Out of curiosity, how old were the Freedom Rangers when they started dropping eggs?? I thought they (like the Cx) were relatively late to lay, in addition to the weight issues.
I can't speak to the breeds, I've not had any you are looking into, but I can say that TSC gets most of their chicks from Hoovers. Hoovers birds are in no way exceptional.
If I were beginning a breeding project and had breeds in mind, I'd look further afiend than TSC for your starts, try and...