Freedom Rangers out of buisness

[doc_gonzo]

i'm with greyfields on this one .....

i'll gladly pay you tuesday for a ranger today. sounds fishy instead of chickeny.

cheers

doc

 

[SimplyAbundantFarm]

Big business is always very powerful, indeed. When you get a chance anyone who thinks differently should watch the documentary put out last year or the year before titled "Who Killed the Electric Car?"

However...on a brighter note...

While it is always sad to see someone go out of business – especially nice people who have worked so hard – the good news is that the genetics will not be lost, because you have to remember that these are hybrid birds. It is not as though they were the last breeders of a breed that was on the verge of extinction. There are other breeders out there raising the same birds from the same original stock – just not using such a catch name as Freedom Rangers (which, IMHO, was a brilliant marketing/branding strategy on Barbara and Brian’s part).

The birds that they got their original stock from were likely from Hubbard and from the same foundation genetics that MT-DI and some other hatcheries are raising now. Definitely the grey and the red and the bronze (in fact, some of the FR photos were probably from the stock photos from Hubbard, as far as I can tell). I'm not as sure about the goldens, but I have not looked closely enough at the hubbardbreeders. com website to determine the genetics on that bird. They may be further down the list in the various crosses.

When I started seeing the handwriting on the wall in getting chicks from Barbara, I did a little bit of googling and found a hatchery close to me in Lancaster County, PA. (www.jmhatchery. com). Their birds are virtually the same broilers as the freedom ranger reds and bronzes and I picked up my chicks from them. I plan to hold back a few birds, myself, to see about breeding some of my own, but knowing that they are a hybrid, I don't expect them to breed true from a color perspective and will likely inject some hybrid vigor every few generations down the road just because I find genetics to be very interesting.

So…all is not lost for those of you who wanted Freedom Rangers and you do not have to settle for just raising CC if you don’t want to. Again, Barbara and Brian just did a really great job of marketing their birds as a unique product with a unique name – but you will find that their birds are not any different from George from MT-DI's birds or Joel Martin's birds that I picked up last week.

 

[blue90292]

Who is george and MT-Di's?

EDIT, links are allowed within the rules of BYC

 

[SimplyAbundantFarm]

Oops...I am new at this and didn't realize we were not allowed to include links. I saw them in the prior posts in this thread, so thought it was ok.

I wish I knew the last name of the guy named George, but he has a hatchery called MT-DI in Pennsylvania. I apologize for the confusion. Like I said, I'm kind of new and there had been discussion that included his name on the pastured poultry list. I cross posted without enough info.

Again...please be gentle...I'm new.

Thanks!

 

[Frozen Feathers]

Since when are we not allowed to post links?

Anyway, I was really looking forward to trying some Freedom Rangers this fall. Maybe I try some from JM.

 

[blue90292]

Quote:
don't worry, post away. we are hungry for knowledge and any new information is appreciated.

michele

 

[Honky Dory]

I read in another post that what happened was that a BIG buyer backed out of a big purchase of Freedom Rangers and it left them stranded. That in itself seems curious to me. There were also complaints about lack of communication, and lots of order errors when dealing with them. It just seems like they were not prepared (or didn't have the resources) to deal with the growth of thier business. Nevertheless it's still sad to see a thriving business go down.
On another note, I agree that you can still find similar birds...but the branding is what made us feel safe...kind of a guarantee.
Anyone ever thought about going back to Delawares as a meat bird? I had a few and remember them maturing really fast (and to a good size too). I'm new to the meat bird side of the coop, but I know before the CC came to dominate, the Delaware was #1.

 

[BirdBrain]

I wonder what it would look like to cross a cornish with at delaware. Has anyone tried that?

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
Get any pullets you want to keep off broiler ration and onto a pullet developer ASAP if you want to keep them. If you don't have a pullet developer you can mix a starter ration 50/50 with cracked corn.

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
Well said.

The only hints they would give me on the conformation of the Freedom Ranger lines were that they used "heritage breeds" and played dumb most the time. I don't blame them since they had such a inique product that they wouldn't want replicated by the 'big guys'.

When I looked at the various birds they always appeared to me to be sired by a Cornish. The dame, however, was probably a double cross or hybrid. Who knows. I'm certainly pleased with my Cornish X Freedom Rangers (gourmet black) I have in my tractor right now.