BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[Arielle]

Quote: My prayers to all, the residents and the fire fighters. I can remember the hot days picking up hay off the fields wondering where DH was . . . .. . if it was ahying season , it was brush fire season. I usually cleared the field by myself . . . . Late that night after the fire was under control and out, he'd drag himself home. So I am worrying about the front line people. Good thing your mom sold out when she did. Where is she now??

 

[3riverschick]

My prayers to all, the residents and the fire fighters. I can remember the hot days picking up hay off the fields wondering where DH was . . . .. . if it was ahying season , it was brush fire season. I usually cleared the field by myself . . . . Late that night after the fire was under control and out, he'd drag himself home. So I am worrying about the front line people. Good thing your mom sold out when she did. Where is she now??

My sister had earlier bought a house in suburban Oceanside which is the next city north of Carlsbad.
Carlsbad/Oceanside are often mentioned in the same phrase, smile. Mom moved in with Linda and
they are a fine fit, smile. Mom will be 96 on June 6th. She gets around good and has a sharp mind.
She calls me every day to update me on the fires.
Best,
Karen

 

[chickadoodles]

My sister had earlier bought a house in suburban Oceanside which is the next city north of Carlsbad.
Carlsbad/Oceanside are often mentioned in the same phrase, smile. Mom moved in with Linda and
they are a fine fit, smile. Mom will be 96 on June 6th. She gets around good and has a sharp mind.
She calls me every day to update me on the fires.
Best,
Karen

I hope the do catch the fire bug that started the fires! I hate that some people have to be so destructive! I remember Oceanside and Carlsbad we used to go to the beaches there. Just beautiful you could go out as deep in the water as you want and could see the bottom the water was so clear and the beaches were so white! I do miss alot about Calif. But Alabama is my home now!

 

[Arielle]

Quote: LOve it!!!

 

[Turk Raphael]

I am getting the impression that almost every thread I've visited is dedicated to showing chickens with the possible exception of this one. Even if I wanted to show chickens, I couldn't. I work 12 hour days and often enough that turns into 18 hour days. I'm a RN and work in Louisville hospital complex. When I have a weekend off, I don't want to head out onto the traffic again to look at chickens and in fact, I'm a bit afraid of carrying some disease back to what chickens I might have. End of Show discussion as far as I'm concerned.

 

[ronott1]

I am getting the impression that almost every thread I've visited is dedicated to showing chickens with the possible exception of this one. Even if I wanted to show chickens, I couldn't. I work 12 hour days and often enough that turns into 18 hour days. I'm a RN and work in Louisville hospital complex. When I have a weekend off, I don't want to head out onto the traffic again to look at chickens and in fact, I'm a bit afraid of carrying some disease back to what chickens I might have. End of Show discussion as far as I'm concerned.

There is an Australorp thread that is not show oriented. Some tried to make it into one though. BYC has set up new section for Showing so hopefully we will have more of a separation. Mostly you have people raising chickens as pets and some for showing.

I like production for sure.

 

[Turk Raphael]

FOr clarity-- CHris selects his buckeyes with an emphasis on meat production balanced with SOP criteria. But primarily meat. FOr me I was not looking for a show bird, but a good meat bird. Jeff Lay, don't quote me, has been selecting for laying in the buckeye via trap nesting. THis doesn't make sense to me, but to each their own. DOn Schrider keeps buckeyes and brown leghorns-- and that tells me all I need to know : meat and eggs. lol

Turkastralorp--- there are MANY good buckeye breeders around. Have you looked at the clubs--we are not allowed to list them on BYC, but you can find them. Perhaps contact a few near you and far, and see if one breeder has stock that interests you more than another.

Thank you. others have mentioned clubs as well. I haven't tried any of them yet because I'm worn down with the show pushers. They might make me join the clubs to get a breeders list and I'm not certain the members won't ask me to be a show person. I getting put off.

 

[gjensen]

Yes, this would be the method for sure. What I meant to point out is that Buckeyes are meant to be meat birds, not super layers. YOu might remember in conversations on the heritage thread that usually a breed needs to be one or the other; only a rare few can do both well = they are the exceptions. Jeff Lay is h ighly respected and has alway been gracious in hiss emails, so I value what is his choice/options. Perhaps it will attract others interested in the egg aspect to meet the buckeyes and then realize they are also a wonderful meat bird.

