Freedom Ranger Nerd Out Thread

[seanengler]

I think so, they were just about fully by 3 1/2 weeks.

I can second this. I just put mine out on pasture today at 3.5 weeks and they are JUST shy of being fully feathered.

 

[seanengler]

Here is the waterer I built. I spent a decent amount of time researching waterers of all things. The bell waterers were all $40+ and I just hated to spend the money. This set up cost me about 25 bucks. It's gravity fed from a 5 gallon bucket up top.



Here is the bucket up top. I'll probably cut that loop out of the line, but it's also nice to have the length incase I need to move it somewhere else on the pen to balance etc.



3.5 Weeks old, first time out of the brooder.



Here's a trough feeder I built. Again, all the trough feeders I was researching were expensive! I built this one for about 10 bucks. I bought a rain gutter which comes in 10 foot lengths, so you can easily make multiple feeders. The end caps were a few bucks each, and the PVC pipe on top for a handle/method to keep them out of the feeder was scrap I had. I just screwed the gutter onto some 2x4 scraps and there she was. 10-12 bucks at most. Holds around 12 pounds of feed.



Here is the pen set up. I have electric netting set up lengthwise so I can make multiple moves with the pen before needing to move the netting.



It's kind of hard to see but I ran a hot wire around the base of the pen too, tied into the electric netting. My theory here is that if anything made it past the net, which I have yet to experience with my other nets in operation, it would investigate around the base of the pen where it would come into contact with this hot wire and scare it off before digging etc.




Here is one of my trusty "guard" hounds. If you see any bare patches in the pasture, it is surely from her or my other hound who enjoy nothing more than digging when they catch a gopher scent. Their presence does help keep ferrel cats, foxes etc out of the property.

 

[pioneerchick816]

Your set up is impressive!! Glad you're sharing. I'm getting my batch of meaties in April. Looking forward to restocking my freezer

 

[gholmomma]

I really like your meat bird setup. Nice movable shelter.

We have also raised reds and cornishx. The Cornishx had wider body cavities, easier to process. And the difference in their foraging capacity didn't warrant the increase cost/time of raising. Thus- we now just do cornishx

 

[seanengler]

I really like your meat bird setup. Nice movable shelter.

We have also raised reds and cornishx. The Cornishx had wider body cavities, easier to process. And the difference in their foraging capacity didn't warrant the increase cost/time of raising. Thus- we now just do cornishx

Interesting info! I am debating running another batch this summer when the grass is brown and not as nutrient dense, so foraging would be less. I want to see how much of a difference it makes in food consumption. From November-May when we are green here I cut down 30-40% in my layer feed because they eat so much forage. As far as the foraging capacity between the two types of birds, I opted for the freedom rangers just for the slower growth being that most of our pasture is on a decent slope. I didn't want to risk the potential leg problems I've read about with the cornish x and combine it with unlevel ground. Also interesting that you noted the cavities, I was just thinking about that yesterday and how they would compare. Thanks!!

 

[Twin Fowls Farm]

Looks like a great setup. Our biggest downfall the first time we raised Freedom Rangers was that we gave them TOO much "freedom" and their carcass weight suffered. Pastured poultry is great, completely free ranging pastured poultry not so much. Still tasted great but only averaged just over 3 pounds with the biggest at 3.5 pounds. Perfect for our family but not for community sales. We still go back and forth between CX and FR as they both have their benefits but it's nice to have something to look at that isn't a pure white bird. I look forward to your end results.

-IdahoTom

 

[seanengler]

Looks like a great setup. Our biggest downfall the first time we raised Freedom Rangers was that we gave them TOO much "freedom" and their carcass weight suffered. Pastured poultry is great, completely free ranging pastured poultry not so much. Still tasted great but only averaged just over 3 pounds with the biggest at 3.5 pounds. Perfect for our family but not for community sales. We still go back and forth between CX and FR as they both have their benefits but it's nice to have something to look at that isn't a pure white bird. I look forward to your end results.

-IdahoTom

That's good to know about the free range aspect of it. I debated it and have still debated it in my head for future batches. I like the idea of giving them their natural environment to express their chickenness in while still controlling the amount of birds per square foot as far as nitrogen going into the pasture etc.. Them working off their body weight is something that hadn't really crossed my mind yet to be honest, but it makes total sense. I'm pleased so far with their weight gains. They're eating A LOT but they are also doing quite a bit of foraging. We have a couple different rye grasses, wild oats, peas, alfalfa and some rip gut all growing in that pasture and the really seem to enjoy most of it. Last I checked at the end of week 3, they were just over 2 pounds. A hatchery near me sells their version of the freedom ranger and they have a growth chart from day 1-70 and so far my numbers have matched their's very closely. They processed on day 70 with a live weight of 8 pounds or so. Looking forward to seeing the end results too.

 

[sevenchickens]

Great thread, thank you for sharing. I'm trying to convince my husband to give these birds a try and your thread is very helpful.

 

[seanengler]

Great thread, thank you for sharing. I'm trying to convince my husband to give these birds a try and your thread is very helpful.

I think it's easy to ask for forgiveness than permission....Hard to say no when the chicks just magically show up!! Kidding of course, sort of haha. Tell him it's a lot of fun! I thought it was going to be more of a chore than it is, I really enjoy going out and tending to them just as much as my egg layers. They're interesting and fun to watch and care for!

Glad you're enjoying the thread...preparing week 5 numbers right now!

 

[seanengler]

Week 5 Update!

So I've got some good numbers again now that I'm not in the hospital and can track my info again, haha!

Here's a screenshot of my spreadsheet:


Here's a screenshot of a growth chart I've been comparing mine too loosely. It's from a hatchery near my house that just started carrying a red broiler AFTER I bought my freedom rangers. Not sure of the genetics but I'm sure it's close enough to use as a loose reference.



Nothing really new to report this week. Pen moves have been every 24 hours, feed has been given freely, they'v endured temps in the mid to low 20s, they're incredibly active and brave, all in all a really hearty bird! Really looking forward to getting these processed and running some more batches.