New rangers comin this week

[sfgwife]

by thurs/fri we will have 30 new lil velicoraptors here on the Hillsite. Hubby ordered rainbow rangers i think. We just got everyone else's coop and pens done... so that meant no more lookin like a circus was comin to our front yard . Now the tractor is comin back again. But i guess that is ok.. new chicken tv and zoomies. Hahahaha.

But a quick question.... should i section off the tractor to make is smaller for the littles so they don't wander too far for a bit? I am thinkin yes. So that they don't wander and get chilled at night. We will keep them close to the house for a bit to have electricity close for the heat at night (it has been in the mid 70s so they will need that heat). And by puttin the brooder divider thingers in it will also cut down on bein drafty at their feet but give enough ventilation still all the time.

 

[Farmgirl47]

Congratulations on your soon-to-arrive chicks! Be sure and post many pictures...

I would probably section the chicken tractor off too. Around here meat chickens aren't known for their brains.

Two or three times we've also ordered around 30 Freedom Ranger chicks to raise, and they are much better (by far) then Cornish cross chickens (we've raised both). They don't grow as fast, but the Cornish get so fat by butcher time (around 8-10 weeks) that they can't get around any more. And with the Freedom Rangers, if you fall in love with one particular hen and decide to keep it, they lay just as well as your average layer and can live as long too. They just have bigger appetites.

 

[sfgwife]

Thanks. We did cornishx this spring as our first foray into meaties. And for sure they were lazy lazy birds. We wanted try rangers to see which flavor we liked better. .

 

[GreatBreeder]

I would probably section the chicken tractor off too. Around here meat chickens aren't known for their brains.

...they are much better (by far) then Cornish cross chickens (we've raised both). They don't grow as fast, but the Cornish get so fat by butcher time (around 8-10 weeks) that they can't get around any more. And with the Freedom Rangers, if you fall in love with one particular hen and decide to keep it, they lay just as well as your average layer and can live as long too. They just have bigger appetites.

Thanks. We did cornishx this spring as our first foray into meaties. And for sure they were lazy lazy birds. We wanted try rangers to see which flavor we liked better. .

Freedom Rangers and Cornish X were bred for opposite purposes, one was to get a way from industrial meat birds and conventional systems, and the other was bred for cramped conditions and to be bigger with less food and care. So they're not exactly something to compare.

Though Cornish X are not ideal for the pasture, you can restrict their feed and actually free range them, not a run or tractor.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...rnish-x-meaties-tractors-do-not-count.813414/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/raising-cornish-x-for-meat-–-the-truth.66015/

Though I totally support freedom rangers and Cornish Cross and would not like to boil an argument up.

 

[Farmgirl47]

@TheGreatPapyrus -
I know that they were bred for different purposes. As I said, we have tried both the Cornish X and the Freedom Rangers, raising them the same way (free-range in a 2-3 acre pasture and at night going into a coop - and being fed 1-2 times per day, so their food intake was limited) and I just wanted to share that the Freedom Rangers worked out best for us.

 

[GreatBreeder]

Sounds great!

 

[sfgwife]

They got here a day earlier than we expected and hubby wasn't finished with their tractor improvement. Blah! So in my screen room they went. Oh well... 32 happy quiet velicoraptors zoomying their way round and round the brooder.

 

[ScarletAndColonel]

So cute!! I would definitely section off a part of the tractor for them. We used bales of shavings as "walls", stacked 2 bales high, and only gave them about 1/2 of the tractor. We had 50 of them in that space and it was plenty of room for chicks. As they got older we moved the "walls" back to give them more room until we felt they were big enough to use all of the tractor's interior. Plus they had figured out how to get up on the bales by that point! lol

We have started processing our first batch of Freedom Rangers and I think you are going to really like them, sfgwife. They are a lively group, that's for sure. One thing we really didn't realize from photos was the variety of colors we would see in their feathers. They are beautiful, although I may be a little biased because I've raised them. Not just a plain red but brilliant orange, vibrant red, some browns with highlights, some yellow blonds....We are going to keep back some of the females to see how well they do as they mature and I'm a little sad to think that, if we put them with a rooster, they won't breed true and their gorgeous colors will be lost. Anyway, we have really enjoyed the Freedom Rangers and will raise them again, for sure.

 

[sfgwife]

Thanks for the info. . Since the tractor improvement (makin it a foot taller so the mister didn't knock his fool ole noggin on the door daily) wasn't ready they just went in the brooder this go round. When they are feathered they will just go in it this time. But next time that is the plan. To section it off for a time. .