One of the reasons I picked the buckeye was because if I have 15 pullets/ hens, I can't eat a dozen eggs a day, and the cost of production is much higher to supply enough p rotein and nutrients to pack on the meat if a growing pullet and put out an egg a day. I eat a lot of eggs every day, but even I get sick of eggs, eggs, eggs.

I'm already overloaded with eggs, and it is time to start pickling and freezing . . . . for the lean fall/ winter.

In my case in particular I"m trying to find a bird that can match the rhythm of feed production at my own farm. Feed prices keep soaring: In the last 6 ish years my grain prices have doubled and hay has doubled. Constant threats of grain shortage gives me sleepless nights. Much of our grain is going abroad--- we are bleeding ourselves dry. WE produced it ,we keep it. I don't know the current numbers, but I'm betting there is still a high $$ amt spent on subsidizing the farming in the US. Called the Farm BIll. I only know enough to be scared. So . . . Looking to have the land be their primary food source. A big change from eating out of a bag. lol

Trap nesting has its place-- would really like to know how many eggs the old girls are giving-- they are producing but how many? THey are fat and sleek and glossy . . . production is certainly down. THese girls are my learning ground -- a trap nest system would be helpful to breed from productive old girls.

Dual purpose breeds like the Buckeye are supposed to be good at both. Yes, one breed or strain may have an emphasis to one side. That is not speaking of their potential though. You can certainly have both. That is the idea after all, and part of it. If I could trap nest, I would.

It sounds like you need to sell a few eggs. It helps with the feed bill. I do not hassle with selling a lot, but I share a few. It makes a difference. I have that problem to. I cannot eat all of the eggs a couple dozen hens produce. I was reluctant about selling eggs, and I still do not get into it. The few I share with people I know does help.

I tend to think that grain prices will end up being a problem myself. It has motivated me to re think why I keep poultry and what I keep. More and more I have grown fond of the lighter more active breeds. When I think of the word sustainable, I tend to think that means in leaner times as well. In leaner times, I do not see my big eaters making it. I see them ending up in a pot. I am speaking of a hypothetical scenario.
I have grown to be fond of birds that still put plenty of eggs on the counter, while rustling up much of their own food from the hedgerow. It hit me, the drastic difference, when these Catalanas were eating 25% less than my other birds, but were laying more eggs and larger eggs. This difference being if they were allowed to range freely. There is still a difference, but a smaller difference when confined. The Catalanas are clearly more adept at rustling up their own.

With access to affordable grain, even in leaner times (thinking in terms of sustainable), a good all round dual purpose bird still has it's role. More, if you are growing your own corn or wheat, for example. Buckeyes certainly can fit in that role. I like what Don has done with the breed, and what some others are doing now. I like the New Hampshire and Delaware for this role to. Concerning the potential anyways.
My NHs are not where I want them, but they have more potential than most that I have kept. In the last 20 years I have tried quite a few things, and I have what I want and like. One that I would like to try (that I have not) before my time is the good old fashioned, standard bred, Brown Leghorn.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: I was not asked if I intend to show when I contacted Laura Haggerty; not asked when I emailed Chris McCathy. When I had a wonderful conversation with MR Rhodes he did not ask me if I would be showingOnly on BYC have I encountered the show pushers. lol . I go to the shows, but I don't take birds to show lol Many people with good flocks do not show.

Besides the lists on the club websites are posted free to look at and access!!! THere are two buckeye clubs and member names and phone numbers are listed. Don't need to talk to any one to get the information.

 

[Turk Raphael]

There is an Australorp thread that is not show oriented. Some tried to make it into one though. BYC has set up new section for Showing so hopefully we will have more of a separation. Mostly you have people raising chickens as pets and some for showing.

I like production for sure.

I appreciate that information. I wonder how many of the australorp people keep Buckeyes? I have 7 australorp hens and one rooster that we bought from McMurray about 2 years ago. We bought them under the impression they would be good meat birds too. What fools we were! lolol

They do lay well but the size of the eggs aren't much beyond a supper medium on their best day and the egg shells have a very pale tint to them but the eggs are very good eating. We are giving them to our neighbors down the road on Saturday. We are even going to deliver them early so we can have time to get a couple loads of personal things to the new place.

I did visit a hatchery site again today and think that just might be the best way out of this mental turmoil. They have videos of their birds and they look good enough to make a small investment worthwhile. If it's a mistake then it will be a very inexpensive lesson. I would rather do that than pay a bunch of money for chickens and find out that they aren't any better.

Thank you all for listening to my whining. I feel like a sheep surrounded by coyotes on some other places I've visited...lol