Description
The name is derived from Ohio’s nickname of “Buckeye State.” The breed was developed in Ohio and first shown in 1902. Recognized by the American Standard of perfection in 1904, it is a dual purpose chicken that lays brown eggs. They are unique in that they are the only breed of chickens created entirely by a woman, Nettie Metcalf of Warren Ohio. Buckeyes body shape is also unique: slanted, short but broad back, very meaty thighs, powerful wings and breast. They are a very active and noted for their vigilant pursuit of mice, some compare them to cats due to this ability. The males produce a range of sounds including a dinosaur-like roar. They have little fear of humans and are possibly too friendly.
Availability
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doverm65 –
I bought the Buckeye’s from Cackle Hatchery and have been very pleased. They sent a few extra than what was ordered and all lived. I ordered one rooster and the rest hens and that is what I received. Buckeye’s are the most beautiful chickens and I love watching them. The rooster is a bit aggressive, but I don’t mind, he is protecting his ladies. The hens give me plenty of eggs and they are broody. I have had other breeds that have no interest in sitting on eggs.
I love my Buckeye’s and will always order through Cackle Hatchery.
Kayla Wagner –
We’ve had our girls for about 5 months and they are thriving so far! Very calm and are beautiful to look at. They arent laying, yet, but hopefully soon.
Elizabeth Dick –
I LOVE this breed, and have been raising them for eight years. Buckeyes are very curious super friendly birds. My last order from Cackle (Spring 2024) was for 8 unsexed chicks, they sent 10, super healthy, clean, active chicks. All are now full grown and have mixed right in with our existing flock. To even include two new roosters. We get a great hatch rate on fertilized eggs and each season we get delicious tasting birds heavy enough for our roaster or fryer. My Buckeyes don’t mind the cold or the snow, they are not big fans of 95+ degree days but they lay consistent, clean, large brown eggs, even as they age. My oldest Buckeye is four years old and still producing though not as often as the first year. (We tend not to send our ladies to the freezer.) They are very well mannered birds and our Buckeye roosters do an excellent job protecting our flock while still socializing calmly with our human family.
Belinda Hardesty –
We ordered 25 straight-run chicks, 5 of each breed we wanted to try out on our homestead, including Buckeyes. Of the Buckeyes we got 3 hens and 2 roosters, all very healthy. One rooster was aggressive, and he got processed, but the other is neither aggressive nor passive, so we kept him to potentially breed out more Buckeyes. We had some really warm weather recently, and there may have been a drop in egg production in the Buckeyes, but that’s why we purposely got different breeds. When the others are laying less in the winter, the Buckeyes and Brahmas will hopefully be going strong. They look very true to breed, with really interesting pea combs that would definitely not be prone to frostbite. They seem to get along well with the other breeds and look to be middle of the pecking order in general. So far we are really liking our Buckeyes and intend on keeping them as one of our homesteading breeds. Not all the breeds we’ve tried have made that list, but the Buckeyes certainly did. It’s a bonus that hubby and I are originally from Ohio and their gorgeous color reminds us of buckeyes and our favorite college football team!
Matthew Naylor –
After lots of research, Buckeyes were the only breed that seemed to be both good foragers and friendly, and winter hardy. Can confirm they are excellent foragers (will hunt down all manner of small creatures). I am new to chickens so I don’t have much to compare regarding friendliness, but I find it highly variable. A few are not bothered by petting and will follow humans around the yard, most avoid it, a few hate it… especially the roosters, who are terrified of human touch. One chicken was clearly mentally retarded, and had to be harvested because of aggressive behavior. My first Cackle order laid all large eggs starting at about 7 mo (first egg in winter), my second batch is laying medium/small after about 4.5 months (first egg in summer). Typically >0.5 eggs per day per bird. All birds survived a zone 3/4 winter without heating (just an insulated coop), but sudden heat waves clearly put them in distress.
