The Buckeye Thread

[buckeyechicken]

Congratulations! Those once a year publications are really popular with people just starting out in poultry. It'll be great to get them thinking "Buckeye" instead of the usual Production Red and Sex Links. Keep up the good work.

If I am not mistaken this publication comes out Bi-monthly or at least that is when I get my copies

 

[Blueface]

The bottom line is: It's a win for the breed! The more exposure the buckeyes can get, the better of the buckeyes will be! They are a great breed of poultry for beginners and "experienced" breeders alike! It is something the creator would have loved to see!!!!

 

[buffalogal]

If I am not mistaken this publication comes out Bi-monthly or at least that is when I get my copies

So it does. I was thinking it's that big $10.00 annual chicken magazine they sell at the franchise feed stores. Bi monthly is even better timing, urban hobby farmers (

) who bought 3 or 4 baby chicks will be going through about a bag of feed about every two months so it should garner plenty of attention.

 

[slfarms]

So it does. I was thinking it's that big $10.00 annual chicken magazine they sell at the franchise feed stores. Bi monthly is even better timing, urban hobby farmers ( ) who bought 3 or 4 baby chicks will be going through about a bag of feed about every two months so it should garner plenty of attention.

Lol it's not just "urban" hobby farmers that will be picking it up. Plenty of large breeders buying feed will buy as well. I've seen the mag sold at stores other than feed stores as well.

 

[buffalogal]

Lol it's not just "urban" hobby farmers that will be picking it up. Plenty of large breeders buying feed will buy as well. I've seen the mag sold at stores other than feed stores as well.

Of course not, but the magazine *is* called "Hobby Farms" for a reason.

They're written to appeal to the poultry neophyte, the impulse buyer of fluffy baby chicks in the spring, the folks who didn't even know chickens come in colors, much less breeds. They provide a valuable service with articles on basic animal husbandry and the joys of keeping chickens that are designed to inspire the new owner. We *want* those new people to be interested in Buckeyes (really, any standard breed of poultry) because while 90% of the people who buy the magazine will have tired of chickens and move on to the "next thing" within 3 years, 10% will stick it out for 5 years and upgrade to standard bred birds and maybe 5% will eventually become breeders. Considering how many breeds are in decline, it's great that the Buckeye can garner recognition every 4 years or so in a glossy, full color magazine. Truth be told, it's great when *any* of the old breeds are featured.

My local feed store carries a rack of Leanin' Tree greeting cards, but I've never seen any of those magazines for sale anywhere but the franchise stores. Around here, the franchise (I call them farmer-lite) stores are geared to the urban hobbyist; the person just starting out with four hens in a rabbit hutch in the backyard, someone who bought a house with five acres that they want to keep mowed like a lawn, or the ubiquitous family with a preteen daughter and a horse. You can find hunting supplies like automatic feeders and deer stands and corn in easy to carry 25 pound bags for the guy whose regular exercise consists of walking from the house to the car five days a week, decorative country themed knick knacks, a selection of clothing in pink or camo or John Deere green, some fencing, riding lawnmower parts and load it yourself bagged feed. But when you get serious about your livestock and poultry, around here you're more likely to buy about a half ton of feed at a time from one of the local feed stores that might not have scented candles and Ertil toys for the kids, but the feed is going to be consistently good quality. that's not to say the franchise stores are bad, I just prefer to support a locally owned business that understands the value of customer service. Back up to the dock and they send out a polite young man to load it up.

*sigh* Now if they would only let me borrow one of those guys to take home and help me UNload it, I'd be set.

 

[campbellorchard]

Ok. As a newer member of the back yard chicken community. With two and a half acres. only a handful of buckeyes and Cornish along with my silkies.
I guess I did not realize I was purchasing the chicken worlds version of the national enquirer. I guess I also did not realize that such an attitude was held towards the bigger "farm lite" stores. Or us "newbies". Not cool.
I buy grain from a local mill. I shop at my local hobby farm store because I find what I need at the right price. In my area we don't have those hard core farm stores. And I'm not sure if I would shop at them anyway if a newbie isn't knowledgable enough to know the difference.
What I find truly awakening is that this attitude is held toward us neophytes who are ecstatic to see a buckeye in glossy print, and in small farms you can have sustainable living. Kinda the new "fad". I also find it interesting that a link was put up to another article and that was great and fine and noteworthy. I don't care if its silkies,Cornish ,or the bucks I want to read about them. And I don't want to pay ten bucks a pop for a magazine.
As a newbie there are tells in these threads of who to listen to. Who to scroll past and who I should follow if I want to grow my "back yard" flock. I know who I will be scrolling past in the future and for all the newbies out there pay close attention. By the way hobby farms with daughters and horses are the coolest in my book! Just sayin!

