Buckeyes are coming!!

la- chicken, will you be selling Buckeye  hatching eggs in the future? Everything is on hold here because of the flu outbreak in Ontario, but hopefully things will quiet down soon.

The chipmunk chick is questionable. Heda says they sometimes hatch with chipmunk patterning. I think this may be due to their recent development as a breed and the breeds used to create Buckeyes.

The variations in buff chick color seem common in brown birds. When I hatched Partridge Chanties I found there was a huge variation in color of the chicks, but the adults were all similar.

As for the little chipmunk guy...I hatched Cornish, Houdans and Crevecoeurs with the Buckeyes. I suspect that little guy is a dark Cornish bantam. He is much smaller.

Tonight I shall check and cull for duck feet....but I don't think I have any!

Derbyshire- I am pretty sure I will sell eggs BUT not until this time next year.
First need to hatch out, grow out and cull back hard.
I will put you down on my make contact list.

I so understand the AI thing. In the back of my mind I wonder if this will all begin again in the Fall. I hope not.

Keep us posted with pictures!

la-chicken I sure will keep you posted! thanks for putting me on your list, I'll be ordering as soon as you are ready! I think I will not be getting anything else in this year. there's a third farm infected now, confirmed today, Thankfully (well not thankfully, it's all horrible) it's inside the 10 km exclusion zone. We are well away from that, but I am still worried and I'm stocking up on Virkon.

Schipperkesue do the really pale yellow chicks grow up to be nice dark red buckeyes too? Is there a lot of colour variability in this breed? I've read that the hens get lighter as they age. I plan to keep a photo record of each chick along with weight at different times, dates for feathering, and first egg laying date--- ? maybe some others- any suggestions for records that I should be keeping?

Derbyshire , my number 1 thing for selection is fast growth ,no matter what breed I lean towards choosing breeders from the fastest maturing chicks.

Good advice BobG
I have never had the Breed But I hear they are a Great Breed

Just did a fast weigh of all the 10-11 week old. (32)
What a range of weight difference. 2.5 pounds to 1.4.
Making the average 1.6 pounds. Looks like only 25% have great weight gains.

In 5 weeks I am going to separate based on weight first. Then in 10 weeks cull again for SOP standards. And I know in all reality I will most likely only will be keeping 10% for first and secondary breeding pens.

LA, mark the biggest and keep good records , one of the biggest mistakes breeders make is not choosing from the fast maturing chicks . If you want a good healthy flock for years too come always breed from the birds with quick growth and good type.

Very helpful Bob G. Buckeyes are getting too small I think to be a useful meat bird.

Thanks!
That is the plan!
Big Healthy Buckeyes! Big Healthy Dark Buckeyes!

So BoB G,  select for fast growth even if you want the best  layers? La-chicken, can you tell the difference between the pullets and cockerels at 11 weeks?  Are the heavier ones the boys?

Derbeyshire:  You want fast growth even if you just want egg production.
Once they lay the first egg…growth stops.  You want large bodies to produce bigger eggs.

When I was taking weights I was not looking at  the sex to much.  Yes, the general rule is the Cockerals will be heavier.

But, you really need to look at the head.  The head is the central area for everything.  Nice  wide large head is the preference generally larger body, heavier weight.  What I have learned is cull narrow heads…makes a narrow body…smaller eggs.

I went out to check on my birds this morning and found 3 chicks outside.  They were just fine considering we had wet snow and rain thru out the night.  These chicks ARE cold hardy!  I was very pleased they since they were locked out of the coop.  My mistake!

Shipperkesue, that chipmunk marked one is not a buckeye, it is another breed, smiling that big smile.  I have never seen one hatch that looked like that, maybe there is, but I don't think so.  Here's a thread that shows some just hatched buckeyes, they are the orange coloured ones, the others are cochins.  Do a search for buckeyes on our forum, and you will see lots of threads, look for mine, there might be some good pictures on the posts.  This is the one with the babes.....
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Have a wonderful day, CynthiaM.

So you can't cull at 11 weeks - or you'd be left with only cockerels! But I guess tag those with the top weights.

Cynthia, I knew he looked a little out of place! He is a dark Cornish bantam. Along with his Houdan and Crevecoeur friends he looks lost in the mass of buff.

The ALBC has a few very useful publications on selecting for egg laying/meat :

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