Buckeye

in 2013 I got five Buckeyes as part of a batch of nine chicks that were the first chickens I've ever owned. They are great! The only downside is that I ended up with four cockerels and only one pullet out of this batch of straight run. They were easy to keep, they quickly took to free ranging in the yard (started briefly at two weeks), and were very inquisitive birds. They weren't scared of much; I would say that they were an ideal mix of wary and curious. I kept the cockerels until about six months until butchering and they dressed out very nicely (the two larger birds were probably 9lbs live weight) and tasted great! The only con I could think of was that it took them so long to get to butchering weight; however I wasn't free ranging them constantly with a large supply of bugs (that may have been a factor). Great birds and I will definitely keep more of these in the future.

I have a 1yr old hen- lays well. Friendly, good forager, just a happy and goofy chicken all around.

When I was buying chicks at the feed store and picking out breeds, there was a guy in line who looked like he knew something about chickensand he said the buckeyes were really good chickens. There were only 2 left, but I got them and still have them, a half year later. They have not begun laying yet, but I like their attitude. More friendly than the others, but seem pretty low on the pecking order of 17!

Buckeyes are a nice dual purpose bird; they lay between 150 to 200 large brown eggs a year. Extra males, with their wide breasts, dress out nicely. They forage very well (they eat pretty much anything that moves: bugs, lizards, frogs, mice, whatever, if it moves they eat it.)

Buckeyes get along with each other and humans well. They are not flighty and the hens are almost too friendly, when we walk into the pen we have to shoo them away with our feet!
They are the only breed of American chicken created by a woman, Mrs. Nettie Metcalf of Ohio, and the only American breed with a pea comb, which means no frostbite in winter (unless you live in Saskatoon or someplace like that.) They tolerate heat and cold well, some will go broody (if you prefer them to raise their own babies) but are not excessively so, and we think they are just an all around perfect homestead chicken.

The best rooster I've had was a Buckeye. In the brooder they always run to my hand to see what was going on, and in the coop they were always the first ones out. I had a couple and they both turned out to be roosters so I gave one to my mom and it was the same for her - great reviews! My Buckeye would always run up to me to see what food scraps I was bringing him so he could distribute to his girls. I could pick him up no problem, he would be relax not all tensed trying to get out. He saved my hens multiple times. He attacked the neighbours dog that was chasing the hen and then ran in the opposite direction of the hens to bring the dog away from his girls to keep them safe. He was ruff and tuff when needed and gentle with my family (he was ok with my dogs...go figure!). He died this spring when a racoon busted my hardware wire on the coop window...the hens lived and he died. Protector till the end.

I didn't know what I was missing until I got my Buckeye...and now no rooster can live up to the Buckeye standards.

we have one buckeye hen. shes very beautiful but our other hens pick on her and shes a bit skittish. for some reason she hasn't layed yet or she did and we cant tell her eggs from everybody else.

I love my buckeyes, they are so sweet and friendly. I hope it's just a streak of bad luck with them but one died at one week; one died at seven months (we were told it might have been egg bound); and now a third has a bent beak at two months. It isn't a scissor beak, just the tip. Her mouth aligns perfectly. My husband said she will wear it off when she goes outside and pecks at the ground. I hope these three grow up okay because they are great hens.

I really want to get some Buckeyes! They sound like a really awesome chicken breed that would be fun to have! Not like I need more chickens, though! Lol.

My hen was bought at 11 months old, after producing many chicks for the show breeder. She is just out of a 3 week isolation, and is showing a great deal of friendlness and wants to be with me everywhere--eats right out of me hand. Very happy with this breed, I will have more.

i realy want a female Buckeye

My husband and I received a buckeye hen and a buckeye rooster by accident. We ordered a straight run of rhode island pullets and ended up with 2 buckeyes. When my husband butchered all the roosters I told him to save the buckeye, not knowing at the time what it was, because he was unique looking. That was one of the best decisions I ever made.

These are the friendliest, calmest birds I have raised. Instead of shrieking in fear and running when you work in the brooder, they come running to see what you are doing.

Now that they are in a coop, you have to take extra care not to step on them as they are curious about everything. They 'talk' to each other a lot at bed time.

Highly recommend, please take care to purchase from a reputable breeder. Buckeyes were almost extinct so it is important to breed to standard to maintain the qualities that make them such a unique bird.

I have had Buckeyes for quite a few months now and can say they have captured my heart.
I have also been blessed with Champion Bloodlines...which is rare for a beginner despite I have raised chicken my entire life.
These birds are beautiful to look at, and very thoughtful & thinking birds.
My hens will jump in my arms to see what I am up to, sometimes coop cleaning is difficult to these beautiful & curious birds.
I have been blessed with some champions myself from this great bloodline.
These birds have been cooped & held for 6 days during blizzards and are fine....no fighting amongst themselves......the cockerels mature very slowly and are heavy at a young age.
By 5 mo old they begin to broaden, and by 10 mo old they thicken until you will be surrpised by what appears to be a different bird entirely.
Lanky and gangle at 4 mo of age...they grow slowly & are spectacular when they mature.
Docile & friendly, I recommend to anyone who wants a good layer.
healthy even in Blizzard conditions and lay a commercial equivilant of a large to XL egg.
Pullet eggs at 3 weeks are shown above with my ruler, and it only gets better folks!
Last phot of chicks is Buckeyes and Black Javas.

A great dual purpose breed for the northerner. Our birds are very friendly, with the hens practically underfoot when they see us. They are rather spunky and outgoing and make a great pet for the small backyard chicken enthusiast, and they are also productive enough to be considered good dual-purpose fowl for a small farmer.

Our hens have proven to be excellent layers, but did take 7+ months to mature. We were very surprised how large the eggs were even when the girls were pullets. We do not give our hens a light during the winter but they are still laying very well.

Meat wise the boys grew slowly, but they made up for that in taste. The meat was rather earthy, ironically almost nutty tasting. lol

In diet they aren't as piggish as some breeds we have raised, but they do require a bit of extra protein to grow to their full potential. They do forage well if you want to cut back on the feed bill.

I did mention temperament as a con as well as a pro. Most Buckeye breeders have claimed their roosters to be very friendly, but we had some boys that didn't get this memo. Thankfully, our breeders are very well behaved with humans and their flock mates.

Neither being on the top, or the bottom of the pecking order they easily fit into a mixed flock

Wonderful breed of chickens in the northern climates. Gentle roosters that make this breed a blessing.