Buckeye
ChickenUncommon breed
The Buckeye is the only American breed developed by a woman — Nettie Metcalf of Ohio, in the 1890s — and the only pure American breed carrying a pea comb. Its mahogany-red plumage and small tight comb suit hard winters where a large single comb would frostbite. Hens lay 175 to 240 brown eggs a year and the breed keeps an active, almost predatory foraging habit; Buckeyes are known for hunting mice. They are friendly with people but busy and confident birds, better given space than close confinement. Numbers have climbed back far enough that the Conservancy now rates it only Watch — a recovery its breeders worked hard for.
Weight
How to spot it
- Comb
Pea - Pea comb, small and close to the head
- Plumage
- Solid deep mahogany red, with slate down beneath
- Body
- Broad, meaty and close-coupled
- Look for
- A pea-combed solid-red bird — Rhode Island Reds look similar but carry a single comb
Ancestry
How this breed was developed. Historical records, not crosses to make today.
- Bred from
Buff Cochin
Barred Plymouth Rock
Nettie Metcalf of Warren, Ohio bred a Buff Cochin male to Barred Plymouth Rock females, then crossed a Black-Breasted Red Game male onto the half-Cochin pullets. That game bird is not a breed record here, so it has no link of its own.
Varieties
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