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No, either way your not going to be wrong. Worse case scenario you don't like the breed you chose and you try another one. We have all been there done that as far as choosing the wrong breed. Even people that preach dual purpose chose the wrong breed to suit there needs. Sometimes you will go through a half of dozen dual purpose breeds until you find one you like. It's all about personal preference... Which breed will best suit you.
If your only concern is ordering new chicks in every year than that is a very small concern to have. I'm going to play devils advocate so to speak. Before I finish... note that I do raise both. I have broilers and ALBC lines of Buckeyes that were bred for meat purposes. They both have there place.
When getting new chickens in every year you only have to worry about one batch of chicks.... one brooding phase... one grow out phase... and one processing phase. All of this takes place within 8 weeks. If you get Buckeyes, or another dual purpose breed you have year round maintenance on them. Your chick phase is about 2 months long and you will only get 70% to hatch of that 70% only half of which will be males. You only want to eat the males, I say this because your females are going to pay for your whole set up... not the males. A typical dual purpose hen will sell from $10.00 -$25.00 depending the breed. Then you look at a 4 month grow out time for your males. So overall your looking at a total growing stage for your meat buckeyes for about 6 months to get every male chick finished to the freezer.
If you have a dozen hens and a couple of roosters, you could set just say 28 eggs a week for 8 weeks giving you 224 eggs. Of those 224 eggs about 156 will hatch. Giving you say 70 males and 70 females (you lose some of those chicks along the way giving you 140 birds total) You grow out the 70 females to sell to whoever.... at $10.00 each. Making you $700.00
The males you grow out until they are 16 weeks and you have about 70 birds at 4 lbs each giving you plenty of meat for your family. Probably some to sell or give away as well.
I say 28 eggs a week because you will probably get 6-8 a day in peak production from 12 dual purpose breeds... setting 4 aside to hatch and the rest you can either eat or sell as hatching eggs.
This may look good and sound good but you have to have detailed records, a very healthy flock, 4-6 different pens for breeding, brooding and growing. It can get very technical very quick even for someone doing it on a small scale. But if it's done right it can be very efficient. However in todays society not many people have the time to take care of all of those pens, incubators, records, ect. Most people have full time jobs, kids, kids activities in school... and if your a parent you know how endless this list is. But it is also a good way to get your family involved with this as well.
To sum it up... if your tight on time go with the broilers... if your looking to save money... go with the broilers. Even with buying chicks year after year... you still save so much time and money with the broilers.
I'm not trying to steer you away from buckeyes but you have to want a sustaining flock for the right reasons. If not it will be a drag to your lifestyle and your pocket book. Either breed you choose the chicken will be to die for and it will completely knock grocery store chicken out of the water. Also keep in mind that it takes a couple of years to get a set up like I explained. 12 chickens will be all that you need to start with but there is a lot of money wrapped up in incubators, wood, wire, heat lamps, ect.
Good luck... please keep us updated in what you choose!~
No, either way your not going to be wrong. Worse case scenario you don't like the breed you chose and you try another one. We have all been there done that as far as choosing the wrong breed. Even people that preach dual purpose chose the wrong breed to suit there needs. Sometimes you will go through a half of dozen dual purpose breeds until you find one you like. It's all about personal preference... Which breed will best suit you.
If your only concern is ordering new chicks in every year than that is a very small concern to have. I'm going to play devils advocate so to speak. Before I finish... note that I do raise both. I have broilers and ALBC lines of Buckeyes that were bred for meat purposes. They both have there place.
When getting new chickens in every year you only have to worry about one batch of chicks.... one brooding phase... one grow out phase... and one processing phase. All of this takes place within 8 weeks. If you get Buckeyes, or another dual purpose breed you have year round maintenance on them. Your chick phase is about 2 months long and you will only get 70% to hatch of that 70% only half of which will be males. You only want to eat the males, I say this because your females are going to pay for your whole set up... not the males. A typical dual purpose hen will sell from $10.00 -$25.00 depending the breed. Then you look at a 4 month grow out time for your males. So overall your looking at a total growing stage for your meat buckeyes for about 6 months to get every male chick finished to the freezer.
If you have a dozen hens and a couple of roosters, you could set just say 28 eggs a week for 8 weeks giving you 224 eggs. Of those 224 eggs about 156 will hatch. Giving you say 70 males and 70 females (you lose some of those chicks along the way giving you 140 birds total) You grow out the 70 females to sell to whoever.... at $10.00 each. Making you $700.00
The males you grow out until they are 16 weeks and you have about 70 birds at 4 lbs each giving you plenty of meat for your family. Probably some to sell or give away as well.
I say 28 eggs a week because you will probably get 6-8 a day in peak production from 12 dual purpose breeds... setting 4 aside to hatch and the rest you can either eat or sell as hatching eggs.
This may look good and sound good but you have to have detailed records, a very healthy flock, 4-6 different pens for breeding, brooding and growing. It can get very technical very quick even for someone doing it on a small scale. But if it's done right it can be very efficient. However in todays society not many people have the time to take care of all of those pens, incubators, records, ect. Most people have full time jobs, kids, kids activities in school... and if your a parent you know how endless this list is. But it is also a good way to get your family involved with this as well.
To sum it up... if your tight on time go with the broilers... if your looking to save money... go with the broilers. Even with buying chicks year after year... you still save so much time and money with the broilers.
I'm not trying to steer you away from buckeyes but you have to want a sustaining flock for the right reasons. If not it will be a drag to your lifestyle and your pocket book. Either breed you choose the chicken will be to die for and it will completely knock grocery store chicken out of the water. Also keep in mind that it takes a couple of years to get a set up like I explained. 12 chickens will be all that you need to start with but there is a lot of money wrapped up in incubators, wood, wire, heat lamps, ect.
Good luck... please keep us updated in what you choose!~
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