Crossing my Red Ranger Hens.

[Compost King]

Now its time for the latest Red Ranger Cross... Drum Roll Please (as if this is that thrilling)

Rhode Island White x Red Ranger. They look like 2 different sizes in this picture but I never noticed it when I picked them up, they spend most of their time under the Brooder Plate. The Red Ranger did a molt, laid 2 or 3 eggs then went on strike. Not sure what's going on with her. I am down to one and she hasn't been productive lately. Maybe she got too fat? Maybe her laying life is short because she is a hybrid? I really like Red Rangers but I might go with a different free range meat breed. I am considering Moyers Imperial Red (or grey but I am liking what I do with Reds). I still have my 3 CX girls with rationed feed. Hopefully I can get 1 to survive to Point of Lay but if I get all 3 then I can speed up my different crossings. I am actually out of Roosters I want to cross with Red Rangers. All my best meaty roosters are sons of the Red Rangers. Maybe a different Red speciality broiler would keep the vigor up. Red Rangers seem to have good sized legs and a Royal Red has larger breasts. Royal Red from Moyers is what I might get next if I can find someone local to go halves on a minimum order.

 

[aliciaplus3]

In my case I accepted a free rooster and received a jump start on the big genes.... I remember reading somewhere that you start with the best you can find hatch as many as you can and cull Heavily keeping the top 1 to 3 percent. Another place one of the oldtimmers wrote one of the most important tools for building a good quality flock is a hatchet.
We have roughly 30 cockrels that will need processing in the next month or so, the plan is to get most of them in the freezer before it gets really cold.
Out of 60 to 100 chicks hatched last year I only ended up with 2 roosters that deserved a place in my flocks Gene's going forward. This year we hatched between 100 and 120 chicks and so far I have 5 cockrels that I am watching, I tend to keep as many hens as I can ( I am a softy and folks talk me out of them) a few will be here for life because they have become pets or they have special characteristics that I want to pass forward. My Delaware hens are a good example, they will probably die of natural causes here at my place after parenting a number of chicks.
I may have a large number of hens , but the plan is to set up smaller breeding pens with specific goals in mind and hatch from those.

 

[Morrigan]

his made me look up Privett

I got my 6 slow white broiler chicks from Privet vis-a-vis a feed store. They are 7 weeks now and looking great. Very pleased with the quality. My only cause for concern is that I gave the chicks to a broody hen and she refuses to let go of them. (I actually only gave 1 to the broody, but she commandeered the rest). The 2 roosters in the mix are nearly as big as her, and she is still trying to nest with them at night and clucking about the yard with them. I'm going to feel terrible taking her "babies" to the butcher table, if she doesn't cut them loose in the next couple of weeks.

The interesting thing, is that she (Mama broody) has somehow figured out that these chicks are less active, and more food motivated, and is spending more time in the coop and around the food dishes than she otherwise would with chicks.

 

[Morrigan]

I tend to keep as many hens as I can ( I am a softy . . .

This is my problem. I only have room for so many hens and need only so many eggs. My Meat Project plan going forward includes culling and eating the excess hens, but I dread it. I could sell them I guess, but I hate to do that, and then end up buying store meat.

 

[aliciaplus3]

This is my problem. I only have room for so many hens and need only so many eggs. My Meat Project plan going forward includes culling and eating the excess hens, but I dread it. I could sell them I guess, but I hate to do that, and then end up buying store meat.

I have no problem butchering obnoxious cockrels, I have given away around 35 older girls this fall alone.

 

[Morrigan]

I have no problem butchering obnoxious cockrels, I have given away around 35 older girls this fall alone.

I know, right? I don't know whether it's because it feels a waste to butcher the hens when they are smaller and laying eggs, or whether it just seems hard compared to taking out the obnoxious cockerels, who make a such strong case for going to freezer camp.

 

[aliciaplus3]

I know, right? I don't know whether it's because it feels a waste to butcher the hens when they are smaller and laying eggs, or whether it just seems hard compared to taking out the obnoxious cockerels, who make a such strong case for going to freezer camp.

But the girls can give me eggs..or someone eggs

 

[Compost King]

I can't process the females, seems like I am wasting eggs. Even though I am not real big on large big appetite birds to produce eggs. I am happy with eggs from a white leghorn who eats so much less, or bantam eggs when Bantams will eat 1/3rd as much feed and produce half as much egg. Although the meaty half Dorkings will eat spilt feed before going to the feeder so I guess they partially make up for their large appetites. I have sold (for only $5) some of my meaty hens that I do not need for any breeding program and everyone who has bought them really love them. One lady I hung out with today because I made a delivery of chicks to her showed me some of my former birds and she loves the big meaty half Red Rangers. Turns out her Husband collects large game birds and I told her that they would be great for breeding with the Half Red Rangers I sold her since her husband was interested in making meat birds.

 

[igorsMistress]

I was wondering what everyone does with the pullets that are too small or don't have the colors you want. I was thinking sell as POL and whatever doesn't sell I would eat. However, I'm thinking about trying NextDoor to sell eggs also.

 

[RUNuts]

Talked with Mawmaw. Excess hens and poor layers went to the soup pot after the year's cockerels were thinned out. How Mawmaw knew which ones were good layers has not been told. I have asked her daughter. Having 50 feed store white leghorns running around boggles my mind. (Free chick with purchase of a bag of feed.) I'm having trouble with the 25 mixed in my yard. Who lays what? And where? The compost pile is more desirable a laying spot than the nest boxes.