Freedom Rangers, Red Rangers, Red Broilers......are these the same bird

[Crista]

Guess that pretty much is my question. We are wanting to do some meat chickens, again. Last time it was
cornish x and we were happy with them. We re not really white meat aficianados, so are thinking of trying something else.
And fast growing is not an issue.. thankyou for any and all input.

 

[BrambleFoxFarm]

Our last meat birds were red rangers and I HATED them. They took forever to mature and were the meanest buzzards ever! The meat was tough because they got so old...we held out to get large enough birds. The males were scrawny and the females were full of fat. I was looking for an alternative to the white meat birds because I love the idea of raising heritage meat birds and the red rangers seemed to be a middle ground. I doubt I'll do anything but the ugly white broilers again, they are cost effective for a reason. Plus they never bit me every time I fed them! =)

 

[Mingming]

I think freedom rangers and red rangers are the same - I'm not sure about the red broilers .... never heard of that one before. I'm doing the freeom rangers now and I'll be bringing them to the processor next wednesday so I'll let you know how they taste They've been great for me... although it's the first set I've ever done so I can't really compare to anything else. They've been friendly and active and are hungry all the time. The only time they pecked at me was when I had painted toe-nails and flip-flops on .... woops!

I've got 27 all together, and the boys are all averaging around 8 lbs live weight at 9 weeks, so they've put on weight really well (I think so, anyway). I've been feeding them about 70% fermented feed and leave dry food for them all day long too. I'll keep the girls another two weeks or so and see where we can get them to before we bring them to freezer camp too.

 

[aroo2many]

This is my 3rd year raising Freedom Rangers and I love them! They are sweet, curious birds. They are active in the pasture grazing, scratching and dust bathing. Just like regular chickens! I don't know if FR and Red Rangers are the same or not. It may depend on where you get them. I get ours from The Freedom Ranger Hatchery, a family run business that has been very responsive and helpful. This is only my third year raising meat birds and I have been learning a lot. My first year was very stressful as I lost some chicks and had leg issues. My distress call to the hatchery was immediately returned by the owner Kendal Fox. He patiently listened to my situation and made helpful suggestions. It turns out that my woes were feed related. Since changing feed and using vitamin supplements in the water for the first three weeks I have had strong healthy birds. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the birds from this hatchery.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I raised Freedom Rangers last summer and wanted to raise more this summer. However, I promised my husband that I would never again have more than 15-18 growing meat birds at time (we had to evacuate our property for 9 days due to the Waldo Canyon Fire. So, I've orderd 18 Red Rangers for delivery this year. So, I can't really answer your question about whether they are, in my opinion, the same bird...but I"m hoping so, because I really liked the Freedom Rangers.

 

[oldrooster]

and what are dixie rangers? are they a generic name used by all the hathceries for their versions of the freedom rangers (i have heard freedom rangers are a trademarked name so they should be all the same or close to it)