Kimberly Matheny –
I ordered Buckeyes in mid March this year. They sent 2 extra buckeye chicks. All healthy, no losses. They haven’t started laying yet but are very close. Big beautiful birds. Friendly, not skittish, they come running when I step outside. I have wanted this breed since finding out it was created by a woman. I’m very happy with them.
dtwflightpath –
I purchased several to see if they would be OK as a dual purpose breed for homestead use, since that it was the breed used to be used for prior to development of fast growing hybrids. Unfortunately, not only did these have slower growth than other dual purpose/heritage breed chickens I have tried, producing cockerels that were quite small at 16-20 weeks, at almost 23 weeks old the remaining pullets have still not started to lay. Would not recommend as layers or as dual purpose birds.
Jaylene Mongeon –
I’m a bird lover, but a chicken newbie. I panic ordered these chicks, because I saw a lot of hatcheries were sold out of pretty much everything. I’m usually the type to research for months before buyng an animal. These chicks turned out to be a great panic buy. I ordered 6 female chicks. I received 7 cute baby chicks 2 days after ship. All but one were active and started eating and drinking right away. The other one sat under the light for about an hour. By the next morning, I couldn’t tell which one that was.
I researched Buckeyes a lot since, and I kept seeing they are slow maturing, and to expect them to lay at 6-7 months. One day when they were almost 20 weeks, I got encouraged to go outside and look in the corner of the run. I found a small chicken egg! Now they are 22 weeks, and I get 5-7 eggs a day! I thought Buckeyes laid late, and more infrequently! These girls are very productive even with some of the hot days in the high 90’s. They definitely don’t like the heat. Me neither! They do love the fan and cold watermelon. They are very friendly, and easy to manage. They love to hunt for bugs. A few days ago I caught them playing tug of war with a snake! I admire their hunting spirit. When I can have more chickens, I will definitely buy more Buckeyes from Cackle. Those cute chicks grew into a lovely bunch of pullets, and exceeded my expectations!
Arin Crebbs –
First, I really enjoy Cackle Hatchery and my past purchases. However, these buckeyes are NOT heat tolerant at all and I wish it was in the description. Out of 6 hens, we are getting about 1 egg a day. They are cold hardy and lay well in the winter, so that is good. I’ve had them for about a year now, so I believe I can give a fair review. Also, some of the birds have been odd mentally. Some also walked around and complained loudly for no reason and it was so bad, I put them down. I mean it was REALLY bad. I was not happy about this. Note: Buckeyes make very good chicken noodle soup, very rich flavor. I got tired of putting the “off” ones down and put the last one in isolation as an experiment. She’s so much happier and stopped complaining and she’s the one I get an egg from in the summer every other day. So weird! I can think of only one reason why this breed would be this way, and I hesitate to mention it. If you understand about breeding, I’ll leave it at that. I’ve ordered more than this breed from Cackle Hatchery with no problems. I’ve also raised many different breeds, and have not had these issues. I will not stop ordering here, but not this breed. Breeds that I have raised from various sources over the years: ISA browns, white leghorns, brown leghorns, plymouth rocks, delawares, and mixed breeds… and buckeyes.
Currently, raising Welsummer chicks from Cackle Hatchery. To drive my point home, the order also included a buckeye male chick that I ordered by accident. At only a few weeks, it acts stupid in comparison to the other chicks and goes around squawking/chirping really loud. Future soup.
jessicacohen2021 –
Overall satisfied but mixed reviews.
Pros:
One of the males is ‘co-captain’ of the flock, i.e. he is not the head rooster but boy is he useful in watching the flock. He knows all 56 chickens and if one has not come in to the barn at dusk, he has let me know twice. Once he flagged me over to a compost pile outside where a chick was hiding, and last night he kept making noise from his roost until I checked and sure enough one of the hens had been locked outside.
The Buckeye hens are started laying maybe a little late, six or seven months, but they lay in the nesting boxes, and they have a nice color plumage.They keep clean.
