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Best type of meat chicken to raise?

post #1 of 12
12/9/11 at 9:59pm
Thread Starter 

Hi guys,
    So me and my family have raised Freedom Rangers for the past 3 years or so and they have been free range, and feed mostly scraps but some corn and soy free feed. This year was my first time raising Cornish Cross for fair. We did all the same things to them but they seem to eat a lot more. They also seemed to be more aggressive, but for some reason the Cornish seemed to be smaller then the Freedom Rangers when it was time to butcher. Im trying to figure out what breed i should raise this spring? Any suggestions or experiences?

Oregon born and raised. 3 Labrador Retrievers, 1 Cocker Spaniel, 2 cats, 2 bunnies, 10 hens, and 3 rooster. The flock consists of 3 Barnevelders, 1 Barred Rocks, 1 GLW, 2 Speckled Sussex, 1 Langshan, 1 Australorp, 1 Brahma/RIR, 1 BLRW and 1 Delaware. And 10 Barnevelder/ Speckled Sussex 2 month old chicks. An animal lover for life!

 

R.I.P. Pixie (Barnevelder Hen), Penguin (Barred Rock Hen), 3...

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Oregon born and raised. 3 Labrador Retrievers, 1 Cocker Spaniel, 2 cats, 2 bunnies, 10 hens, and 3 rooster. The flock consists of 3 Barnevelders, 1 Barred Rocks, 1 GLW, 2 Speckled Sussex, 1 Langshan, 1 Australorp, 1 Brahma/RIR, 1 BLRW and 1 Delaware. And 10 Barnevelder/ Speckled Sussex 2 month old chicks. An animal lover for life!

 

R.I.P. Pixie (Barnevelder Hen), Penguin (Barred Rock Hen), 3...

Reply

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post #2 of 12
12/9/11 at 10:06pm
  • Mahonri
  • Platinum Poultry
  • Urban Desert Chicken Enthusiast

Sounds like the Freedom Rangers will work best for you.  Especially if they were bigger than the Cornish X.
Usually its just the opposite.

Keeper of 26 hens,  4 PW Leghorns, 1 leghorn mix, 1 FBCMarans, 1 Australorp, 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Mama Olive Eggers w/ 15 chicks each, 1 EE, a Barred Rock, a RIR, a CQ, 1 Delaware, 1 Black Star, a Splash Ameraucana, 3 W/BW Ameraucana pullets, 5 polish, 2 Welsummers and 41 juvies of various breeds. YIKES!  Time to SELL some chickens!

 

 

"With God, ALL things are possible."

                 ...

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Keeper of 26 hens,  4 PW Leghorns, 1 leghorn mix, 1 FBCMarans, 1 Australorp, 1 Buff Orpington, 2 Mama Olive Eggers w/ 15 chicks each, 1 EE, a Barred Rock, a RIR, a CQ, 1 Delaware, 1 Black Star, a Splash Ameraucana, 3 W/BW Ameraucana pullets, 5 polish, 2 Welsummers and 41 juvies of various breeds. YIKES!  Time to SELL some chickens!

 

 

"With God, ALL things are possible."

                 ...

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post #3 of 12
12/10/11 at 5:22am

did you actually weigh them, or was it just speculation

CX don't seem to carry many feathers, making them look smaller when alive

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post #4 of 12
12/10/11 at 10:01am
Thread Starter 

I thought that it may just be that they look smaller, but we did weigh them and the CX roosters were about the same weight as the Freedom ranger hens and roosters. The CX hens were very small.

Oregon born and raised. 3 Labrador Retrievers, 1 Cocker Spaniel, 2 cats, 2 bunnies, 10 hens, and 3 rooster. The flock consists of 3 Barnevelders, 1 Barred Rocks, 1 GLW, 2 Speckled Sussex, 1 Langshan, 1 Australorp, 1 Brahma/RIR, 1 BLRW and 1 Delaware. And 10 Barnevelder/ Speckled Sussex 2 month old chicks. An animal lover for life!

 

R.I.P. Pixie (Barnevelder Hen), Penguin (Barred Rock Hen), 3...

