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How did she do? I had a 12 week old ranger do that but she got well. It was during the cool, rainy spring, which is a challenging time foe everyone's health.

Were you able to breed Rangers? I was thinking about it, but one rooster and one hen sounds tricky. Wouldn't the roost pluck all of the hen's feathers out? I've found that most roosters need 10-12 hens to be happy and not injure the girls.

Sounds like you have a great set up for the Rangers. Lucky birds! We also purchase Cornish Crosses and Red Rangers at the same time. The Crosses were 5-6 pounds at nine weeks of age. The Rangers were mostly 3-4 pounds (except a big 5lb rooster) after sixteen weeks. I didn't think they were...

It sounds like it is a matter of what level of bacterial growth you are comfortable with. Modern science says that to be safe, you need to get the chicken's core temperature to 40 degrees within one hour of butchering to avoid dangerous bacteria. A regular refrigerator is not nearly adequate to...

Yay, another happy chicken farmer! It would be a bummer to get to the end and find the meat wasn't what you are looking for. How did it taste? We found that the chicken is better and more familiar tasting (like store bought) if we brine it.

I have heard that you shouldn't give them calcium aside from what is in their feed already because it causes kidney problems. Did you check your bag of feed to see what is already in there? If none, maybe look around for a feed that has a little? I give my layers oyster shell, but they rarely...

These are definitely light birds, especially if you are comparing to Cornish Crosses. We butchered Crosses at 9 weeks and they were 5-6 pounds when dressed. We did Red Rangers at 16 weeks and the largest rooster was 5 pounds, most of the rest were in the 3-4 pound range. The Crosses were all the...

We processed ours in batches this year. We did a few Cornish Xs at six weeks because one of our biggest birds died suddenly and I was afraid the other large ones would follow suit. We did three and they were around four pounds. Meat wasn't very flavorful but it was fine for soup. We waited three...

I have been trying to figure the actual price per pound of raising meat birds. If it costs almost as much as I would spend at the local farmers market, I might as well buy at the market and save myself the time! We already had layers and I built a chicken pen out of materials already around the...

It mostly ate Nutrena chick starter/ grower. They also free ranged most afternoons. I have to say, my Rangers free ranged, mostly the Crosses sat in the grass and snapped at bugs that happened to wander too close. Do they taste like what they ate?

We butchered a large Cornish Cross and ate it a two days later. The meat was tender but bland. Not much different from an over-sized factory farm bird at Walmart. Did we do something wrong? We've had tastier chicken from Whole Foods. I'm guessing they use Cornish Crosses too, but I don't know.

I went ahead and butchered the three largest six week olds and they will make a tasty meal for our family of five, probably no leftovers.

A few of my six-week-olds are quite large. I don't have a scale, so I don't know their weight. Is that an important tool for figuring out when to process them? Could a six week old bird be ready? First timers here!

I had a six week old Cornish X die on me last night. They free range during the afternoon and when all of the other chicks went back towards the heat lamp and food at dusk, my largest bird was very lethargic and I had to carry him back. I thought about keeping him quarantined but I didn't have a...

Sorry, if the title was too gory, but yikes! I've watched a few YouTube videos and am feeling daunted. I have some friends who are planning to help us on processing day, so they will help out, but do you prefer to chop off the head or cut the throat? Chopping seems more humane but since I've...

This one is super thorough, it even gives the temp of the scalding water.

I liked this one with milk jug cones. They said, "I'll spare you the slice." So kind.

That sounds right based on what I've heard from others. How much variety do you have in your flock? I have some that look like they are in the 4.5 lb. range while others are much smaller, all at the 5 week mark.

Supposedly meat birds are very picky about heat. They must have high temps in the 90s their first week. Here is a chart. http://www.nutrenaworld.com/knowledge-center/poultry/heat-lamps-for-chicks/index.jsp

Me too! I looked on YouTube and found a lot about abusive factory farms. Not exactly the best example to follow...