Freedom Ranger growth

[wholehearted]

Well, I just did second week weights on my Rangers. I plan to post my weekly results in the Grow-out thread, but it says questions are better discussed in separate threads, so I will ask here.

It seems like my weights are somewhat higher than the ones in the other journals. I wonder if this is a concern? Is it possible for them to grow too fast and cause issues later? I know it can be a concern with Cornish X, but I thought it wasn't as big of an issue with the Rangers.

Our results so far:

Number of chicks: 26
Hatch Date: 20 April 2011
Feed: Hiland Naturals Non-GMO Starter 21%

27 April 2011
Weight: (lo/hi/ave): 4.2/5.7/5.02 oz.
Feed Consumed: (current week/total) 9/9 lbs

04 May 2011
Weight (lo/hi/ave): 9.7/13.5/11.73 oz.
Feed Consumed: (current week/total) 22/31 lbs

This is our first time with meat birds (or any birds, for that matter!) so I would just like an experienced viewpoint on whether we are doing okay so far. Suggestions and advice welcomed if we need to make adjustments to keep them healthy for the long-term...all ten to twelve weeks of it! LOL

 

[Pineywoods Peepers]

Wow! Your FR's are about 3 oz ahead of where ours were at that age.

How are you liking the Hiland Naturals food? We found a dealer about 100 miles from us - close to where my in-laws live, and we're transitioning our layers over to it. I want to get pellets next time, because the crumbles is very crumbly and I think the pellets last longer.

We don't have the meaties on Hiland Naturals. Maybe next time, but it is about $4 more per bag than the grower we're using now. But maybe you've got more growth because the feed is better quality and not as much is passing through the birds. I know that's the case with dog food. Crappy dog food = more dog poo. Not sure if the same principle applies to chicken feed.

 

[wholehearted]

Well, I am happy they are growing so well. Just worried that they are eating more than they should and might end up with issues because of it! Since we've never done this before, I don't have much point of comparison on what is normal and good. They all seem healthy and active so far, so I guess that is good.

So far, the Hiland Naturals feed seems very good. We travel 100 miles to get it too. Just picked up several bags of soy-free grower this week, which is what we will be switching to when the starter is gone. We originally planned to start with soy-free as well, but ended up with the GMO-free instead. I am interested to see if their growth slows on the soy-free. I had the opportunity to speak with the owner of Hiland Naturals when I was in there this week, and he was very helpful and encouraging about the Freedom Rangers. He has raised them himself. The feed does come at a high price, and we continue to look for less expensive options. We want to stick with soy-free whenever possible, so our choices are very limited. Funny you mention the dog food...we feed a high quality dog food (Innova) which has continually been going up in price. I was jokingly telling my dh that we shouldn't complain too much about the chicken feed costs...at least our chickens will put food on the table. Our dogs just lay around all day waiting for their free dinner. LOL I do believe in feeding the best quality food possible. With dogs, the cheaper foods are full of fillers that are not absorbed and just end up as waste, like you mentioned. I, too, wonder how much of the same is true with chickens.

 

[WildflowerJLH]

Wow! I have 25 FRs that have a hatch date one week after yours. We are feeding a 22% protein soy-free starter from Modesto Milling. Here is what mine weigh in at each week:

5/4/11, 1 week old

Average = 2.1 oz
Biggest = 2.7 oz
Smallest = 1.5 oz

5/11/11, 2 weeks old

Average = 3.1 oz
Biggest = 4.3 oz
Smallest = 2.0 oz

To be honest, I am happy they are growing a little slower. Even though they grow slower than CXs, I am not sure if 9-11 weeks is long enough to develop true taste and texture. I will be fine if they are not ready for processing until 13 or 14 weeks.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I pushed mine pretty hard with 24% protein. Out of 26 only 1 went lame at about 7 weeks, he was still tasty.
I think next time I'll cut back to 20 or 22% at about 5 weeks.