October has been a great month for the Buckeye Nation!

October 20, 2015 – Poultry show season is in full swing and October has been a super month for American Buckeye Club members and their Buckeyes!  Early in the month Shumaker Farm’s took Reserve Grand Champion with a Buckeye Cockerel at the SOPA in Lucasville, Ohio.

Joe Shumaker's Reserve Champion Large Fowl Buckeye

Last week at the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh, NC the Taylor family did extremely well with their Buckeyes.  Marie Taylor and her daughter teamed up to show a few Buckeyes at the fair in the open and junior divisions and came home with Grand Champions in both!  Congratulations to the Taylor family for their hard work and dedication to the breed.

Taylor Family's Grand Champion Buckeyes

Best Female (Youth) - Pictures by Marie Taylor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During this past weekend, October 18^th, there was the Pee Dee Poultry Show in South Carolina where ABC member Ginni Hallman participated in her very first poultry show with a few Buckeyes.  Her Buckeye Cockerel, which was just 6 months old, won Reserve American and Ginni was very pleased to say the least!

Ginni Hallman's Reserve Champ American - Photo by Edward Taner

 

Finally, at the Lebanon Indiana Poultry Show, members Bill and Geri Dyke also participated in their very first poultry exhibition and their Buckeye Cockerel won Best of Breed and pullet won Reserve!  Congratulations to everyone who participated in poultry shows so far this month and did well with their Buckeyes.  In addition, thanks to ALL who are breeding, raising and showing Buckeyes, we need to continue spreading the word about this fantastic fowl.

Bill & Geri Dyke's Champion Buckeye (BV) Cockerel

Buckeye Pullet Reserve of Breed (RV)

 

Eastern Ohio Poultry Association inaugural show a BIG hit!

September 2014 Summit County Fairgrounds, Ohio – The Eastern Ohio Poultry Association (EOPA) held the inaugural poultry show on September 20-21 and had an outstanding turn out with over 1000 fowl entries!  Among the many National, State, and Regional meets The American Buckeye Club held their 2nd club meet for 2014  and the ABC's 4th overall meet.  Aside from the outstanding attendance at the EOPA it was a great weekend for the Buckeye breed in both the Open and Junior events. 

< Bob Gilbert judging RIR's 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 < Mrs. Medley at work

 

A total of 30 buckeyes were exhibited by several different exhibitors, 24 large fowl and 6 bantams. Best of Breed, Champion American, Grand Champion Large Fowl and Reserve Super Grand Champion of the Show in the Open went to Shumaker Farm with a Buckeye cockerel. Shumaker Farm also had the Reserve of Breed with a very nice pullet. In the Junior Class, Sydney Shumaker earned Best of Breed with a nice Buckeye pullet but won the American Class with her outstanding Rhode Island Red Hen! Kayleigh Horton of Montpelier, OH earned Reserve of Breed with another representation of the breed with a Buckeye pullet and she was all smiles.

                                    Kayleigh Horton's Res. Ch. Buckeye Hen

As for the Bantams, Shumaker Farm earned Best of Breed (cockerel) and Reserve of Breed (pullet) in the Open Show while Sydney Shumaker earned Best of Breed (cockerel) and Reserve of Breed (pullet) in the Junior Show. Sydney's Best of Breed cockerel finished winning the AOCCL class. In our opinion, that is not bad for her first time exhibiting the bantam Buckeye breed!

We would like to thank Nathanael Medley and the entire Medley family for putting together an outstanding show!  Even with this being their first effort they will be hard pressed to improve on it for next year, at least everyone from the ABC felt their first show was a huge success.

A few ABC members and the Medley Family

Again congratulations to Joe & Sydney Shumaker of Shumaker Farm for their victories at the EOPA and showing the world they are truly breeders of Champion Buckeyes!  When asked about the Buckeye Cockerel that nearly won the whole show, Joe had this to say, "This young Buckeye Cockerel that was selected is a 4th generation Champion! His great grand sire, grand sire, and sire have all made it to Champion Row! With this being his first show, he'll only get better. The future looks very promising."

Joe & Sydney Shumaker with a Buckeye Bantam (AOCCL Champion)

Sydney Shumaker accepting the Reserve Super Grand Champion

Trophy from Nathan Medley

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                            Here are a few more photos from the EOPA 2014 show!

Buckeye Row (Large Fowl Open)

A view of the Arena from the Sale Pens

Champion American, Grand Champion Large Fowl, and

Reserve Super Grand Champion of the Show

Another outstanding Shumaker Farm Buckeye Cockerel

APA and Ohio State Senate Recognizes FIRST Buckeye "Grand Master Exhibitor"

Dayton, Ohio - June 6, 2014


The first ever "Grand Master", perhaps in the entire history of the Buckeye breed, was announced with recognition from the American Poultry Association (APA) Secretary early this month prior to the release of the APA's 2014 Year Book.  In order to achieve "Grand Master" within the APA one must achieve 100 or more points showing the same variety of fowl. Shumaker Farms Poultry has reached this milestone while showing their Buckeyes for only 4 short years!  Joe Shumaker and his daughter Sydney are a father daughter team that have been breeding and showing Buckeyes around the Midwest since 2009.  The Shumaker's raise their poultry in Wilmington, Ohio which is located in the Southwest portion of the Buckeye state.


