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It's a local blend - my partner picks it up directly from the mill. Whole grain, no corn/soy, probiotics. I'm experimenting with fermenting it too - the pigs love theirs that way, and they're SO fat and shiny! The birds also get treats like mealworms and minnows, plus whatever they forage. My...

Not if I want to breed them for generations! I love my current Rangers.

Well, I'm not trying to supply gourmet restaurants. My goal is to create a sustainable breed for small producers/homesteads - and if my eggs are any indication, my feed makes for excellent flavor.

Ewww, I can't stand naked necks!

Not picky? IMHO any home raised bird is a big improvement over store bought, and alternative breeds far more flavorful than Cornish - especially on premium feed and free ranged, so they have a wider variety in their diet.

Well, I have both. Most of the Reds turned out to be cockerels but one is a nice breeding candidate, and there's two pullets. I've got my eye on what's hopefully another cockerel in my youngest group of Freedoms, since there weren't any great ones in the oldest batch - although I have kept one...

Oh, that's an idea. It's not like it needs to be very bright just to trigger their biological clock. I have one I bought years ago; I think it quit working but it was really cheap. I could put one in both coops so I'm not running cords out in the rain. Thanks!

I'll have my layers under light since egg sales have been good, but I don't know if it's feasible for the meat birds. As it is I have extension cords run to most places I need it, and the makeshift coop for the breeding pen isn't at the barn. If I'm able to move it or put in permanent lighting...

That depends on if they're laying though. Not much I can do if they aren't.

Yes, I'm planning to have two. Right now I have one picked out from my "red" ranger batch, and I'm planning to keep another from this larger group of "freedom" once they're big enough to tell sex and quality. Hopefully they'll get along - I usually have a one rooster policy, but I want to have...

Oof, I got busy and this thread went crazy! I'll try to catch up on everything later, but here's my plan at this point: I just got my third group of ranger chicks - I have some from two different hatcheries, so far they seem the same. Out of the older ones I have nine pullets and one keeper...

Certainly sounds like Cornish X, but remember they're a proprietary hybrid from commercial hatcheries - local breeders would only have them if they're reselling. And F1 won't breed true even if both parents are Cornish X, so no one can just reproduce more. I'm planning to mostly do Ranger x...

Well, all chickens trace back to some kind of game fowl at one point, but they're pretty much the opposite of a modern meat bird!

AI chickens? Yikes. Have fun with that. You can order rangers online. That's the only way I was able to get them. Looks like I'm getting another batch in a few weeks :-)

I'm also not interested in perpetuating any physical defects, regardless of what effect they have on progeny. There's usually health consequences that go with, even if they aren't noticeable at first. I'm not trying to create fat monsters like Cornish X at any rate; going the usual route to...

Cornish X are likely to die from heart attack or have their legs give out before they hit maturity. I highly doubt a cockerel could make it on top of a hen long enough to do the deed even if they survived until fertile, and you certainly wouldn't get a longer term breeding life to experiment...

Anyone? There's so many older threads and blog posts about this, there have to be folks with info to share!

Yes, I know. Hence long term project. And I'm not interested in just creating another hybrid to sell chicks from, I want a true breed.

I know I'm not the first person to have this idea, so before I dive in and go full crazy chicken lady (I'm already the crazy goat lady!) I'd love to hear from people who have attempted breeding Rangers before - from whichever proprietary line. What were your goals, what worked or didn't, what's...