Edited by Staff

 

[Marengoite]

My local feed store carries a rack of Leanin' Tree greeting cards, but I've never seen any of those magazines for sale anywhere but the franchise stores. Around here, the franchise (I call them farmer-lite) stores are geared to the urban hobbyist; the person just starting out with four hens in a rabbit hutch in the backyard, someone who bought a house with five acres that they want to keep mowed like a lawn, or the ubiquitous family with a preteen daughter and a horse. You can find hunting supplies like automatic feeders and deer stands and corn in easy to carry 25 pound bags for the guy whose regular exercise consists of walking from the house to the car five days a week, decorative country themed knick knacks, a selection of clothing in pink or camo or John Deere green, some fencing, riding lawnmower parts and load it yourself bagged feed. But when you get serious about your livestock and poultry, around here you're more likely to buy about a half ton of feed at a time from one of the local feed stores that might not have scented candles and Ertil toys for the kids, but the feed is going to be consistently good quality. that's not to say the franchise stores are bad, I just prefer to support a locally owned business that understands the value of customer service. Back up to the dock and they send out a polite young man to load it up.

*sigh* Now if they would only let me borrow one of those guys to take home and help me UNload it, I'd be set.

I'm curious what you mean by the "franchise" stores. Are you talking TSC and Rural King? They do have the hunting supplies and pink camo and rubber boots with butterflies on them. And I've never had a problem with customer service because the kids working there are usually FFA kids or they are showing at the fair when they're not working so they pretty much know what they're talking about.

And those cute rubber boots with the butterflies on them - you know where else I saw them? Our 4H leader and her daughter wear them on their 3rd generation dairy farm that's one of the largest in our county. And nearly every farmer around us that has a tool box in their pickup bed got it from TSC. And the local franchise TSC does carry Hobby Farms and Backyard Chickens and all the other magazines. So I'm really curious as to why you think chains like TSC are "farmer-lite"?

On the other hand, your experience is probably shaped by the market you live in. Since we're all rural round here, our stores don't really cater to the urban hobbyist. Yes, we have our share of 5 acre places, but they are also the ones that have the Fresh Eggs sign out and sell produce off a wagon all summer. You may consider them a lower class of farm life, but where I live, they are the heart and soul of 4H, country life, and preservation of non-commercial breeds of livestock. Just try and buy a Tamworth hog around here from a big pork producer. You can't do it. I know of only one farmer in our county who breeds them. Shetland sheep? I can take you two farms. That's it. And neither one of them are over 7 acres. If you want Suffolks and Corriedales, I can easily get you enough fill a trailer, but it's the "hobby" farmer that is keeping the lesser known breeds alive. Everybody and their cousin has Boer goats, but I only saw one La Mancha exhibitor this year. The Herefords and Angus and Holsteins had whole rows at the fair, but only one farm was showing Jerseys. And no Guernseys, Ayershires, Dexters, or Galloways. We need those "hobby" farmers to preserve the old breeds.

As for chickens, I was talking to a girl at school tonight who was bragging on her Blue Andalusians her mom bought at the fair this year. They aren't show quality since they lack the lacing, but she's excited about them and so are her parents. She also has some silkies and Black Australorps. But must of all, she has enthusiasm. Exactly what we need to get the next generation going. I'm sure you didn't intend to come across as condescending and insulting to hobby farmers, but we graduated a girl last year whose team placed first in Avian Bowl and she earned an agricultural scholarship. She shopped at the franchise store and they live on about 5 acres and I daresay she knows more about chickens than 90% of the people on BYC. You don't have to be big to be serious about farming. Our 4H president is a senior this year, was elected fair King, serves on the Jr. Fair Board, and Poultry Committee, took a team to nationals for Avian Bowl this past year and has spoken the last couple years at the State Extension's Poultry Clinic. He seems pretty serious about his chickens. They have less than 5 acres. He shops at TSC. I only list them because there are plenty of "serious" people who shop at the franchise stores, who have 5 acres or less, and make significant contributions to the agricultural community. Like I said, I'm sure you didn't intend to insult most of the BYC readership and many of my close friends in our county, but I thought I would bring it to your attention because what you've written comes across in a somewhat negative light.

 

[campbellorchard]

Great news! My buckeye pics were used in the jan/feb 2014 edition of the magazine; Chickens: from Hobby Farms. It was a 4 page article about Bringing back the Buckeye! They even used buckeye nuts that were off the farm.

Congratulations Joe! I can not wait to buy this magazine. We have been waiting to see these beautiful birds on glossy pages. Thank you for all the hard work and dedication you and your family have done to bring the bucks to the show cage and then to champion row! How awesome is it for us on here to have a mentor who will educate and help us do the best we can with the buckeye breed. Makes me proud to be an Ohioan with Buckeyes!

 

[buffalogal]

I'm at a loss to understand how someone could misconstrue what I wrote to think I am being insulting to "BYC readership" or "newbys".

