Ate my first colored range broiler (Freedom Ranger)

[pat3494]

I processed the bird at 10 weeks along with 9 others and they were very meaty, about 5-6 lbs. I ate the first one yesterday as a beer can chicken and it was really good. I picked the fattest of the bunch to cook this way. It was slightly firmer than a supermarket chicken but with more flavor. I am impressed with he results and will probably raise these birds again. They looked like a large supermarket chicken but I know how they were raised and they lived a good life. I have 15 more to process in the next 2 weeks. I recommend them to anyone looking for a Cornish Cross alternative. They ate more, drank more and pooped more than my dual purpose chickens (BOs, BRs, and Dark Cornish) but they were very much meatier too. I even raised them in the Florida heat and they did well. Yum!

 

[eds500]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I would raise FR's if I was allowed to have roosters in the city limits. I'm jealous of those who can but I'll enjoy my eggs until I'm where I can have roosters.

 

[kfacres]

Quote:
Your FR will be butchered before you will ever know they are male, atleast to the average person's eyes...

 

[Tracydr]

How long did you cook and at what temperature? I have a 7. 5 pound Cornish cross that I let grow until 12 weeks. I'd like to do the beer can thingy and wondering how low and slow I should cook her for. Planning on cooking her this afternoon.

 

[eds500]

Quote:
Your FR will be butchered before you will ever know they are male, atleast to the average person's eyes...

The crowing of the roosters is a zoning ordinance violation and my concern and I'd like not to process at 7 weeks to avoid the crowing.

 

[pat3494]

I cooked my beer can chicken like I usually do at 350 degrees, but cooked it longer for about 1 hour 20 minutes because the chicken was so large. I put on a spice rub beforehand. The Frs I raised were recognizable as male and female at 10 weeks and the males were just beginning to crow but not very well. I will probably process some earlier at 7-8 weeks if I raise Frs in the future to get some smaller birds. The 10-11 week olds are the size of a roasting chicken in the supermarket. This past weekend I processed 8 more birds. They were about the same size as the first batch because we processed the biggest ones the week before. The remaining seven will be processed this coming weekend and they were the smallest of the bunch. I fed them all Purina Flock Raiser after they finished with Chick starter after 4 weeks.