I think my rangers are 8 weeks old now. I let them go a week and a half or so on a lowish protein food due to circumstances out of my control, so they're a little behind. I have a few in the two to two and a half pound range, but most are in the three to four pound range. A few are over four.
According to JMHatchery, where we got the birds,
Performance goals under true natural rearing systems:
Based on the results and experiences of our own flocks and our customers flocks, the Colored Range assortment will reach 4 to 5 LBS Live Weight in a minimum of 9 weeks and a maximum of 11 weeks.
If you factor in a very slow week, say add it to the end, they should all reach 4-5 lbs live by 10-12 weeks, or in 2-4 more weeks. At the rate they're growing, that seems plausible.
In the meantime, they've got 24/7 access to the local grain mill's broiler food, plenty of water and aren't currently going outside until I can hawk-proof the run. I wasn't planning to limit exercise, but that's how it worked out anyway.
I'll have to call the processor to schedule a date and decide how many do to, but I think I'll let the majority of them hang out and grow a bit exttra. I doubt they'll magically get tough at 12 weeks. IIRC, JM said to get them done before 15 or 16, but I can call to confirm.
It's been a very pleasant experience dealing with these guys. We've moved the rest of the birds (three dozen or so layers and 3 cornish crosses, all a month younger than the rangers) out into the barn and they're all getting along nicely. We had a trampling early on, but I think the duck did that, not the chickens.
The bedding is being done deep litter style. It's built up quickly, so I may be putting too much down, but it's not gross to walk on, so I don't see any harm to it, other than maybe spending too much money. I haven't figured out where the bedding will go for composting once I empty the barn out. We may just dump it into the bottom two thirds of a raised bed planter that will go near the barn, then top i t off with topsoil. By next summer, it'll be turnable, nice and rich, but this summer it can just be a placeholder underneath the real planting soil.
According to JMHatchery, where we got the birds,
Performance goals under true natural rearing systems:
Based on the results and experiences of our own flocks and our customers flocks, the Colored Range assortment will reach 4 to 5 LBS Live Weight in a minimum of 9 weeks and a maximum of 11 weeks.
If you factor in a very slow week, say add it to the end, they should all reach 4-5 lbs live by 10-12 weeks, or in 2-4 more weeks. At the rate they're growing, that seems plausible.
In the meantime, they've got 24/7 access to the local grain mill's broiler food, plenty of water and aren't currently going outside until I can hawk-proof the run. I wasn't planning to limit exercise, but that's how it worked out anyway.
I'll have to call the processor to schedule a date and decide how many do to, but I think I'll let the majority of them hang out and grow a bit exttra. I doubt they'll magically get tough at 12 weeks. IIRC, JM said to get them done before 15 or 16, but I can call to confirm.
It's been a very pleasant experience dealing with these guys. We've moved the rest of the birds (three dozen or so layers and 3 cornish crosses, all a month younger than the rangers) out into the barn and they're all getting along nicely. We had a trampling early on, but I think the duck did that, not the chickens.
The bedding is being done deep litter style. It's built up quickly, so I may be putting too much down, but it's not gross to walk on, so I don't see any harm to it, other than maybe spending too much money. I haven't figured out where the bedding will go for composting once I empty the barn out. We may just dump it into the bottom two thirds of a raised bed planter that will go near the barn, then top i t off with topsoil. By next summer, it'll be turnable, nice and rich, but this summer it can just be a placeholder underneath the real planting soil.
