Best meat bird breed?

Potato

In the Brooder
5 Years
Jun 24, 2014
18
0
22
I am looking for a breed of chicken that is great for meat production and does not get problems like cornish/rock crosses. I had an order of 26 cornish rocks and only had about 20 to butcher when the time came. They just randomly died, had liver problems, heart attacks, and many many broken toes. I have not had any big problem with the 400 or so laying chickens we have had over the years.

I would like a breed of chicken that can have access to food 24/7, and does not have heart, leg, liver, bone, etc problems.

Any advise on selecting a breed would be appreciated, thanks everyone for reading.
 
I've had good luck with Freedom Rangers. Some hatcheries also carry a red ranger type of bird. Other than those hybrids, the next best thing is a heritage breed known for good meat qualities but they'll take much longer to mature.
 
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I've had good luck with Freedom Rangers. Some hatcheries also carry a red ranger type of bird. Other than those hybrids, the nest best thing is a heritage breed known for good meat qualities but they'll take much longer to mature.
X2

Ranger type birds might work for you, but I have never allowed them to eat 24/7, so I'm not sure how they would handle that. I think they would be fine.
 
Good point on the 24/7 thing. Putting them on an 8-14 hour light regimen (depending on age) will limit when they can eat.
 
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Great suggestions, and thank you. What might be some good meaty heritage breeds I can look into?
 

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