Mainly for Stormcrow's benefit let's do a little math to determine how many hens you'd need to get the hatching eggs. Your goal is 25 to 50 chicks per hatch. You have the equipment and experience to store eggs for hatch and to hatch reasonably large numbers at a time. To do this I have to make assumptions.
You can get a 100% hatch, you can get a lot less. I'd think an average 75% hatch rate is probably low but fairly realistic over time but any one hatch can be better or worse. I think your target is to set 50 eggs each time. If your first hatch is really good you might want to set fewer eggs the second hatch but you still need 50 eggs for the first hatch.
You can store eggs for at least a week and get great hatch rates. You maybe can go longer but I have to assume something. So you need enough hens to lay 50 eggs in a week. In laying season I get better than this but I'd think getting 4 eggs a week from each hen is a decent average. Depends on how yours lay. So divide 50 by 4 and you get 12 to 13 hens and probably one rooster as your permanent laying/breeding flock. Not that large of a flock, very doable. You may want to hold a spare rooster, just in case.
The older they get the fewer eggs hens generally lay. I'd suggest you either replace each laying hen with a pullet every year or replace half of them. You are selective breeding anyway which means you can't keep the same breeding stock unless you are really happy with them. To reduce feed costs and work, once you are comfortable you have hatched all you will need that season you could eat your current laying/breeding flock and just replace them all the following year. I do the replace half each year but my goals are different from yours.
At what age would you butcher them? I'd think for Rangers probably between 12 and 16 weeks. For dual purpose probably between 16 and 23 weeks. My target is 23 weeks for my dual purpose for my own reasons. I don't know how many facilities you have but you may not need to finish the first batch before you start the second.
So many different options and ways to go about it. You are going to learn a lot when you try it.
You can get a 100% hatch, you can get a lot less. I'd think an average 75% hatch rate is probably low but fairly realistic over time but any one hatch can be better or worse. I think your target is to set 50 eggs each time. If your first hatch is really good you might want to set fewer eggs the second hatch but you still need 50 eggs for the first hatch.
You can store eggs for at least a week and get great hatch rates. You maybe can go longer but I have to assume something. So you need enough hens to lay 50 eggs in a week. In laying season I get better than this but I'd think getting 4 eggs a week from each hen is a decent average. Depends on how yours lay. So divide 50 by 4 and you get 12 to 13 hens and probably one rooster as your permanent laying/breeding flock. Not that large of a flock, very doable. You may want to hold a spare rooster, just in case.
The older they get the fewer eggs hens generally lay. I'd suggest you either replace each laying hen with a pullet every year or replace half of them. You are selective breeding anyway which means you can't keep the same breeding stock unless you are really happy with them. To reduce feed costs and work, once you are comfortable you have hatched all you will need that season you could eat your current laying/breeding flock and just replace them all the following year. I do the replace half each year but my goals are different from yours.
At what age would you butcher them? I'd think for Rangers probably between 12 and 16 weeks. For dual purpose probably between 16 and 23 weeks. My target is 23 weeks for my dual purpose for my own reasons. I don't know how many facilities you have but you may not need to finish the first batch before you start the second.
So many different options and ways to go about it. You are going to learn a lot when you try it.
