Looking to add meat birds to our homestead

[CrebenCreek25]

So I've kept and raised laying chickens my whole life, wanting to start raising batches of meat birds to sale and put in our personal freezer. I've done lots of research and have settled in on the freedom Ranger color yields. I have a 164ft X 164ft area, fenced with electric net fence. It's half shade and half open with an abundance of mixed grasses and clover. I have built a 20 x10 hoop coop, complete covering on the top, sides and half of one end. They would only be in the hoop coop at nights and ranging during the day. My main query. With 200 sqft of coop space and 27,000 sqft of ranging space, how many birds could I grow comfortably in the 10-12 weeks suggested for the chosen birds? (Yes I have read and understand 2 sqft per bird so on and so fourth, just looking for some real life day ranging experienced guidance.)

 

[FunClucks]

So I've kept and raised laying chickens my whole life, wanting to start raising batches of meat birds to sale and put in our personal freezer. I've done lots of research and have settled in on the freedom Ranger color yields. I have a 164ft X 164ft area, fenced with electric net fence. It's half shade and half open with an abundance of mixed grasses and clover. I have built a 20 x10 hoop coop, complete covering on the top, sides and half of one end. They would only be in the hoop coop at nights and ranging during the day. My main query. With 200 sqft of coop space and 27,000 sqft of ranging space, how many birds could I grow comfortably in the 10-12 weeks suggested for the chosen birds? (Yes I have read and understand 2 sqft per bird so on and so fourth, just looking for some real life day ranging experienced guidance.)

A lot depends on your personal preferences. The color yield should act much like an egg layer in terms of ranging behavior, eating, response to people, etc. (CX are distinctly different).

How much grass do you want to have left at the end of raising them? This plays into how many chickens to run on that piece of land. The 2 sq ft per bird recommendation is for CX only, and is meant for raising CX in commercial chicken houses, possibly with debeaked birds. I would give rangers a lot more space.

For egg layers, I keep a mixed flock confined in a covered run (no coop, just large covered run). They need 15 sq ft or more per bird to avoid bullying and feather picking over the winter. I can keep them at a higher density when they're growing in the spring/summer, but about 6 months and older they start to need more space, and especially over the winter to avoid the bullying/feather picking when it's colder and they tend to stick together more.

Really, you'll just need to pick something, try it out, and see how things turn out, then improve for next time. Good luck!

 

[FunClucks]

Just realized, I totally left out the fact that I've raised a variety of meat birds besides CX, and they all need the 15 sq ft or more of space to get along optimally. They need a lot more space than that if you plan to have any grass left at the end of 3-4 months.

Meat birds I've raised:
CX
Ginger Broiler (3 month broiler)
White Ranger (3 month broiler)
Freedom Ranger New Hampshire (dual purpose optimized for meat, lays decently)

I looked into the Color Yield myself, and expected they'd behave very similar to the Ginger Broiler I had previously, so I got the White Ranger instead - really happy with those - good movement and livability, but I wouldn't recommend them as a replenishable flock - after the first year they are too heavy for the hens to lay eggs, has been my (limited) experience. I got eggs off of them from 6-12 months, wish I'd hatched some at that time.

Really happy with the NH optimized for meat - they have nice large carcasses, maybe 20-30% lighter than CX, great ranging, livability, and act like normal chickens. They lay decently, and I currently get meat and eggs from them. I'll hatch a number once I get a broody hen this season.