Freedom Rangers

[rSpriggs]

That's the main reason I haven't hunted in years, much as I love to shoot . . .
No Open Season on beef around here!

BTW, I love your signature line, as I love what I do (www.cdaInspector.com)

 

[Beanstock2]

PurpleChicken,

Thanks for the info on jm Hatchery. I called them and they gave me some good info.

they say 10- 11 weeks for a 4# dressed bird. How are yours doing?
they also say 2.4 to 2.5# weight converson. does that sound about right?

 

[AVizcaya]

I don't know if Greyfields has been around anytime soon but I was wondering if he had any updates on his cornish cross project. I would greatly appreciate some followup if it's possible. Thank you very much, Alex.

 

[toeflower]

I ordered 50 freedom rangers in July. I kept 30 and a friend took the other 20. We both had 1 die of unexplained causes. 2 of mine started going lame within a month---their legs get twisted. I took one's head off but the other didnt seem as bad so I kept it alive. As it got older, it got worse til one leg was forward and the other backwards. I named it Pretzel. Another one started going lame after 1 1/2 months and I called him Gimpy. The lame birds dont seem to grow well and I ended up dispatching them both at 2 1/2 months because their rear ends get gooped up an Pretzel got pecked on the head, badly plucked and bruised, by the other hens. My friend lost 2 early on to lameness.

My rangers are mostly roosters. They are very good natured and lay around under the bushes. They eat alot and seem to prefer chicken food. My laying hens, marans. s. sussex and cochin chicks are more interested in foraging, eating fruit, scratching, and escaping into the garden. Size wise, some are big and slender and some big and fat. They do grow fast and get their feathers early. I got the cochin chicks a week before the rangers and they are currently 1/3 the size. Mine will be butchered tomorrow which means that I'll have had them for 3 months.
Summary: Out of 50 birds 2 died early on, and 5 became crippled when they were still little and 1 went down on its legs at the very end. I am not very pleased. Thats 8 birds out of 50. Last year I raised 30 slow-grow cornish cross from Welp and in three months not a single bird went down.

I wonder about inbreeding among the Ranger variety?

 

[noahsark]

Im surprised you had such a cripple loss..I am raising 26 from JM..one got twisted legs...everyone else is fat and healthy..I will post pictures tommorow as I think they will be 8 weeks on wednesday..I am very happy with them so far..Cant wait to tatse them, as last time I raised heritage java cross birds..Took forever and there wasnt much on them..

 

[McNuggs]

I think with all home grown "Cornish Crosses" you are going to get more virulent animals than the commercial Cornish X's. Since the large hatchery versions are using parent stock which has been selected for size and growth rate alone (for up to a hundred years); your home crosses won't have quite the same 'self destruct' gene pattern in them. Of course, if you do the same at home, selecting for your larger beasts, you should come up with a pretty comparible result to the commercial strains - except hopefully with better genetics for longevity.

Search Results

vir·u·lent
ˈvir(y)ələnt/
adjective
adjective: virulent

1.​

(of a disease or poison) extremely severe or harmful in its effects.
synonyms: poisonous, toxic, venomous, noxious, deadly, lethal, fatal, dangerous, harmful, injurious, pernicious, damaging, destructive



I think you mean virile?

 

[havenhound]

my rangers are coming up on a week and 1/2 and already are starting to look very heavy in the breast after only 10 days on free choice.. So much so that I detected the tell tale broad based stance and lots of flopping down due to too much weight too early. I've read various reports about approaches to controlling the too fast weight gain. What I'm doing as of yesterday is offering the starter grower crumbles (20%) about every 5 hours .. .I give them a 1/2 hour to go at it and then pull it. Obviously I'll reduce it to 3 X a day and then Am and PM for the final 1/2 of the time period.
After one season with the Cornish X whites (fine carcass but can live without the idea of a glutton machine) .. . . I heard these birds are a lot healthier and you can range them. Slowing down the feeding seems to help with the loose fecal matter and while they poop a lot its not as runny and messy as the CX whites.

We are having nice warm days and ok nites. My question is how soon can they handle the green material if I start putting them out on grass toward late afternoon (so they'll come back into the pen at darkness). Its a protected area so predators are not the concern but the ranger's digestive system is. I suppose if they had been brooded by a hen they would be eating all kinds of stuff by now??????
Any ideas from you more seasoned chicken folks would be appreciated.
havenhound

 

[rSpriggs]

FWIW, I've found that mixing cracked grains, sprouted grains, fermented grains, etc. all help them gain weight without the stupid eating usually associated with CX. For example, I was growing up some heritage birds for meat, & someone could no longer keep a dozen CX they had, so I brought them in. I was not about to change my feeding habits of 100 to accommodate 12, so they were brought into the (organic) program.
Well, don'tcha know, the CX were hopping 2' up onto roosting bars, foraging, etc like real birds. They ended up about 75% of the weight they would have been otherwise, but they were a healthier bird.
Personally, I believe they put excitotoxins (look it up) into their feed like they put it into human snacks.
In summary, if you can get closer to nature in your feed (and your bird's feed), everybody is healthier.

 

[hollyester]

I am a first time chicken raiser, but friends got us into raising Freedom Rangers for meat. We got 12 birds (plus 4 other laying hens) and butchered all but one of the roosters (which I kept due to his beautiful tri color plumage) at around 14 weeks and got 5 4-5 pound birds. We lost one of the FR hens to Fourth of July fireworks (heart attack?) but then butchered all but one of the FR hens (because she also was interesting looking--yellow like a yellow lab instead of red) at around 16 or 17 weeks and got 5-6 pound birds.

The Freedom Ranger hen was the first of my hens to begin laying, also. She gives me an egg every 1.5 to 2 days.
We only tossed around rough figures, so I can't say where my 'bottom line' ended up, but I really appreciate knowing what's "in" my food!
Holly

 

[brightpennies]

Just adding a bit of love for these birds, because my hens have been laying steadily into the winter and are now outlaying my "egg" birds!

Two of my hens have been so submissive to my various roosters that they've been completely mauled. I haven't dealt with open wounds on poultry much, but in both cases (once the roosters in question were sent to freezer camp) my hens healed up nicely with minimal application of antibiotic spray. Some people have noted that their birds weren't very active. My girls are always exploring -- when the weather's nice, they'd usually rather forage than eat from the feeder if the option is available.