New to Meat Birds

[suki'smom]

I will be purchasing some meat birds from Meyer Hatchery and I am looking for some input. They have "Rainbow Ranger Broilers" so what I was wondering was: Do these birds survive to adulthood? I am asking because they seem to fit the bill for what I am looking for in a meat bird and I would like to breed them. In the catalog it says "...we recommend processing by 11 weeks of age." This makes me assume that they have complications if allowed to grow more, so I thought I would ask here to know for sure Otherwise I may just get the "White Broilers" offered to butcher and be done with it since the "Rainbow Ranger Broilers" require an order of 25 and I really only want 10.

Thank you for your time

 

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I will be purchasing some meat birds from Meyer Hatchery and I am looking for some input. They have "Rainbow Ranger Broilers" so what I was wondering was: Do these birds survive to adulthood? I am asking because they seem to fit the bill for what I am looking for in a meat bird and I would like to breed them. In the catalog it says "...we recommend processing by 11 weeks of age." This makes me assume that they have complications if allowed to grow more, so I thought I would ask here to know for sure

Otherwise I may just get the "White Broilers" offered to butcher and be done with it since the "Rainbow Ranger Broilers" require an order of 25 and I really only want 10.
Thank you for your time

My friend purchased some 50 and only had 4 die before butcher date, i Do not know about breeding them. Me I stick with Cornish X (the white broilers) They grow faster and I sell them like crazy since I pasture raise them. I am getting out of the chicken breeding business (I will still hatch enough to sell eggs) and doing all pastured poultry.
THANKS

Rohr's Poultry

 

[suki'smom]

Thank you for your reply I too think I will go with the "White Broilers". I would eventually like to get a meat bird I can breed myself so I wouldnt have to buy them all the time.

 

[wsmoak]

Thank you for your reply

I too think I will go with the "White Broilers". I would eventually like to get a meat bird I can breed myself so I wouldnt have to buy them all the time.

If you search the past threads in this forum you'll find a couple of people who have kept and bred Freedom Rangers, which are another type of 'red broiler'.

AIUI, these birds are a four-way hybrid and the parent stock is closely held, so you're not going to be able to reproduce them exactly, but for home use the results people are getting seem to be good enough.

Keep in mind that these big birds eat A LOT. I briefly considered saving a few of my last batch, but I truly don't think it's economical to feed them to breeding age and then incubate eggs. It's cheaper to just order another batch of chicks!

-Wendy