Buying meat birds...

[Bossroo]

Please be constructive. Arguing for the sake of arguing (trolling) is not going to help anyone learn about raising meat birds.

Disagree if you wish, but do it in a manner that encompasses the rules of the forum.
Thank you.

 

[Laskaland]

Quote:
Were I in your situation, and wanted to conduct a small farm, I would relocate to a part of the country far more accomodating to raising food and livestock. Like Nebraska, for example!

Alternatively, the free rangers can be raised in housing, or as it was pointed out by you, follow the trial and error method and learn all you can before undertaking the cornish x

Christina
(who gets very disappointed when very banal posts turn into arguements for no reason! No need to be harsh to deliver your opinion)

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
With the way you describe your conditions I can definately understand
having small birds and high mortality rates. It seems Cornish or Rangers
would be your best options. Since you have had such good results with
Cornish X I can also understand your high regards for them.

Your dry hot environment is not one that Cocci would flourish in. The
damp humid summers we get here make Cocci a problem. Couple that
with the Cornish's high metabolilisms and it gets worse. I would say
that Rangers are less suseptable to Cocci, simply because they are
a heartier bird and poop less.

I'd suggest trying them. Leave them feed and water 24/7 and see what
happens. However, I understand that may be a gamble you don't wish
to take.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
Always trying to be the sweet peacemaker...

I think Bossroo's comment was based more on frustration than disrespect
or to argue. Greyfield's has tough skin. He's a goose guy, he has too.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
Given these living conditions a cornish will drop at any given time. Unfourtunatly the will to move has been bred out of them. The simple behaviors of going up a chicken ramp has long been bred out of them for decades.

Your 100% right that the rangers suite a backyard farmer much better in these given conditions. But if you exploit the cornishes downfalls you will be well rewarded greatly. They don't take to free-ranging very well, plus it's painfull for them as their joints can't deal with it.

If you put a cornish in the setting that they were intended to be in, then modify it, you can't go wrong. They will surpas any bird in size, quality, and flavor.

If you think about what makes the flavor and the quality of a chicken... it's an easy thing to adjust for the broilers. One thing that makes the rangers more flavorfull is the fact they are older, and they develop a more leaner muscle. If you raise the cornish to 12-14 weeks you will acquire the same results.

Yes they poop a lot but put into a pasture setting inside a tractor, and moved 3-4 times daily... they don't stink, they don't get dirty, and you don't have to deal with the giant amount of poo.

Your feed consumption was probably higher due to the amount of birds you lost. If you would raise one cornish and one color ranged broiler side by side for 12 weeks in a seperate pen, you would see the difference. It's drastic. In 12 weeks you would have a cornish that weighs 10-16 lbs live weight. You would have half that with a color range.

By no means am I saying your way of raising the cornish was wrong, I just see these post and don't want people to get the wrong impression of the cornish. They do have their problems but if you know the problems going in and try to avoid them best as you can you will be fine. Just know what they were bred for and don't make them do the impossible and expect great results.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Brunty,

I just wanted to clarify a few things. First, I only raised Cornish one time, although I've helped friends process Cornish a few times. I in no way consider myself an expert. This is just a discussion I enjoy having.

My Cornish were raised on pine bedding, inside my barn, and were fed 26% protein, unmedicated meatbird feed. I wish I could have tractored them around but my property is too hilly. Only a few of them ever had
access to the run and ramp.

None of my cornish exceeded 10 pounds, even by 12 weeks. We had a few Rangers that hit 10 pounds by 10 weeks. From what I've read of other folks experience it sounds like we had a great Ranger flock but a not so great Cornish flock.

I do not want to put Cornish down. There is no doubt they are the fastest growing and meatiest chicken you can buy. I'm also intrigued by your statement of "exploiting the cornishes downfalls". The next time I raise Cornish I will approach it with that mindset.

These threads to me are more about what is better for the individual. For my family, Rangers are great. We stagger our processing from as early as 6 weeks to as much as 14 weeks. We do the same with our standard
roosters that we hatch or buy as fryer specials, our quail, and even our
turkeys and ducks.

This has been a great thread.

 

[katiek]

So where do you get these rangers?

 

[Laskaland]

Quote:
www.jmhatchery.com excellent customer service. Mine are coming April 1st. 100 of them!

Christina

 

[speckledhen]

Someone recently asked me where to get the Freedom Rangers in my TN/GA/NC area. I was wondering if the Colored Range Broilers were the same animal; thanks for clearing that up.



***** This is a good discussion, so let's just be mindful of our words so it doesn't degenerate into a shoving match, okay?

 

[katiek]

Thanks for the link.

I agree with speckledhen! This is a good thread, and it's all about information...nothing else.

Can't we all just get along? haa haa!