed or long as the Roos. No crowing either although the confirmed roo has been crowing for at least 7 weeks now. The chicks are 20.5 weeks old. This chicken is also the largest in body other than the roo - larger than the other pullets but not as large or tall as the roo.

Here are some pics:

View attachment 1484127

View attachment 1484128

View attachment 1484129

View attachment 1484130

So is this a Buckeye roo? Or is this chicken as confused as I am?
Thanks Medda

Yes a Buckeye cockerel. He has the male feathers already, the comb and wattles won't get much larger than that.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Hi all,
I ordered several chicks back in the spring including 2 buckeyes from Ideal Hatchery. Long story short, one of my Easter Egger turned out to be a roo. I am having serious doubts about one of my buckeyes.

This chick doesn’t have a lot of comb development compared to the confirmed roo and is pretty much the same as the laying pullets. No spurs yet either. However the tail feathers are longer and the saddle feathers are not as rounded as the females but the are also not as pointed or long as the Roos. No crowing either although the confirmed roo has been crowing for at least 7 weeks now. The chicks are 20.5 weeks old. This chicken is also the largest in body other than the roo - larger than the other pullets but not as large or tall as the roo.

Here are some pics:

View attachment 1484127

View attachment 1484128

View attachment 1484129

View attachment 1484130

So is this a Buckeye roo? Or is this chicken as confused as I am?
Thanks Medda

As other's have said, and I'll join the band wagon... You have a cockerel. He's not a rooster until he's a year old. Just like a young female chicken is a pullet until she's a year and then she's a hen.

Here's what you're looking for in feather identification of a cockerel.

 

[Medda]

Thanks all. It's a mixed flock of: 2 red sex link, 2 gold sex link, 1 black sex link, 4 Easter Egger, 1 buckeye, and 2 welsummer - all pullet. Now with this guy, I have 1 EE cockerel and now one buckeye cockerel.

With 2 males and 12 females, do you think they will be okay or should I rehome one of the males? I haven't seen any human aggression in either one of the males yet and I have never seen them be aggressive towards each other (yet).
Thanks, Medda

 

[holm25]

Thanks all. It's a mixed flock of: 2 red sex link, 2 gold sex link, 1 black sex link, 4 Easter Egger, 1 buckeye, and 2 welsummer - all pullet. Now with this guy, I have 1 EE cockerel and now one buckeye cockerel.

With 2 males and 12 females, do you think they will be okay or should I rehome one of the males? I haven't seen any human aggression in either one of the males yet and I have never seen them be aggressive towards each other (yet).
Thanks, Medda

Nope I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

[beccaWA]

Beautiful Buckeye roo!

 

[beccaWA]

I did not say "never" select for color on females. I said: "With females, select for body type first, never color." (emphasis added). I did not say color was not important. (Where is that?)
No, I often see white tips on juvenile feathers, especially tips of wings; it is not uncommon at all. The young birds go through seven sets of juvenile feathers before attaining their adult feathers. As you know, I have had success showing Buckeyes and teaching others how to breed them and those folks have had astounding success. I always teach never select females first for color; select for type, then go through the color valuation.

Thanks for the reply. I haven't been in here for a while! My juveniles have grown out of the white feather tips. Unfortunately, I lost two to a predator. Now, I just have one pullet and an accidental roo left.

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Thanks for the reply. I haven't been in here for a while! My juveniles have grown out of the white feather tips. Unfortunately, I lost two to a predator. Now, I just have one pullet and an accidental roo left.

Ugh. That stinks. Are you able to keep your roo so that you can build up your numbers?