Was just thinking today of starting a new batch of wonderful Buckeye chickens. I’ve been so busy with other projects, my girls have gotten quite “mature” in chicken years…though they are still busy eating garden weeds and any bug they can catch, shredding compost and laying the occasional egg. Haven’t heard of the wonderful Buckeye? Buckeyes are a heritage breed that would have probably been lost if not for the efforts of the wonderful American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Here’s what their website says about Buckeyes:
Buckeye Chicken
The Buckeye is a dual-purpose breed of chicken with a deep, lustrous red color of plumage. They have yellow legs and skin, and, thanks to their pea comb, are very cold-weather hardy. While Buckeyes adapt readily to a variety of living conditions, they do best under free-range conditions, or conditions where they have room to move around. Because of their active nature they do not do especially well in small confined spaces. Roosters weigh approximately nine pounds; hens weigh approximately six and a half pounds and lay medium-sized, brown eggs. Buckeyes were developed by Mrs. Nettie Metcalf of Warren, Ohio, and appropriately named after the “Buckeye State.” Buckeyes are unique in the American Class of chickens in that it is the only breed created entirely by a woman.
Now that’s pretty cool! They also have made it into Slow Food’s Ark of Taste for their rich meat.
So please enjoy this flashback post from 2009, when the girls were just five months old:
Buckeye Pullets at 5 months—Winter 2009
Is that a handsome gal or what? The Buckeye pullets are 5 months old now and beginning to look like real grown-up hens. (You can find out more about Buckeyes by clicking here to go to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy page on the breed.) I’ve raised this batch of Buckeyes and Australorps from day-old chicks. We only had one chick lost out of two-dozen, and that was on New Year’s Eve to a huge owl who went inside the open door of the chicken shed at dusk and got an Australorp…
Here are the girls at scratch-time – their favorite time of the day!
The Buckeyes are almost as big as the Australorps, but the Australorps are heavier. I still love those big yellow feet on the Buckeyes.
So once I tossed out the scratch, I couldn’t get them to pay me and the camera any more attention.
Thanks for stopping by Larrapin Garden!
