Freedom Ranger and Cosher Kings...What's up with these birds??

[Susan Widmer]

I normally buy my new chicks from a hatchery in Texas. They aren't too far away and I've never had a problem with them shipping then to my local post office. But I was in a hurry and did not want to wait until June for chicks so I bought some at my local Tractor Supply. All they had were Freedom Rangers, Kosher Kings, Brahmas and Welbars. I am familiar with Brahmas but have never heard of the other 3 breeds. They also came in a straight run which I usually try to avoid. (I certainly don't need any more roosters!) At the same time I also bought 2 Welbars and 4 Brahmas along with 2 each of the FRs and KKs.
The Kosher King chicks have grown faster than any chicks I've ever owned. Compared to the rest of the chicks they are enormous! The freedom Rangers are also growing faster than the other chicks . They are only 3 weeks old and at least 4X the size of the other chicks. Has anyone had any experience with either of these breeds? Thank you in advance for responding!

 

[sourland]

I'm not certain about the Kosher Kings, but Freedom Rangers are meat birds. My gut says that the Kosher Kings are also meat birds. They exhibit rapid growth for processing to be eaten. They generally are not maintained as laying birds and may have shortened life spans.

 

[Alwaysfowlplay]

Freedom Rangers and Kosher Kong’s are both meat birds. So they put on weight more quickly for butchering.

 

[Susan Widmer]

I'm not certain about the Kosher Kings, but Freedom Rangers are meat birds. My gut says that the Kosher Kings are also meat birds. They exhibit rapid growth for processing to be eaten. They generally are not maintained as laying birds and may have shortened life spans.

Thank you for the reply and the information. As I said, I had never heard of these breeds and probably would not have purchased them had I known that they would grow so much faster than the rest. Plus I suspect that they are all roosters because they're growing their comb and wattles already at 3 weeks old.

 

[Susan Widmer]

Freedom Rangers and Kosher Kong’s are both meat birds. So they put on weight more quickly for butchering.

Thank you for the reply and the information. I don't intend to eat them so I'm not sure if I'll keep them or give them away. Especially if they're both roosters!

 

[keesmom]

Thank you for the reply and the information. I don't intend to eat them so I'm not sure if I'll keep them or give them away. Especially if they're both roosters!

They do make outstanding meat birds though. Slower growing than Cornish X, and ready to process around 10-16 weeks. The Kosher Kings are more likely to be cockerel since most of the pullets are sold to NYC ethnic markets for a particular dish that requires the bird to be female. Not sure if that's the case this year or not. Haven't tried those yet, but I liked how the Freedom Rangers came out.