Joe Shumaker had this to say to American Buckeye Club Members;

"Hey everyone, exciting news for Buckeye Nation and myself. The Buckeye breed officially has its first Grand Master. I confirmed it with secretary of the APA. I successfully earned enough points to be recognized as a Master Breeder last year and will be recognized in the APA yearbook. I had 91 points towards the Grand Master going into 2014. After winning in Marietta, OH and in Frankfort, KY this year, I have enough points to recognized as the first ever Buckeye Grand Master!"


In addition to the Shumaker's achievement being posted in the 2014 APA Yearbook, Joe also received an honor from the Ohio State Senate as you can see and read below;

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The American Buckeye Club would also like to congratulate Shumaker Farms Poultry for a job well done!

Buckeyes win BIG at Bluegrass Poultry Association Show Frankfort, KY

The American Buckeye Club would like to congratulate Joe and Sydney Shumaker of Shumaker Farms for their tremendous success on April 5, 2014.  Here is a report in Joe's very own words;

"April 5th; the day started out chilly!! Where has spring gone?!?! A fellow breeder (Jeff Lay), Sydney and myself took a ride down to the Bluegrass Poultry Association's spring event to exhibit our buckeyes. It was a great day full of laughter and enjoyment! There were 14 buckeyes present (17 entered by 5 exhibitors but 1 was unable to make it); 2 exhibitors from Ohio and 2 from Kentucky. The show ...had just over 700 birds primarily bantams but the American class had approximately 30 birds in it. I was hoping the buckeyes would have a good showing and they did but the majority of the buckeyes present could have been better which is a shame although I expected it. Sydney and I won the Champion American with a cock bird and Reserve Champion American with a cockerel. This is very exciting! That cockerel is going to be quite the bird next year as he matures! The cock bird went on to earn Champion Large Fowl honors to put a cap on a wonderful day! Looking forward to the next show!"

Certainly sounds like a great day for the Buckeye breed and Shumaker Farms, way to go Joe and Sydney!  Below is a picture of "Champ" the bird with multiple Championship wins;

Buckeye Hatching Eggs & Buckeye Chicks

Every year around this time we get hundreds of emails, phone calls and text messages from folks wanting to purchase Buckeye hatching eggs or day old Buckeye chicks.  The American Buckeye Club's "Breeder Directory" page is a great first place to look!  If you cant find a breeder in your area or state consider contacting out of state breeders, many will ship to ALL parts of the USA.  Hatcheries are another option to consider if you do not have any desire to breed your Buckeyes in the future!  However, hatcheries typically sell day old chicks only.

Buying hatching eggs is generally more risky than day old chicks but hatching eggs are lower in cost as well.  Shipping hatching eggs through the USPS can result in poor hatches due to temperature swings and vibration.  Many buyers report good results from buying hatching eggs but the risk is always present.  If you purchase hatching eggs, we recommend having them shipped in late April thru mid June when temperatures are more stable across the USA.  In addition, we suggest you make arrangements to pick up the box of hatching eggs at your post office.  The seller can write "Call and Hold for Pick-Up" on the box along with your phone number and the post master will call you when they arrive at the post office.  This insures your hatching eggs don't ride around all day in the back of a mail truck or get dropped by a clumsy mail carrier!  Hatch rates can be dramatically improved with this simple practice.

Finally, don't buy Buckeyes from someone claiming they have a "Certified" or "Heritage" flock of Buckeyes!  This is a complete scam and nobody is qualified to certify Buckeye flocks and there is no such thing as a heritage Buckeye.  Don't be fooled by fancy websites that make these claims because they are generally selling some of the worst Buckeyes on the market.  The American Buckeye Club does NOT support the people offering "certification" of Buckeyes nor do we promote this "heritage" nonsense that has come about in recent years! We recommend "Standard Bred" Buckeyes provided by breeders who use the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection as their guide.



Photos provided by Shumaker Farm Buckeyes and we recommend you visit their website at www.shumakerfarmbuckeyes.com to learn more!

If you have any questions or comments please direct them to me, Jeff Lay at The American Buckeye Club and my email address is  jlay3@woh.rr.com

Buckeye Chicken Facts

With the Buckeye chick hatching season underway (or just around the corner for some) we thought it was time to share some FACTS about this fantastic fowl we call the Buckeye! Without a lot of fanfare or further ado lets get right into the Buckeye chicken facts;

1.) The ONLY breed of chicken developed by a woman, Nettie Metcalf of Warren, Ohio.

2.) An American class breed, accepted by the APA in 1904 and first found in the 1905 edition of the APA Standard of Perfection.

3.) The ONLY American class fowl that sports a Pea Comb.

4.) Developed from Barred Plymouth Rocks, Buff Cochins, Black Breasted Red Game Fowl and Dark Cornish (known as Indian Games in those days).

5.) A Dual Purpose fowl, meaning Buckeyes are good layers and good providers of meat.

6.) Buckeyes lay a medium to large Brown egg.

7.) Named after the state of Ohio, Buckeyes or Buckeye Reds as they were first called were given the name Buckeye because they originated in the Buckeye state!

8.) Buckeyes are NOT Rhode Island Reds (RIR's) and DID NOT originate from RIR's.

9.) A bar of slate under color in the Buckeyes back is what makes the Buckeye unique compared to other red breeds.

10.) Buckeyes are NOT endangered or nearly as rare as some other poultry breeds.

11.) The American Buckeye Club is the "original" Buckeye club dating back to 1909.

12.) Buckeyes are typically either "Standard Bred" or "Utility" (think hatchery stock) there is no such thing as a "Heritage Buckeye".

13.) Male Buckeyes, known as cockerels or cocks, are NOT typically aggressive.