Nettie Metcalf

Nettie Metcalf (née Williams; October 13, 1859 – 1945) was an American farmer from Warren, Ohio. She is best known for creating the Buckeye chicken breed, which was officiated by the American Poultry Association in February 1905. Metcalf attended poultry meetings across North America and became President of the American Buckeye Club. She is the only woman recorded by the American Poultry Association to create a chicken breed.

Personal life Nettie Williams was born in Warren, Ohio in 1859. She was a descendant of William Williams, a Connecticut politician and Founding Father who signed the Declaration of Independence.

On March 6, 1879, she married Francis "Frank" C. Metcalf. Her husband died on November 17, 1929.

Buckeye chickens Metcalf created the Buckeye chicken breed in the 1890s, which she first named "Buckeye Reds." She described them as having "a modified Cornish shape, with the very darkest of red plumage."

Creation of breed In 1879, she began housekeeping with a flock of Brown Leghorn chickens. However, she was dissatisfied with their temperament, stating they "scratched and destroyed more than their necks were worth, laid only in the spring, and hid their nests then in the most out-of-the-way places they could find." Van went on to become a breeder of buckeyes. thumb

Officiating breed In 1902, Metcalf exhibited her breed at a poultry show in Cleveland, Ohio. The 1908 APA revision committee advised that Buckeye should be dropped from the standard, but this was voted down in Niagara, New York in 1909.

Legacy In 1909, the American Buckeye Club was established to preserve the Buckeye breed. As of 2024, the website of the organization is accessible.

In the early 21st century, the Shumaker Farm Buckeye Chickens website compiled images relevant to Nettie Metcalf's life and work.

In 2003, the Buckeye breed became endangered, with less than 72 breeding birds on record. In 2005, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy began a program to restore the breed as backyard birds.