Freezer Camp for K.K. and Rosambros!!!!!

[Bucky182]

I had my Kosher Kings and my Rosambro chickens processed on the 6th. The KK were 12 weeks old and all Roosters and the Rosambro's were 10 weeks old and all hens. The KK are averaging @ 3.5-4.3 lbs dressed and the Rosambro's are averaging the same none under 3.5 lbs and a coulpe pushing 4 lbs. The KK have large legs and thighs and very long breast on them and the Rosambro's have a huge breast and nice sized legs and thighs. I had 89 processed from the 104 I started with.
I lost serveral so to my fault, one with a heat lamp dropped and a couple became victims of moving thier cages, and two with bad legs (one each kind) and then a couple just died.

Here are my thoughts are on them.

KK Great foragers, very hearty and very "Chicken like" but cost me more to have processed due to the grey feathers. They have the largest feet you have ever seen on a bird. Even the processer said these birds have the largest feet I have ever seen. I have eaten one and it was very tasty!

Rosambro, not as good a forager but still not bad like a CC. A smaller compact bird not as tall as the KK and have a much larger breast area on them. They are also all white except a few black feathers on one or two. They make a much nicer finished bird and did it two weeks earlier than the KK.

They where both cheaper than a Freedom ranger and I would say the KK are closer in body size and grow out time. Nolls has a white meat maker that I would like to try if it is close to the KK in size and performance. Over all I was very satisfied with both. For someone looking for a cheaper alternative to the Freedom Ranger I would highly recommend either of these birds. Just depending on if you want a larger breast or not. But if you figure the Rosambro's where all hens not sure how big a roo would get in that time frame. They (Rosambro's) are a French breed from thier Red Label brand.

Sorry I have no pictures, as I have no digital camera and have been too busy at work to borrow one.

 

[Bucky182]

If some one is looking for a cheaper alternative to the FR both of these would be an excellent choice. I have raised FR and CC. The rosambro is probably the best, with a breast just as big as a CC. But I realize everyone here is in love with FR and are more than happy to pay twice the cost for them?? Don't make sense to me

 

[bigredfeather]

What hatchery(s) do these come from?

 

[Bossroo]

The other amazing thing is that some think that hatching one's own chicks is cheaper. If they take the time to figure out the TRUE costs of keeping, housing, and feeding the parent flock + the poor feed conversion rate of these chicks, the time and effort it takes to raise these chicks to butcher size, they end up with quite an expensive chicken dinner indeed.

 

[Bucky182]

Kosher Kings come from Noll's Hatchery in PA and they also have a couple other meat birds as well, they also have a great price on RR if you are looking for eggs chickens.

The Rosambro come from MT-DI in PA as well, they also have a red ranger meat bird too. MT-DI has a internet site while Nolls does not. Nolls is run by some Amish folks who are very nice. I had mine shipped to KS for 50 birds from Nolls (They sent 55) was 57.00 total

 

[Bucky182]

I have no affiliation with these hatcheries but I will bet donuts to dollars a Rosambro is more uniform and has a bigger breast than a FR.

 

[eKo_birdies]

Quote:
i've never raised rosambros... but i will easily agree with you just based on my experience with freedom rangers. the freedom rangers are all over the board in size. the runts are absolutely tiny. and the breast isn't the biggest, but i like the legs a whole lot better so it works for us.

ETA this post has me really interested to try some of these birds. i'm thinking in the spring i'm going to do 4 (maybe 5 tractors): 1 w/ red broilers, 1 w/ KKs, 1 w/ rosambros, and 1 w/ FRs (the 5th would be the the slow broilers if i do it). it'll be an interesting comparison and i plan to keep detailed observations/records of the process

 

[Bucky182]

If you like the dark meat more try the KK although the rosambro have a nice leg and thigh also but a huge breast and being almost all white have a nice clean cacass on them.

But most people here are to busy having a freedom ranger love fest they don't mind paying twice as much to get an inferior product.

 

[eKo_birdies]

lol i agree, though i think a lot of it is that people try cornish X and then try freedom rangers next (since they are much more widely advertised and promoted by people here).. so instantly they appreciate the characteristics of freedom rangers more, thus falling in love - mostly in comparison w/ cornish X.

as far as why freedom rangers are more popular even though more expensive... speaking for myself, i had to go w/ freedom rangers the first time because all the other color broilers from other hatcheries were sold out. in addition, it is really convenient that the birds are shipped every week of the year and arrive where and when they are supposed to (i've had horrible issues w/ other bigger hatcheries sending my birds to the post office 2 hours away after they'd told me on the phone they would be shipped to my local post office). i can also say that the customer service is great and it's nice to be able to talk to the actual person in charge of the hatchery when you have a question, rather than some hourly worker who really has no clue what they are talking about.

this year i am trying to get a jump on things and pre-order my meat birds (further in advance than i did last year, since apparently that wasn't early enough). that way i can really see for myself what the differences are. also, living in northern colorado at 8,000 feet.. i need a bird that is hearty, so it will be nice to compare directly.


ETA the kosher kings seem like they may be more of what i am looking for up here versus the rosambro... i'm anxious to give them a try. i'll still probably get a batch of the ros too though, just to give em a try.

have you tried any of the slow growing cornish X some hatcheries offer? are the rosambros similar to those (if you know)?