New with a lot of questions

[Mrs. K]

I have never done the meat birds...... like the idea of the freedom rangers, cause I don't want to HAVE to butcher everything on exactly week 8..... my life often does not plan out that well ahead.

 

[Strangecacti]

Where do you get the rangers and pioneers? Quick Google search led me to freedom ranger hatchery for rangers and McMurray hatchery for pioneers, is that right?

 

[bobbi-j]

I got my FRs from Freedom Ranger hatchery.

 

[Strangecacti]

Do rangers breed true? Sustainability is a big must for my flock, I looked in the meat bird forum and the question was asked several times I never saw an answer...I'll keep looking but that's a lot of posts!

 

[aart]

Do rangers breed true? Sustainability is a big must for my flock, I looked in the meat bird forum and the question was asked several times I never saw an answer...I'll keep looking but that's a lot of posts!

Have you tried the advanced search?
I've found it to be better than the general search, still alot to wade thru but a bit better.
Just gotta be sure you go back to the advanced search when starting a new one.

Advanced search>titles only> Freedom Rangers breeding

 

[Ridgerunner]

A few years back there was a thread in the Meat Bird section where several people documented their efforts to raise and breed Rangers and maybe other broilers. It kept going for a long time with hundreds of posts. Several people were disappointed in their efforts but a few made it work. I can’t remember whose thread that was or the title to make a search easier but that is the thread you need. I have a commitment for today and don’t have the time for that search but I might try tomorrow.

 

[lazy gardener]

I think that if you ask the hatchery if these birds breed true, they'll say NO. But, of course they want to sell you more birds next spring. The pioneers that I got from MMc last spring led me to believe that they were a hybrid, because all of the roos were barred, and the pullets were more of a solid color. But, IMO, they should be able to be raised to breeding age, without all of the systemic issues of the CXR. I'd love to hear from someone who's held over a PAIR of Rangers or Pioneers/Dixie Rainbows and what their breeding results are. Again, my opinion, but they should breed TRUE ENOUGH for back yard purposes: produce the next generation of chunky freezer birds. My only concern would be that those roos get BIG. I don't think I'd want a roo breeding the rest of my laying flock. I'm hoping that my Pioneer gal breeds some size into my back yard mix. She's a good layer.

 

[Strangecacti]

Thanks for the tips, opinions and advice! The advanced search did narrow it down. From what I'm reading about meat birds and keeping a breed that matures in my time frame I believe I'm in for some experimentation, it's not unexpected I suppose, never thought this was going to be completely straight forward. I'm thinking that I might fulfill your request of holding over a pair of whichever broiler I decide on lazy Gardener.

I'll just have to start and see how things go, after all the questions that have been answered there are more cropping up, so I'll just take that advice given and start more slowly and build as I gain knowledge, First the layers and just a few broilers, I'll have time to do more reading/research as well as getting more hands on experience. I'm thinking 2 roosters and a dozen hens for my laying flock, so ordering 25 straight run barred rocks should give me plenty to choose from? and I don't have a number of broilers: Suggestions on that please. For a beginner how many do you think is an appropriate sized flock? I'm going ahead with the coop/run I have planned so future expansion of flock size won't entail a huge overhaul of the facility. 25? 10?

 

[aart]

2 roosters for 12 hens might be too many roosters, 1 will do the job. 2 might fight or over-mate the hens......
......but that's yet another 'read more while learning by doing' thing.

How do you plan on harvesting your meaties...do it yourself or have them processed?
25 might be a good number to experiment with if someone else is butchering...or maybe less if you're doing it yourself.

 

[pdirt]

The nutshell version of what I wrote below is I agree with aart to start with fewer meat birds, perhaps 10, if you plan to process them yourself. If you plan to have someone else do it, find out if they'll come to your place to do it (do you want them to?) or if you'll need to transport them. If you need to transport them, find out if they have cages available to borrow or if not, what sort of transport cage/box they require. And you'll need a vehicle big enough to transport said cages.

I ended up processing I think 23 various chickens for meat this last fall. I had never done anything like it before, the only thing I've ever gutted before was fish. I skinned most and plucked a few. The barred rocks were much easier to pluck than the dark cornish. I skinned all the roosters because they were too hard to pluck, way too many pinfeathers. The roos were all about 5 months old and I think given another month or so most of those pinfeathers would have developed into easier to pluck real feathers. Depending on my other chores, I could process 2-6 birds a day. I got faster over time, but it still took me a long time. Part of it all was the set-up each time...table, plastic on the table, drag the hose from the backyard, sharpen knives, find the pellet gun for killing the chickens, etc. I also didn't want to be killing chickens in front of the others, so I had to go around the building to do it...all this sure added up the time! I also spent nearly every weekend in the fall, right in the prime of hiking season around here, processing chickens (amongst other chores, but the chickens took most of the time). It was a fun learning experience, but I don't want to spend all next fall doing it again. There's a farm nearby that will process them for $5/bird, which is rather high compared to folks in other parts of the country, but it's the only option I've found so far. But we didn't get into raising our own chickens necessarily to save money, but to raise our own high quality meat.