Interested in thoughts of pros/cons of growing your own female breeder versus buying a proven one already "at size".
Pros:
* Potentially less expensive to buy a proven, since growing any female to size is going to cost at least something like: initial cost + 2 years x $15/month = ~$350 (plus or minus depending on how much you value the food, electricity, your time, space). It seems like this case is easily made for normal females, which can be purchased for $100 or so. Perhaps the more genes, the more expensive buying a proven is, and at some point it's cheaper to grow her yourself?
Cons:
* Provens being sold are on average less productive producers. Some but not all are probably passed on because they are inferior to others the breeders are using. Maybe they lay more slugs or smaller clutches on average.
Are these thoughts reasonable? And what other factors have I missed? I'd like to breed for first time next year, and my current plan is to buy some mature females next fall. But this strategy will impact my future years.
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