Some of the colored broilers are bred to develop slower than Cornish X, avoiding some of the health issues. After asking several hatcheries, the only one I've found that is recommended to keep past processing age is the Freedom Ranger. They are hybrids originating from French Label Rouge parent stock.
I have five Freedom Rangers that are over a year old and have been healthy and reproducing. I did lose three more from unknown causes during the first year, so I don't know if there were heart issues. These keepers were raised in a flock of meat birds and fed for meat growth. I'm using lower protein levels to raise some breeders from this year's chicks, hopefully with a bit slower growth.
Keeping them for breeding is not as cost-effective as buying new meat chicks every year. Our Ranger hens each lay only 3-5 eggs a week to earn their keep, and they have to be fed year-round even when we're not hatching chicks. They eat more than our standard hens. But we like being able to hatch our own meat chicks and space out the batches. None of our Ranger hens have gone broody--we have been using other broodies and an incubator to hatch their eggs.
I have five Freedom Rangers that are over a year old and have been healthy and reproducing. I did lose three more from unknown causes during the first year, so I don't know if there were heart issues. These keepers were raised in a flock of meat birds and fed for meat growth. I'm using lower protein levels to raise some breeders from this year's chicks, hopefully with a bit slower growth.
Keeping them for breeding is not as cost-effective as buying new meat chicks every year. Our Ranger hens each lay only 3-5 eggs a week to earn their keep, and they have to be fed year-round even when we're not hatching chicks. They eat more than our standard hens. But we like being able to hatch our own meat chicks and space out the batches. None of our Ranger hens have gone broody--we have been using other broodies and an incubator to hatch their eggs.