Cons:
2 of the 5 pullets were already predated, in my barn; one by my dogs and one by a mink. They like to forage for dropped grain in the barn (as opposed to outdoors) but the females don’t seem to be able to jump out of danger’s way. This is a higher number and ratio than any of the other breeds I have ordered from Cackle.
sam.bodell –
I ordered 20 non-sexed Buckeys. Cackle sent me 22! All are healthy after 5 months but on 1 is a female… Pretty disappointed. I will order again but don’t wast your time ordering “non-sexed” hopping you’ll get a 50/50ish mix. Pay the extra and order what want or you’ll end up wasting a year of your time and pay more anyway.
Rebecca S, Montana –
I have raised many different types of chickens over the years. My primary reason for chickens is to eat the grasshoppers, because the grasshoppers have been snacking on my garden. This year, I decided to raise French Marians (which I had also ordered from the Cackle Hatchery), and looked forward to their eggs. When a fox broke into my pen and slaughtered all of them just as they were getting old enough to eat the grasshoppers, I was so mad, I immediately logged onto Cackle and ordered 6 chicks of whatever was getting shipped out in the next two days. (Cackle sent.me 7, and all 7 have survived.) These turned out to be the Buckeye. I consider this a very fortuous purchase. These are the best foragers I’ve ever had! They have wiped out the grasshoppers in their pen, and they follow me all along the fence side as I herd other grasshoppers towards them. They’ve been tolerating the triple digit heat wave we’ve had this summer, and they are very tolerant of my young children. They are learning to come when called, which makes rounding them up for their coop easy at night. This is probably the brightest breed I’ve ever worked with. I recently purchased chicken harnasses so I can stick the chickens on leashes and let them eat grasshoppers under supervision outside of their pen. Since I turned the chicken run into Fort Knox, I am hoping to enjoy this breed for years to come!
If the fox does manage to outwit me and slaughter my chickens, I will get more buckeyes from Cackle Hatchery. And also some alpacas. I probably won’t get the alpacas from Cackle Hatchery, though.
Courtenay_e –
One of my favorite breeds
Our Buckeyes are the reason I found Cackle hatchery. I wanted to try this breed because they’re supposed to be thrifty and sweet tempered. They are both. They are super sweet, and come running when they see us, but they eat all kinds of bugs and seeds, and YES! They love to find mice, and frogs, too! They consistently lay pretty eggs. All around a great bird, and as always, Cackle’s birds are the healthiest we’ve ever bought.
WiscoBuckeyes –
Great friendly chickens!
I ordered 15 hens and 1 rooster last April and all turned out to be what I selected. These birds are super cold hardy, coop was down to -20* last winter as it is far from the house with no electricity hook-up. They didn’t seem cold at all, all up in their roost instead of huddled together like my last birds. Great foragers out in the yard and garden, didn’t find one tick on me last year! They are super curious birds and easy to take care of. I get around a dozen eggs a day from them when there is enough light. Would definitely recommend for cold northern climates.
Kat –
Great chickens, bad sexing
First off, I love the quality of all the chickens I’ve gotten from Cackle Hatchery. But, I have a problem with the sexing. I ordered 2 male buckeyes last year, and 5 females. One of the ‘males’ was a female, all the rest were male. Very disappointing… Won’t stop me from ordering more though.
Hollilulu –
Love them!!!
I bought my Buckeyes in April of 2016, and waited until now to post a review. I ordered 3 Buckeye, and three Gold Laced Wyandottes. Cackle Hatchery sent one extra Buckeye. I had been warned that my chicks would likely be fragile and lethargic when I got them in the mail, and that I could expect about 1/3 of them to die. My chicks were active and vigorous from the moment I got them. I was surprised how active and happy they seemed. They have been wonderful all the way through. They are beautiful, talkative, social red hens. I just love them. They did not start laying until about 26 weeks or later, but have been great layers ever since. It has been a very cold winter, I have kept a light on them. They are still laying everyday. I am amazed at how well my chickens lay. My kids love them. I love these chickens, will get them again and would recommend them.
