Freedom Ranger breeding...?

[gabtrac]

With all the resources and knowledge here on this site, I'm hoping someone can tell me what breeds are used to get a Freedom Ranger?
I can't get FR chicks at a reasonable cost at my location in Canada and it seems that someone must know...?
Thanks.

 

[Molpet]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/freedom-ranger-vs-heritage-breeds.1179571/

 

[Ridgerunner]

That is an interesting thread on how to breed your own but I don't think it answers the question. It may prove to be useful though. You do not make Rangers by crossing two breeds. It takes years of selective breeding to get those traits.

There are basically three types of meat birds we raise. The Cornish Cross were developed by years of selective breeding to produce a bird that puts on a lot of meat quickly with an excellent feed to meat conversion rate. They are typically butchered at 6 to 8 weeks of age.

Rangers were developed by years of selective breeding to reach butchering weights at around 12 weeks. While the Cornish Cross were developed to be confined and fed processed feed Rangers were developed to do better on pasture. You still have to feed them and their feed to meat conversion rate is not as good as the CX but your overall feed costs may be less since they pasture for part of it.

While you can eat any chicken, including bantams or laying chickens, if you are raising them for meat most people use a dual purpose breed. This gets complicated as there are a tremendous number of options so I won't go any further. These are typically butchered at an older age than the Rangers.

I'll point out that the older they are when butchered, especially the boys, the more flavorful the meat. Some of us like that, some do not. What I mentioned as typical butcher dates assumes they are raised as they were designed to be raised. Many people raise them differently.

You can try to get those Freedom Rangers and use them to start your breeding program. You would need to do some research on how to feed and manage them to enhance your chances of success. They are hybrids so they will not breed true but by selecting your breeders you can get some really nice chickens. You can try selectively breeding dual purpose breeds. After a few generations you will notice a great improvement if you carefully select your breeders.

People spent a lot of money over several years and used people with advanced degrees in chicken genetics to develop those Rangers. A lot of research has gone into how to maintain their quality, that's another important part of it. I cannot match what they do but after a few years I got a bird that suited my purposed better than a standard dual purpose.

Good luck!