ABOUT BUCKEYES:
    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.

    We got our first Buckeyes in 2006 from our friend Matt John, of Shady
    Lane Poultry Farm. Matt obtained his original stock from John Brown of
    Ohio. Matt only had a few at that time, so we started with just four birds.
    But we fell in love with them immediately, and the following year got
    more from both Matt as well as the Livestock Breeds Conservancy,
    thanks to the generous help of Don Schrider. Later we added some birds
    from Duane Urch, to improve color and reduce sun bleaching.

    By the end of 2007 we had done so well showing our Buckeyes that our
    older daughter asked me to start a breed club for them, since none existed
    at that time. In 2008 I started a Yahoo Group for these wonderful birds,
    and at this point we have over 300 members! Stop by to check it out here.

    In 2009 we and other breeders started a proper breed club for Buckeyes,
    the American Buckeye Poultry Club. It is a registered non-profit, and
    an Associate Member of the American Poultry Association and the
    American Bantam Association.


    And see this page for our thoughts on poultry clubs, and
    why there are two Buckeye clubs at this time.

    Currently membership rates for the ABPC are as follows:

    Individual Membership is $15
    Farm/Family Membership is $25
    Youth Membership is $5
    Youth Partner Membership with the ABPC and the APA-ABA
    Youth Club is $11

    If you are interested in joining, you can pay using PayPal (please send
    payment to this email address: americanbuckeyepoultryclub@gmail.com)
    or send a check, made out to "The American Buckeye Poultry Club" to:

     American Buckeye Poultry Club
     c/o P.O. Box 35
     Williamstown, KY 41097

    And for a ton of great info on these and other heritage birds, including
    productivity studies, see the The Livestock Conservancy website.

    SHOWING:

    (In 2011 we cut back on our show schedule due to economic concerns, but
    are attending a few shows in 2013.)

    Show results for 2013 so far, we've won Best of Breed or higher at every
    show we've attended this year. In early 2014, we didn't get BB at the first
    show we've attended so far, but did have the best Buckeye females in the
    show (we've always been proud of how our females do at shows.)

    We have shown our birds in ABA/APA sanctioned shows since we got
    them, and have done very well with them. We had to take some time off
    from showing for a while (having two kids in college at the same time
    meant a show budget had to be put far down the list for us.) But we're
    back in the fall of 2013, and doing well.

    On October 26th, 2013, one of our pullets won Reserve Champion
    American in the Open show at the Bluegrass Poultry Association fall show.

    The week prior, a cockerel won Best of Breed at the Central Indiana
    Poultry Show.

    And on November 9th, the same cockerel won Best of Breed in the
    American Buckeye Club National Meet at the Ohio National show in
    Columbus, OH, the largest show ever that didn't have either an ABA or
    APA National Meet, with close to 6,000 birds. Several judges commented
    that it was the largest class of Buckeyes they had ever seen!

    In past years, we have done well at shows, and being away seems not to
    have diminished our birds' abilities to place well at shows.

    On October 3, 2009, one of our pullets (seen above) won Reserve
    Champion American in the Open show at The Southern Ohio Poultry
    Breeders Association show at Lucasville, OH, and RB at the Ohio National
    in November of '09 (right behind our friend Chris McCary's gorgeous
    cockerel.) One of our cockerels took BB at the Northeastern Congress
    show in MA on January 16th, 2010.

    In the fall of '07 my daughter won CH American and RCH of the Junior
    Show with her cock bird at the Bluegrass Poultry Association show, and
    she won RCH Large Fowl there in '09. The judge in '07 said he was one
    of the nicest Buckeyes he had ever seen. When we show these birds in
    Open sanctioned shows as adults we typically win BB and/or RB.

    We strive to breed birds to the APA Standard of Perfection, and while we
    can offer no guarantees as to how you will do at shows, chicks or started
    birds you purchase from us come from birds we actually show ourselves
    and do well with. And we've had customers who have won Champion
    Large Fowl at several different shows in the past, on top of our own
    show wins. So when you buy Buckeyes from us, you know the potential
    to do well with them is there.
Buckeyes
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RCH American at Lucasville, 2009
We work hard to keep the pea combs on
our birds clean and according to the
APA Standard of Perfection
Buckeyes, with their pea combs,
make excellent birds for cold climates,
but also do well in warmer areas.
Cock bird, Best of Breed at the
Northeastern Poultry Congress in 2010.
2010 hen at left, 2012 pullet at right.
Photo taken 2/1/13.
2012 Best of Breed at the American
Buckeye Poultry Club National Meet,
held at the OH National in
Columbus, currently standing at stud
at Pathfinders Farm.

"Red Cloud's" sire won RCH of the
Show at the NW Georgia Poultry
Club show 2/2/13, beating some
1,600 other birds to do so. So great
to see Buckeyes doing so well in the
show hall! And thanks to Chris
McCary and John Sullivan for letting
us have Red Cloud to use on our
farm.
RCH American at the Bluegrass
Poultry Association show, 2013
Best of Breed at the Central Indiana
Poultry Show October, 2013.
Best of Breed at the American Buckeye
Poultry Club National Meet, in a class of
41 Buckeyes, one of the largest ever!