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I'm with you
Freedom Rangers are/were alternatives to raising the Cornish Cross and Jumbo Cornish Crosses which you get from retail hatcheries. The Freedom Rangers people trademarked the name and marketed the broilers which they got breeding stock from Hubbard (a large breeder in France/EU).
Basically, in England (and all of the EU I believe), an organic chicken must be 81 days old. If you were to raise a Murray McMurray jumbo Cornish to 81 days it would be either dead or about 15 lbs live weight. So, these genetics were created for slower growing meat chickens. The advantage to being slower growing are increased disease resistance, fewer health problems, ability to stay feathered, etc. They're simply awesome birds.
You are trading bascially two weeks of life for more vigorous broilers. It costs you no more monetarily as the FCR of the birds is identical to the standard USA cornish cross broilers. If anything they save you money as you have less mortality.
You can still find related birds, the Red Broilers marketed under the "Red Bro" label at JM Hatchery. Also, Yankee Chicks carries the same broilers as Freedom Rangers (just under a different name).
I'm with you
Freedom Rangers are/were alternatives to raising the Cornish Cross and Jumbo Cornish Crosses which you get from retail hatcheries. The Freedom Rangers people trademarked the name and marketed the broilers which they got breeding stock from Hubbard (a large breeder in France/EU).
Basically, in England (and all of the EU I believe), an organic chicken must be 81 days old. If you were to raise a Murray McMurray jumbo Cornish to 81 days it would be either dead or about 15 lbs live weight. So, these genetics were created for slower growing meat chickens. The advantage to being slower growing are increased disease resistance, fewer health problems, ability to stay feathered, etc. They're simply awesome birds.
You are trading bascially two weeks of life for more vigorous broilers. It costs you no more monetarily as the FCR of the birds is identical to the standard USA cornish cross broilers. If anything they save you money as you have less mortality.
You can still find related birds, the Red Broilers marketed under the "Red Bro" label at JM Hatchery. Also, Yankee Chicks carries the same broilers as Freedom Rangers (just under a different name).