Upcoming projects anyone? Heritage or Dual Purpose?

[purelypoultry]

I am glad your market is apt to buying heritage breeds. That is great! I look forward to getting that concept into the people around here. Those Buckeyes are wonderful to eat!

 

[Brunty_Farms]

I'd rather start out with something that's faster and cheaper to raise while I work out that learning curve.

I agree, I think everyone should start out with these... and then venture into more self sustaining birds for the right reasons. If you want to get heritage breeds because you have issues with factory farms..... that's a silly reason to get heritage.​

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
It's taken some time but I have a great conservancy that works with me that gives me plenty of press... It's so nice to have the media on your side... LOL.. Here is the link.

http://www.cleveland.com/taste/index.ssf/2009/06/local_farmers_want_to_bring_bu.html

Really neat little article...

 

[petrelline]

Like seemingly everyone else on BYC, I also want to do buckeyes this year.

I'm curious as to the source of the meat buckeyes, because everyone I've talked to is more interested in the breed for show and there is dead silence whenever the subject of meat comes up. (not to insult those who are breeding for show! I first saw the buckeye two years ago at a show and I've been trying to get my act together to get some ever since -- it figures that NOW when I have the time and the space and the incubator they are the new hot thing.

)

I've also been astonished at the positive response amongst my friends to my raising chickens for meat. I thought I was the only one who was panicky about factory farm meat...turns out every single one of my friends are, too, and now they all want me to raise chickens for them. I'm going to need more pens. (and better processing equipment.)

 

[Brunty_Farms]

The Buckeyes are a good breed but have been getting pushed by a lot of organizations and getting quite a bit of press. Which explains the big movement towards having them. However just like any other breed they will be a fad for a while until the next hot chicken breed... I can remember when the Serama was a big hit.... It just goes with time and different movements.

Right now... the movement is self sustainability and Buckeyes along with a few others fit the bill which make them very appealing to backyard chicken keepers.

Mine came from ALBC which they have been selected for about 7 years now for strict meat capabilities. I'm in no way interested in showing my buckeyes but have been told that their offspring will produce champion prospects. Mine, for as long as they are with me.... will remain meat flocks. I'm going to breed for the table and not the show ring.... however it is still important to stick very close to APA standards with all respect to the breed.

The chicks that I do sell along with hatching eggs will be for people that are wanting to start their own backyard flocks with self sufficiency as their main goal. Buckeyes are good layers and the males are arguably the best non-cornish meat breed available.

There are a few on this site that have the meat strain but have mixed it with their own lines. Which in my opinion has completely steered away from what the ALBC was trying to accomplish. See what many people forgot, is the fact that the reason why we have heritage breeds in the first place was their lack to compete with the broiler strain cornish rocks. Once this happened there was no need for any other breed except the cornish rocks for meat purposes. No other breed could compete financially with the cornish rocks....which is why they are listed as critical with many other breeds. In order to compete somewhat with the cornish rocks, is to make the heritage breeds more appealing to the average consumer. Heavy culling on body structure is very important if you want to compete with cornish rocks.... as the carcass must look appealing. It can not be a scrawny bird with a curved back or crooked keel bone.

Secondly the time that they are processed is huge when competing for a market for heritage breeds. A bird that is dressed in 14-16 weeks compared to 24 weeks is HUGE. There is very little taste difference if any between the two ages. However a bird that is dressed at 14 weeks is much cheaper to raise then the one that is dressed at 24. What the ALBC has done was knock that time frame down already to 16 weeks. I butchered two roosters in the fall (one with a crooked toe... the other with a crooked keel bone) and they dressed well over 5 lbs.... 7 years has been spent on trying to accomplish this. When you mix this strain with another your going to be in trouble down the road. Too many of these heritage breeds have been bred for solely egg production. The hatcheries are mainly to blame for this as they hatch and use any birds for breeding. Making a dual purpose breed no different than the hybrid brown egg layers we have today. As far as meat goes... they have very little if any.

 

[petrelline]

That is some terrific insight, Jeff, thanks for that.