Mixing Rangers and Cornish Cross

[Hopulence]

Hi folks! I have had 4 successful batches of raising and processing Cornish Cross meaties. Sometimes I process a few at around 5 weeks to have a nice 3-4 pound Cornish hen (yes I agree the name is confusing and dumb!). It's a perfect size to roast whole for my small family.

However, I am not a fan of splitting the batch since it's 2x the set up and cleaning time as normal. So I had a thought.

Next time I will order 20 or so Cx and 10 or so Rangers. At around 9 weeks the rangers should be a perfect "Cornish hen" size.

Are there any concerns with mixing the breeds? Will the Cx battle the rangers in terms of feed? I read the rangers are better foragers but they won't make weight on foraging alone.

Thanks!

 

[NatJ]

Next time I will order 20 or so Cx and 10 or so Rangers. At around 9 weeks the rangers should be a perfect "Cornish hen" size.

Are there any concerns with mixing the breeds? Will the Cx battle the rangers in terms of feed? I read the rangers are better foragers but they won't make weight on foraging alone.

I have not tried it, but I think your plan has a good chance of working. I assume you will be watching in case problems do show up.

If you have issues with Cornish Cross hogging the food, you could divide the pen so each kind has their own side. The divider could be hardware cloth, chicken wire, even something like cardboard or tarp (because a divider only needs to be chicken-proof, not predator-proof.)

Depending on how active the rangers are, you might be able to put a raised feed & water station that only they can use. I'm thinking of something like an old coffee table, that the rangers can fly up to but the Cornish Cross are too heavy to reach. Or maybe a different height, depending on which kind of bird can get how high.