Paul or Tina –
Happy chickens
This was our first order from Cackle and we were very pleased. We had five varieties we ordered and all arrived healthy. There were three extra chicks included with the order and two survived. We also had five ducks. Everyone came in healthy. Chicks were beautiful ducks were fun until at 6 weeks a family of five foxes came in and decimated all but four ducks. As soon as things quiet down we will be ordering again, very pleased.
old mainer –
ordered 25 buckeye straight run. all are healthy,vigorous,good quality chicks. well prepared and shipped.excellent hatchery, excellent product. i will buy from again.
Excellent
Bryant, North Carolina June 2011 –
Cackle Hatchery
The chicks arrived safe and sound this morning. The Post Master called me at 6:55 AM this morning and told me the chicks had arrived. Thank you very much, I was afraid they would be in bad shape or possibly some had not made it due to the hot weather, however thank the Good Lord, they were all alive and seemed to be healthy. They went straight to their water and started eating before I came to work. All is fine. Again I appreciate your prompt and kind service. They are all well and fine this morning and I thank you and your personnel for the help.
Betsy, Michigan June 2013 –
Update on replaced order
Just a quick note to tell you the replacement Buckeye chicks arrived safely! I am enclosing a photo of the “smushed” box the first ones arrived in. Some of the original birds are doing very well, but some are not growing much. Will keep them a bit longer before passing judgment on those few. Again, a testament to you stock-none of them should be alive after the poor shipping trip that they endured. Also your company get “kudos” for going above what you had to do to replace that order. It was not your doing but you stepped up and (quickly) replaced not only the missing birds but the entire order. Way to go guys!!! I have been singing your praises to every chicken person I know, and put it on my Facebook. I hope this brings you some additional business-you guys deserve it!!
Sally Michigan May 2015 –
Update on chicken delivery
Thank You! The chicks arrived early this morning. On little turkey did not make it;however, you sent an extra so we received the exact number of (living) birds we ordered. They are all doing very well! As always, we are very happy with out ordering experience with Cackle Hatchery! Thank you!
Johnette, Texas May 2015 –
Cackle people
Just to let you know my order was received today and all chicks were in excellent condition! Everyone was healthy and vigorous and seemed happy to be at their new home! Your staff was very pleasant and courteous and we actually received our order a day sooner than expected! Thank you for providing us with quality chicks and great service again!
Mark New York April 2014 –
Chick Arrivals
Greetings from upstate New York and the Adirondack Mountains. Just a quick note to advise you our order of Buckeyes, Barred Rock and Jersey Giants arrived this morning. All chicks appear healthy and vigorous especially the Buckeyes who are non-stop balls of energy! Thanks for the experience.
Martha Alabama March 2014 –
Cackle Hatchery
The Buckeye pullets arrived this morn and as always with your birds they arrived in perfect condition. The two roosters were clearly marked, which I appreciate. They are happily and enthusiastically drinking and eating in their warm brooder. Thanks for such great service and beautiful, healthy chicks – I think maybe for over 35 years now! I always recommend you to poultry lovers. I am 77 years old and I will continue to order from you until the end!
Bryant North Carolina May 2011 –
Order
Thank You Mrs Smith. The chicks arrived safe and sound this morning. The Post Master called me at 6:45 am this morning and told me the chicks had arrived. Thank you very much. i was afraid they would be in bad shape or possibly some had not made it due to hot weather, however, thank the Good Lord, they were all alive and seemed to be healthy. They went straight to their water and started eating before I came to work. All is fine. Sorry I bothered you all, I just was concerned about their shipping in hot weather and trusting they had not been misdirected to some other Post Office. Again, I appreciate your prompt and kind service. They are all well and fine this morning and I thank you and your personnel for the help. You have a very efficient group of personnel working for your Hatchery and I always appreciated their kind assistance. Also I trust you all have a pleasant week.