Reply

Oregon born and raised. 3 Labrador Retrievers, 1 Cocker Spaniel, 2 cats, 2 bunnies, 10 hens, and 3 rooster. The flock consists of 3 Barnevelders, 1 Barred Rocks, 1 GLW, 2 Speckled Sussex, 1 Langshan, 1 Australorp, 1 Brahma/RIR, 1 BLRW and 1 Delaware. And 10 Barnevelder/ Speckled Sussex 2 month old chicks. An animal lover for life!

 

R.I.P. Pixie (Barnevelder Hen), Penguin (Barred Rock Hen), 3...

Reply
post #5 of 12
12/10/11 at 10:24am

That's really surprising.  Are you sure they weren't accidentally leghorns?


Edited to add:   welcome-byc

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post #6 of 12
12/10/11 at 10:42am
Thread Starter 

No im positive they were CX. Its weird because I didnt really want to raise them cause iv heard all these horror stories about them getting so huge they cant walk and they just lay by the feeder all day, and I didnt want that. I wanted happy chickens that could run around but still grow to a decent weight.

Oregon born and raised. 3 Labrador Retrievers, 1 Cocker Spaniel, 2 cats, 2 bunnies, 10 hens, and 3 rooster. The flock consists of 3 Barnevelders, 1 Barred Rocks, 1 GLW, 2 Speckled Sussex, 1 Langshan, 1 Australorp, 1 Brahma/RIR, 1 BLRW and 1 Delaware. And 10 Barnevelder/ Speckled Sussex 2 month old chicks. An animal lover for life!

 

R.I.P. Pixie (Barnevelder Hen), Penguin (Barred Rock Hen), 3...

Reply

Oregon born and raised. 3 Labrador Retrievers, 1 Cocker Spaniel, 2 cats, 2 bunnies, 10 hens, and 3 rooster. The flock consists of 3 Barnevelders, 1 Barred Rocks, 1 GLW, 2 Speckled Sussex, 1 Langshan, 1 Australorp, 1 Brahma/RIR, 1 BLRW and 1 Delaware. And 10 Barnevelder/ Speckled Sussex 2 month old chicks. An animal lover for life!

 

R.I.P. Pixie (Barnevelder Hen), Penguin (Barred Rock Hen), 3...

Reply
post #7 of 12
12/10/11 at 10:45am

I am a Freedom Ranger fan smile

I luuuuuurve chickens.
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I luuuuuurve chickens.
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post #8 of 12
6/18/12 at 5:09am

I would love more info about the Freedom Rangers.  Our family is looking into raising some meat birds just for us.  We are building a second run for them and whatever we end up with will be able to free range as well.  Just wanting to feed a family of four and I am all about happy chickens.  I don't want to worry about heart and leg issues.  I am really stretching myself to say I will go along with this idea because I just love our chickens.  They are therapy for me :)))  Any advise? 

Quad L Farm & Homeschool
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Quad L Farm & Homeschool
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post #9 of 12
6/18/12 at 5:29am
I am a fan of dual purpose breeds. I raise Delawares. You can keep the females for eggs add butcher the makes for meat. It just takes makes about 6 months to reach fryer size. Australorps are another good dual purpose breed. Or you can raise freedom rangers or Cornish Cross. The Cornish Cross on paper is the most efficient meat bird but I'm not a fan of their health issues or inefficiency on pasture. But I'm new to raising chickens too so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Brad
Free range Delawares, White Jersey Giants, Araucanas, Welsummers, Red Stars, and Chaps a Buff Cochin.
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Free range Delawares, White Jersey Giants, Araucanas, Welsummers, Red Stars, and Chaps a Buff Cochin.
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post #10 of 12
6/18/12 at 5:39am

Thanks Brad!  We have been raising chickens for the past four yrs, thanks to a school project.  My daughter has a little egg business and all our chickens are treated like royalty, as you can see in our profile piclove.gif.  My husband wants to go on this adventure and I am so close to backing out.  I know we can't do the Cornish.  I am to much of a softy!!!!  We haven't looked into the Delawares but we have some Australorps and they sweeties soooooo......  Maybe we will try the Freedom Rangers.  Someone posted they were a bit aggressive which would definitely help the end process become a little easier.

 

The Quad L Farm and Homeschool

 

Quad L Farm & Homeschool
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Quad L Farm & Homeschool
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