Ohio county fair season underway....Buckeyes are winning, too!

It's hard to believe, but county fair season is already underway here in Ohio and every year we are seeing more and more Buckeye chickens entered in the poultry shows.  Both 4H junior exhibitors and the open classes in many Ohio counties are seeing an influx of Buckeyes!  This is GREAT news for the Buckeye breed and it reflects the efforts and hard work by the American Buckeye Club members who are doing ALL they can to "Preserve the Breed".

For example, just this week on Monday, June 18th at the Pickaway County Fairgrounds near Circleville, Ohio we witnessed one of the FIRST county fair Buckeye winners!  Gabrielle Rybinski and her Buckeye pullet took the "Blue Ribbon" for BEST pullet and the Rybinski family is very proud of their daughters accomplishment.

The American Buckeye Club would like to congratulate Gabrielle Rybinski and thank her family for keeping the Buckeye heritage alive and well in Pickaway County, Ohio!  In addition, the ABC is providing a link to ALL the Ohio County Fairs below and we encourage EVERYONE to visit their county fairs this year and look for the Buckeyes. http://www.ohiofairs.org/listoffairs.html

Please help the ABC by supporting the 4H chapters ALL over Ohio, after all the 4H program began here in Ohio back in 1902 and children are the future of poultry keeping!  If you have a child or children in 4H and participate in a county fair with Buckeyes please send us pictures or post them at the Facebook group.  We will be posting ALL the show winners that we receive throughout the 2012 fair season!

New ABC logo T-Shirts available!!!

The American Buckeye Club introduced a "NEW" club LOGO t-shirt in late May and they were available for sale to members at the June 9th Canfield, Ohio ABC annual meet!  Now they are being offered for sale here at the website for $12 each plus $5 shipping.  These shirts are very high quality Jerzee brand "Heavy Weight Cotton" in Cardinal RED with the original 1909 club LOGO in bright white. 

They are selling fast and EVERY Buckeye breeder/owner would love wearing one!  To purchase send an email to jefflay@woh.rr.com with your mailing address and size desired.  All proceeds go toward maintaining the club website, purchasing trophies and ribbons for shows, advertising brochures and to help promote the Buckeye breed in various ways.

Finally, the ABC "Chicken Tees" are also still available and they too are $12 each plus $5 shipping.  The "original" Buckeye "Chicken Tee" is also a Jerzee brand Heavy Weight Cotton T-Shirt in BRIGHT RED with the outline of a Buckeye Rooster and the ABC website address.  You can see a picture of this shirt below as worn by Sydney Shumaker and her father Joe, of Shumaker Farms, Wilmington, Ohio!

Thanks to ALL the ABC members who have already purchased their "Tees" in support of "Preserving the Buckeye breed" and just for the record we now have nearly 140 "Buckeye Chicken" Facebook Group members!  As always the ABC remains the "Original" and now the LARGEST Buckeye club on the internet and we continue to grow.  To join the BEST group of Buckeye Chicken fans on Facebook go to this link; http://www.facebook.com/groups/126598094076064/

1st Annual ABC Poultry Show a Success!!!

June 9, 2012 Canfield, Ohio-  The American Buckeye Club (ABC) held it's FIRST annual meet at the Buckeye Fancy Feather Club Poultry Show on Saturday June 9, 2012 and it was a tremendous success!  Many ABC members attended and TWENTY (20) Buckeyes were on hand for the judging, 14 in the Open and 6 in the Junior class. This made the Buckeye one of the largest groups of birds in the American Class within the Large Fowl category.  In typical fashion, Sydney Shumaker of Shumaker Farms did very well in both classes.  Below are the results as tabulated by the ABC, we are still awaiting the "official" results from the Buckeye Fancy Feather Club;

Open

BB - Buckeye Cock - Clifford Calhoun of Astabula, Ohio
RB - Buckeye Cock - Shumaker Farms of Wilmington, Ohio
#1 - Buckeye Cockerel - Shumaker Farms of Wilmington, Ohio
#2 - Buckeye Cockerel - Richard Presley of Marengo, Ohio
#3 - Buckeye Cockerel - Shumaker Farms of Wilmington, Ohio
#1 - Buckeye Hen - Jeff Lay of Miamisburg, Ohio
#1 - Buckeye Pullet - Jeff Lay of Miamisburg, Ohio

Junior

BB - Buckeye Cockerel - Sydney Shumaker of Wilmington, Ohio
RB - Buckeye Cockerel - Dawson Latham of Wapakoneta, Ohio
#3 - Buckeye Cockerel - Alex Presley of Marengo, Ohio
#1 Buckeye Hen - Sydney Shumaker of Wilmington, Ohio
#1 Buckeye Pullet - Alex Presley of Marengo, Ohio

(from right to left are Clifford Calhoun Champion Buckeye Cock Open class, Sydney Shumaker Champion Buckeye Cockerel Junior class and Dawson Latham Reserve Champion Buckeye Cockerel Junior class.)

