Got 'em! 150 Colored Range Broilers (aka Freedom Rangers)

Ordered 150 Colored Range Broilers from JM Hatchery, and they arrived at my post office this morning. They actually arrived at my regional (not local) post office at 6pm last night (Thursday)! I'm not even sure how that's possible, since JM said they hatch on Thursday, and they shipped from Eastern PA to Central Michigan. Just interesting to note. Yay, US Postal Service!

Anyway, 152* arrived in 3 boxes. I'm not sure why they did 3 boxes, which normally hold 100 each, instead of just 2 boxes... Regardless, none were dead in box, but 2 appear to have bad legs. Those 2 will likely become compost soon, leaving me with 150.

The plan is to get them processed at 12 and 13 weeks. I plan to sell most of them for $2.25/lb, except for the few (20-30) that we keep for ourselves.

I'll try to keep this post updated, as people ALWAYS seem to have questions about alternative varieties of meat chickens, and how they progress.

*EDIT: When this was initially posted, we miscounted the chickens. There were actually only 150. 3 of them died within 2-3 days after arrival.

question, at the end of this when you sell/eat can you determine what the bottom line is on money.

Price of chicks + feed = x
Price per pound sold+ poundage you kept= y

Obviously its not just about the money, its about knowing what you're eating too but I'm curious. I'm thinking about doing some meat birds and wonder what the best chicken is in relation to price paid vs price to raise to eating size. I'm sure that information is somewhere on this forum, but it'll be nice to follow begining to end with a specific group of chicks.

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I think what you're looking for is essentially the Food Conversion Rate (FCR). Price of chicks doesn't vary much from breed to breed; price of feed will vary from region to region.

I believe that it is generally accepted that Cornish Crosses have the best FCR, so are basically the most economical way to raise meat.

This, of course, assume that you are buying all their feed. The Cornish Crosses are not much for foraging even if they are put in pasture. Some of the slower growing breeds will forage for a portion of their diet if given the chance. How much they have available and how much they take advantage are variables that can't really expect to duplicate from farm to farm, season to season.

Ooh! Can't wait to hear how it turns out. I was looking at rangers b/c I don't have the proper houseing for cornish x. Glad to hear they all arrived safely!

For those that would like to skip to the end, you might want to check out this thread. There is a whole lot of information about raising Colored Rangers.

are these things basically the same things as Cornish x Rocks but mixed with a different heavy breed or can they be raised and reproduce naturally?

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I have heard that they can be raised and reproduce naturally without the special effort you would have to go through to do so with the Cornish Crosses. But, I don't have any first hand experience.

They will, of course, not breed true since they are a hybrid.

I have some (8 weeks old) and am considering keeping a few and seeing what happens, when and whether they will breed. I'm not really confident the roosters will be able to mount the girls, but a possible compromise is to mate the Colored Ranger hens with a large Delaware or New Hampshire Red rooster.

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Agreeing with TimG and just adding that these Rangers are actually quite a bit worse in FCR than the Cornish Crosses. Cornish X usually have a FCR of around 2.5 to 3.0, depending on how you raise them. These Rangers seem to vary between 3.0 and 3.5.

Realistically, these are for a niche in the niche market, and if you can find the right folks (mostly chefs), they will buy them up in a heartbeat. Since I'm trying to sell mostly to average people (like myself), I can't raise the price much on these, or people just won't buy them.

I'm estimating just under 2 tons of feed to raise 150 of these to market weight. If my feed prices are similar to spring's prices, that will cost me about $700 - $800.

Chicks: $172 (150 @ $1 each + Shipping)
Feed: $750 (est) (about 1/2 bag per chicken)
Processing: $337 (150 @ $2.25 each)

Then there are things like bedding, pens, feeders, waterers, lamps, electrcity, etc., most of which can be amortized across several batches/years.

Quote:
Agreeing with TimG and just adding that these Rangers are actually quite a bit worse in FCR than the Cornish Crosses. Cornish X usually have a FCR of around 2.5 to 3.0, depending on how you raise them. These Rangers seem to vary between 3.0 and 3.5.

Realistically, these are for a niche in the niche market, and if you can find the right folks (mostly chefs), they will buy them up in a heartbeat. Since I'm trying to sell mostly to average people (like myself), I can't raise the price much on these, or people just won't buy them.

I'm estimating just under 2 tons of feed to raise 150 of these to market weight. If my feed prices are similar to spring's prices, that will cost me about $700 - $800.

Chicks: $172 (150 @ $1 each + Shipping)
Feed: $750 (est) (about 1/2 bag per chicken)
Processing: $337 (150 @ $2.25 each)

Then there are things like bedding, pens, feeders, waterers, lamps, electrcity, etc., most of which can be amortized across several batches/years.

Sorry, I'm a little slow on this but what does the number of the feed conversion rate indicate (ie 2.5 to 3)?

also, where does someone go to get the birds "processed"

Uncle Hoot - using your numbers I total $1259.00 in expenses. Assuming 150 birds averaging 3.5 lbs processed, your cost is $2.40/lb in expenses. That doesn't include amortization, labor, etc. You are only charging $2.25/lb, so you are loosing money on each bird. Of course, you are making it up in volume!!