Anyone free range broiler chickens ?

[Ridgerunner]

I'm thinking about raising a few next year but wondering if free ranging will work instead of coop them up n feed them the broiler feed.

I can't remember exactly where you are, the Far East as I remember. I have no idea what "broilers" might be available to you. To me there are three kinds of "broilers" or meat birds. All three kinds are developed by selective breeding, no GMO or gene manipulations involved other than choosing which birds get to breed. Each one fills a specific niche.

One is the Cornish X, CX, Cornish Cross, whatever you want to call them. Those are the standard meat birds you find in the grocery store, bred to be eating and pooping machines and butchered at 6 to 8 weeks. Some people can and do keep them alive longer using various techniques but they are designed to not exercise. just eat, drink, and put on weight as quickly and efficiently as possible and be butchered at a specific age.

The "Rangers" were initially developed to be a pasture-fed version of the CX. They grow a little slower and do well behaviorally on pasture. They still eat a lot so they still poop a lot but not quite as much as the CX. And if they forage on pasture the poop is more spread out during the day. You still have to manage the poop more than with the Dual Purpose but not as much as with the CX. The original Rangers were called Freedom Rangers and I believe developed in France. In the last few years various other "Rangers" have been offered and some others of this type often called some version of colored broilers are also out there. I have no idea how hatcheries work where you are or how they might be offered to you but you would be looking for meat birds to be butchered around 12 weeks of age.

The other type is dual purpose. I don't think I need to go there.

Good luck!

 

[ivy_huan]

I can't remember exactly where you are, the Far East as I remember. I have no idea what "broilers" might be available to you. To me there are three kinds of "broilers" or meat birds. All three kinds are developed by selective breeding, no GMO or gene manipulations involved other than choosing which birds get to breed. Each one fills a specific niche.

One is the Cornish X, CX, Cornish Cross, whatever you want to call them. Those are the standard meat birds you find in the grocery store, bred to be eating and pooping machines and butchered at 6 to 8 weeks. Some people can and do keep them alive longer using various techniques but they are designed to not exercise. just eat, drink, and put on weight as quickly and efficiently as possible and be butchered at a specific age.

The "Rangers" were initially developed to be a pasture-fed version of the CX. They grow a little slower and do well behaviorally on pasture. They still eat a lot so they still poop a lot but not quite as much as the CX. And if they forage on pasture the poop is more spread out during the day. You still have to manage the poop more than with the Dual Purpose but not as much as with the CX. The original Rangers were called Freedom Rangers and I believe developed in France. In the last few years various other "Rangers" have been offered and some others of this type often called some version of colored broilers are also out there. I have no idea how hatcheries work where you are or how they might be offered to you but you would be looking for meat birds to be butchered around 12 weeks of age.

The other type is dual purpose. I don't think I need to go there.

Good luck!

Thank you very much for your reply. Very informative.
I'm living in Newfoundland Canada. We don't have much choice of what to get here other than what the feed store brings them in. From what I see they are all little yellow chicks and white when they are older.
I saw ppl put them on 24hrs feeding schedule and lights on all the time to make them put on weigh faster but I really don't want to do that. It's kinda defeat the purpose of raising healthier food for yourself.
I grew up in China when I was younger most chicken I assume are dual purposes ones and they taste so good. Soup made out of them are golden color and rich in flavor. Now I have my own space to raise chickens I would like to raise some good tasting birds rather than store bought version.

I'll likely look into dual purpose in the future which I can hatch myself and be more self sustained

 

[ivy_huan]

They come under different names,

Freedom Ranger
Red Ranger
Kosher King
Big Red Broiler
Black Broiler
etc.

Look at the hatchery websites and you'll see them.

My local feed stores don't usually sell meat birds so I wouldn't know if they're generally available or not.

My local feed store is the only place ppl usually get their meat birds... Typically two orders a year one in the spring and one in the late summer.
I'll have to ask around see maybe someone can order me some chicks next year

Thank you

 

[3KillerBs]

My local feed store is the only place ppl usually get their meat birds... Typically two orders a year one in the spring and one in the late summer.
I'll have to ask around see maybe someone can order me some chicks next year

Thank you

Check the Canada thread to see what hatcheries can ship to your area: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=144

 

[iwltfum]

Question about broilers
I'm thinking about raising a few next year but wondering if free ranging will work instead of coop them up n feed them the broiler feed.
I don't mind if it takes longer to raise them but I would like healthier meat chickens

Thank you

I've free ranged freedom rangers a bunch. It works ok. Pasture pens (ie chicken tractors) are more efficient, but also more work. The broilers grow out slower when free ranged, but it works fine as long as you have very low predator pressure and high quality pasture forage. You want to keep the grass length pretty long to encourage insect populations.

 

[Morrigan]

I wouldn't call it "free range", but I've successfully kept CX broilers in a large, fenced yard. I used a converted shed as a coop where they slept at night. Each morning, I would put out their mash, open the coop door and they would all rush out to the food. I then shut the coop, and they spent their day in the yard. Many were quite active in foraging around the yard, others just wanted to lay in the shade. I limited their mash after the first 3 or 4 weeks to all they could eat in 20 minutes/twice a day. I supplemented that with scattering excess fruits and veggies from the garden in the yard, and the occasional fodder.

I doubt they would be able to feed themselves in free range setting, unless you have an unusually varied and nutrient rich environment. However, I think you can expect some level of foraging that would reduce the commercial feed to some degree.

As others have noted, the biggest concern is your predator load, as they will be easy pickings. I think that would be true for any type of broiler, even slow broilers, however. If you have a very light predator load, a livestock guardian dog, or use an electric fence to create a safe area for them, you should be fine.

 

[ivy_huan]

Check the Canada thread to see what hatcheries can ship to your area: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=144

Thank you

 

[ivy_huan]

I've free ranged freedom rangers a bunch. It works ok. Pasture pens (ie chicken tractors) are more efficient, but also more work. The broilers grow out slower when free ranged, but it works fine as long as you have very low predator pressure and high quality pasture forage. You want to keep the grass length pretty long to encourage insect populations.

I'll look n see what I can get next year.
My boyfriend is going to make me a tractor for it and we have a field with nothing but weeds lol. I'm gonna throw some oat seeds down in the fall

 

[iwltfum]

I'll look n see what I can get next year.
My boyfriend is going to make me a tractor for it and we have a field with nothing but weeds lol. I'm gonna throw some oat seeds down in the fall

Pasture will benefit with chickens on it no matter what. It would benefit if it was a patch of dirt, no joke! Pastured poultry is often the first step for small, diversified farms in order to bring their soil nutrients back to a level where they can grow other crops or animals that need most of their nutrients directly from the soil like corn and cattle.

If the pasture is already healthy and seeded in a mix of plants that has the right nutrient breakdown, then you may have to feed the chickens less, ultimately making them cheaper to raise. And in my experience, the broilers are less touchy and fragile on healthy pasture, so it's a bit easier on you as the health of your pasture increases year-to-year.

But totally worth it to get chickens on an unproductive plot.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I've free ranged Cx in combination with a standard (not meat bird specific) feed. Birds had better flavor, but grew much more slowly and ultimately put on less weight, than their more traditionally managed siblings. I consider the practice largely counterproductive - feed "savings" were offset by longer time to desired weight.

Working with dual purpose birds now, and for meat production, they are clearly inferior.

May eventually try a batch of color broilers, but not this year.