[3]: 79  Metcalf crossbred Barred Plymouth Rocks, Buff Cochins, and some black-breasted red games to produce the Buckeye.

[6]: 56  In the past, largely due its lack of color variations, the Buckeye has not been an especially popular exhibition breed.

Since the late 20th century, there has been growing interest in the exhibition poultry fancy for this dual-purpose variety of bird.

[6]: 57 The Buckeye is the only purely American breed to sport a pea comb, and this, combined with its stocky build, makes it a supremely cold hardy chicken.

[3]: 80  Other breeds of fowl developed in the U.S. (such as the Ameraucana) may sport pea combs, but these chickens were bred primarily from foreign birds.

It bears some traits of Game fowl in frame and disposition, being assertive in character and a very good forager.

A good meat producer and layer of between 150 and 200 eggs per year,[8] the Buckeye is a dual-purpose chicken well-suited to small farmyard and backyard flocks.