Freedom Ranger update @ 7 weeks Lots & Lots of PICTURES!!!!

[moenmitz]

This guy looked like the porkiest, so I grabbed him for the scale

He looks much slimmer standing

4 lbs-6 oz I think? So a big slow down-gaining about .5 lb week now, as opposed to a pound. That's ok with me though, they are almost there.

Another tasty looking broiler

This just cracked me up- they look like prison thugs..."Life behind bars will get to you man...."

They LOVE playing King of the Mountain on the woodpile- all those great bugs in there are a plus too! Now maybe I wont bring so many into the house this winter. Course, I will be bringing in logs covered in chicken poo instead....

The Rangers...ranging...for those who were worried they sit down too much...

These are some oddballs....a tri-color- I only have a few. They are a week younger but MUCH, much smaller-not even at the 3 lb mark. Be interesting to see if they make that up later on. The white guy is also a week younger...and I have no idea why he is white as that wasn't a color option. A throwback to a White Rock perhaps....

Hmmm...I wonder what would happen....

If I got a littler bit closer and...

pecked your tail! Whew. That was a thrill....

 

[SandraMort]

only 4 wks away!!!

 

[moenmitz]

Believe me, I am counting the days. Every time I look at them I get HUNGRY....

 

[hinkjc]

Ok, can you explain what is a freedom ranger. Someone else referenced that name and I thought they meant meat birds. But these don't look like meat birds I am familiar with. What breeds are they made up of? They look like quite a mixed bag. Do they grow like cornish x's? Never heard of freedom rangers before....

Jody

 

[SandraMort]

I bought mine here: http://www.jmhatchery.com/Colored-Range-Chicks-p5.html

Edited to add more:

 

[SandraMort]

When will you be processing? I'm doing some of mine as poussin sized birds, mid October sometime, though it's hard to believe they'll be ready by then! And most of the rest will be mid to late December. I haven't decided how many to hold back but I'm curious what will happen.

 

[moenmitz]

I plan on doing the deed Oct 23rd-they will be 11 weeks and a couple of days. There is a big difference in size right now- some 2.5 lbs, others closer to 4.5 lbs- I imagine we will have a nice variety of sizes at processing-plenty of big ones for those who want them (like me!) and some smaller ones too. The game hen idea sounds appealing too- alot of the smaller ones would be perfect for that now, but I am having a hard time not wanting to see how big they can get! Little part of me wants some mini-turkeys...lol


Hinkjc- Freedom Rangers are a colored broiler that grows a bit slower and smaller than traditional Cornish-but they consequently do not suffer the health problems of the Cornish and also exhibit more typical chicken behaviors that the Cornish generally do not. If you do a search on BYC under Freedom Rangers or Colored Broilers, you will find reams of information, it is an oft discussed topic. Most of us here are new to them, and so it is a bit of an experiment, which is why I have been posting weekly updates so as to give others a good idea of what to expect growth-wise and for feed conversion when it is all said and done. Greyfields has raised a few batches and probably has the most experience with them of anyone on the board from what I have read. (If this is not the case, please accept my apologies)

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Excuse me if this has been discussed before -- are these birds similar to the Freedom Rangers that are no longer being sold? Are they the best alternatives to those birds?

I want to start some meat birds in Feb and need to decide what/where to order. Those Cornish Xs sure were meaty & tasty, but they don't seem like real chickens to me. More reptilian, almost cold-blooded, not perky & lively like other chickens. I like seeing the pix of yours walking around exploring their surroundings. Do they also have a short life expectancy? Must you butcher them before a certain age before they die on their own? Or can you spread the chore over several weeks, doing the meatiest ones available each week?

Thank you for sharing, this might be the answer to our needs!

 

[moenmitz]

Quote:
Same birds actually...if you do the search in BYC, you will read the whole story. Basically, Freedom Rangers went out of business and sold the breeding stock, but not the name, to JM Hatchery. He sells them as "colored range broilers" They were originally marketed in Europe under the name Label Rouge...google it and you can learn more specifics.

The F.R. are normal birds, albeit "chunky" ones. They are VERY active, from the start, and can live and breed like a normal chicken. I am not sure if their life expectancy is as long as dual purpose chickens, but it is much longer than the Cornish. They do not breed true, as they are hybrid, but alot of people on here are experimenting with breeding them to get some meaty birds-plan on trying it myself.

Ours run around ALOT, really funny watching them run around flapping their wings in an attempt at flying...they get about a foot off the ground at the most, but it doesnt stop them from trying! They REALLY get into chasing bugs, and while they ADORE their feeder, they will pass it up to eat something that MOVES every time.

 

[PurpleChicken]

Greyfields is the resident expert of Freedom Rangers.

Freedom Rangers are actually no longer sold. jmhatchery.com was a hatcher and shipper
for the original Freedom Rangers brand. When the couple who owns the Freedom Ranger
brand closed shop jmhatchery.com picked up where they left off. They are now called
Colored Range Broilers but are the same thing as the Rangers so many people still
call them that.


My birds are 9 weeks old. We culled 3 the other night. One dressed out at 5+ pounds
and the other two were 3.5 pounds.

These are some of the coolest birds. They are healthy and active. They don't smell like
a Cornish X does. I have 15 left and am dreading culling because I let myself get
attached to them. They range and dust bathe. The hens look like my RIR mutts and
I've gotten them mixed up a few times. One even looks like a Welsummer.

Pic from two weeks ago. The chicken is fine. My son hypnotized it on the scale.