What are you looking for exactly? I have tried many including cx, Cornish game, freedom ranger, red rangers from mcmurray, Delawares, new hampshires, Jackie chickens, and brahmas. Nothing beats freedom rangers - in my opinion - for a balance of efficiency and quality of life. I used to raise 600 per year for sale. This year I raised Jackie chickens because I waited until too late to order and everyone was all out of everything else. As was my experience with most other "alternative" red rangers, they were slower than freedom rangers by a week or two, but otherwise they were identical. The farther you lean toward heritage and "chickeny" chickens, the more you get into efficiency problems (feeding them more food than they are worth butchered). Those heritage meat breeds might be docile compared to an Andalusian or leghorn but they are flighty as heck compared to a Cornish x or even a freedom ranger, who you can ALWAYS catch if ever you need to.
Thank you! This is really helpful! As someone who has only done it once I guess I was just wondering if any of them have any advantage over a freedom ranger or if that is worth sticking to!
Have you had any issues with the Freedom Ranger roos being mean? To humans and/or hens. I heard from several folks that they had that issues, wondering about your experience. How do the Freedom Rangers compare to Freedom Ranger Hatchery's (FRH) White Rangers, FRH New Hampshires (bred for meat) or CX? I've raised all three of those but have steered away from trying the straight up Freedom Rangers due to reports of the roos being mean. Been trying to have a meat flock that can reproduce itself. The FRH New Hampshires I have are nice, wondering if FRH Freedom Rangers can be used as a breeding flock.
There is only one person on this planet that has your desires, climate, feeding regimen, and management techniques and that is you. If I raise some of those my results and opinions will be different from yours. My suggestion is to get several of as many of those as you can that have the same hatch date and raise them together. That way they are raised under the same conditions and you can decide which you like most. Get several of each so you get more of an average.
You may have a reason unknown to me that you might love raising one breed or another above all else, and that would be an advantage for you.
You maight consider something completely different like a Bresse: Originating from France, Bresse chickens are considered some of the most flavorful in the world. White with green or slate-colored legs, they are slower-growing than Cornish Crosses and prized for their tender, juicy meat. They are a fancy option for those seeking fancy quality rather than rapid production. They are hard to tame but not usually aggressive.
I didn't see that anymore than any other chicken breed.