In addition to the Trophies awarded by the American Buckeye Club, both the Champions received a 4 pound bag of Omega Ultra Egg supplement compliments of our Sponsor Omega Fields company!  Dawson Latham was also awarded a special ABC "club trophy" for BEST COLOR for his Buckeye Cockerel in the Junior Class.  We wish to thank all the folks who attended and exhibited their Buckeyes, we enjoyed meeting with everyone and had a great time!  In addition, thanks to the APA judges Gary Overton and Lewis Cunningham as well as the GREAT folks at the Buckeye Fancy Feather Club, Tom Moore - President, Paul Simmons - Vice President and Rhonda Simmons - Secretary/Treasurer.

Congrats to Sydney Shumaker of Shumaker Farms....

On Memorial Day Weekend (May 26 & 27, 2012) the Shumaker clan were exhibiting their poultry at the Lucasville, OH show and at the end of the judging Sydney Shumaker's Buckeye Cock won Champion American and overall Reserve Champion Large Fowl.  We would like to congratulate her for a job well done!

(Sydney with her 4 Time Champion American Buckeye Cock and trophies.)

Shumaker Farms will have this Buckeye alongside several others at the American Buckeye Club's First Annual Meet in Canfield, Ohio on June 9, 2012.  The Buckeye Fancy Feather's Club is sponsoring this APA sanctioned event and we hope to see a number of ABC members exhibiting and/or visiting the show.  Good Luck to EVERYONE who is showing on Saturday!!!

Summer is just around the corner....

As we draw closer to June 21st and the official start of summer many Buckeye breeders are wrapping up their 2012 breeding season!  Hard to believe it's coming to a rapid close, many of you have already put the incubators away for the year but a few of us die-hards are still hatching chicks.  Even when the last broody hen leaves the nest you can still count on that marvel of technology, the incubator!  Today's incubators have come a long way and there are models available today that are "almost" idiot proof.  If you are considering a new 'bator for next season now is the time to conduct a little research and start saving or ask the spouse to spend a little more for Christmas!

We turn out attentions toward raising those young Buckeye babies thru June, July & August.  This can be a rough time for the young fowl especially if you live in a hot humid environment....or in Ohio where it's 90F one day and 45F and raining the next!  Make sure your young birds have plenty of fresh water and every other week add some electrolytes and vitamins to the mixture.  Some folks like to add Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) to their plastic water founts to keep their fowl healthy.  Personally, I can't say it helps a great deal but it certainly can't hurt!  Keeping the waterers clean and feed dry (avoiding mold) are equally important.

When temps change suddenly and chicks get wet illness can take hold quickly so make sure they have a dry place to go when it is raining.  Healthy fowl are less likely to get sick under these weather condition changes but if they do develop a cough or runny nose there are natural ways to help control the spread.  For me personally, I have found GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract) in liquid form to be an ideal medication for treating my Buckeyes when the "sniffles" start.  Just add a few drops in their drinking water for 5-7 days and it often works miracles!  You can find GSE at many health food or drug stores for about $19 for the 4oz bottle but it will last a long time and treat hundreds of birds.

Summer is also a time to step up your predator control.  If you don't have any "live traps" yet, now is the time to go purchase a few!  Set them close to you chicken pens or coops because the raccoons, possums and skunks are probably already visiting at night.  Coyotes and Foxes are a little more difficult to catch in a "live trap" but some do so with success.  For me, I prefer a good light and the old 12 gauge shotgun when it comes to Coyotes and Foxes at my place!  Plan to spend a night or two in the barn or near the chicken coop....I've actually sat on the tailgate of my pick-up next top the barn and had foxes walk right by in search of a chicken dinner.

Finally, plan to attend a few poultry shows this coming fall and now is the time to prepare if you have a desire to show your Buckeyes.  There are poultry shows at county and state fairs as well as independent exhibitions all over the USA.  Find one close to home and just go visit, county fairs are a GREAT place to go and see what is happening within the local poultry community.  You may be surprised NOT to see any Buckeyes at many of these county shows and if you are a breeder of Buckeyes you need to change that in the future!  Talk to parents and kids involved in 4H and offer to help them next season with their very own Buckeye project.  Help "Preserve the Buckeye Breed" anyway you can this summer!!!