The magazine *is* written mainly for those new to poultry, and the franchise stores like TSC *are* designed to cater to the Urban Hobby Farmer and small landowners. If you read a little closer, you will realize my remark about someone with "five acres that they want to keep mowed like a lawn", is specifically about people who are NOT farming. Most folks who start out with poultry do not walk into an APA show, track down a top breeder and buy birds. They happen to be in a farm store to purchase something else and on an impulse buy a few chicks. There is nothing wrong with that. Everyone starts somewhere and we aren't all Poultry Royalty with a generation or two behind us who have had chickens since God was a little boy. The point is that those are the people the franchise stores WANT to attract as customers because they know the brand new owner of those three or four hatchery chicks is going to need a brooder lamp, grit, feeders, oyster shell, waterers, and feed. IOW, the customer is going to keep coming back and spending money on poultry supplies as long as they have the birds, and if, while they are there, they buy a new toy or t shirt or a pair of butterfly boots that is just that much better for the store's bottom line. Management realizes their customers aren't generally walking in to buy a ton of feed every week so the store makes up sales with other, less utilitarian items. There is nothing condescending in pointing out that they understand their market. I don't know, your 3rd generation dairy farmer friends in the butterfly boots might be buying their feed at the local TSC, though that particular retail chain doesn't sell bulk feed, and they don't deliver. Unless you grow and mix your own grains, I've found those are two pretty important considerations if you're feeding very many animals that eat as much as a lactating dairy cow. It's the difference between occasional purchases like some cool boots or a toolbox for the pickup and making regular purchases your livelihood depends on. But anything is possible, and as always, YMMV. But hey, next time I'm in the mood for butterfly boots of my own I'll know where to look.

OTOH, traditional feed stores *will* sell you a ton of feed every week, every day, and twice on Friday so you don't run out.

Depending on where you shop, they could also be custom mixing and milling it, and might even deliver it if you're buying enough in bulk. It's not "insulting" to anyone to point out that those stores also understand their customer base. What I wrote was "But when you get serious about your livestock and poultry, around here you're more likely to buy about a half ton of feed at a time from one of the local feed stores that might not have scented candles and Ertil toys for the kids, but the feed is going to be consistently good quality." The point of buying that much livestock and poultry feed at a time isn't that you are "big", it's that you want consistency. (A half ton of feed is only 20 fifty pound bags, but if one fourth is reduced to powder, you are throwing money away) "Serious" has nothing to do with size (either in acres or number of animals) but it has everything to do with experience. As friendly and helpful as that FFA student may be, if I want to discuss what I'm feeding my animals to increase production or ferret out a potential problem, I'm going to want to talk to someone who makes his or her living formulating, mixing and selling feed, rather than a high school student with a part time job.

The only "not cool" thing about pointing out that most people who buy chickens don't keep them even three years, and only a small percentage will go on to raise standard bred poultry is that it's true. They move or get sick or die or the kids need to be driven to activities or a dog gets in and kills everything and they're heartbroken or the neighbors complain or the SO complains or someone is allergic to feathers or they just loose interest. It happens every day. That is not an attitude, it's just a fact. Concerning magazines like Hobby Farms Chickens, I specifically wrote that "They provide a valuable service with articles on basic animal husbandry and the joys of keeping chickens that are designed to inspire the new owner. We *want* those new people to be interested in Buckeyes (really, any standard breed of poultry)" and that "Considering how many breeds are in decline, it's great that the Buckeye can garner recognition every 4 years or so in a glossy, full color magazine. Truth be told, it's great when *any* of the old breeds are featured." How anyone could read that as either negative about the magazine or discouraging and insulting to a neophyte with their first chicks is beyond me.

 

[Metella]

Your post did have a distinctive anti-5 acre farm bent - perhaps you did not intend it to.

I was going to post - but d****d if campbellorchard didn't almost echo exactly what I would have written.

My place is 7 acres and is basically a little sustainable workhouse AND I still manage to have 2 full sized horses to tickle my fancy. If the economy collapsed, my little place will keep us going and all I'll have to do extra is use the neighbor's field to feed my horses. I go to BOTH a local grain store and TSC - depending on where I am, what I want and how much is in my budget ...

When you talked about buying a half a ton - that area really did come off to imply to those that bought 50 pound bags only were just dabbling in things and really were not "farmers" So it felt distinctly to have a slam to anyone with small acreage. So maybe see if any of that is deep in you, it came out - it can be - I'm not telling you what to think, you can even think that if you like.

I think that anyone who plants a garden or keeps a chicken or more - is learning valuable skills, and is an asset ..... here is my bias - the bigger farms are not husbanding the land, they are using it up -- as a general operating rule (with exceptions) and they usually plant just one or a few crops - and really can't withstand true natural forces (pests, weather etc) and so may look like a juggernaut - but they are actually the weak link in our food chain. Buying a ton of feed instead of only needing small supplements to their feed is not really farming - they are raping the land.

ha ha ha not really - only some of them .... but you see my point, eh ? I'm out on my land every day, petting my orchard and I have excellent weed control with no chemicals, and I'm all smug about that. I'm not even a tree hugger ! (well, maybe a little, but I'm not too crunchy) I just don't want to eat that crap.


As for the mag - I plan to snatch it up as soon as it hits the shelves in my TSC - because my local grain/farm store doesn't carry any mags. Each region has a different flavor of what the locals want and I like that difference. I'd hate this whole country to just look the same except for the landscape backdrop. Can't wait to see Buckeye's in the spotlight.