People with Freedom Ranger experience:

[lemongrass]

I will be starting meat birds either later this year or, more likely, next year. I am trying to decide on Cornish X or Freedom Ranger. I have read that FR are better foragers and will readily eat greens/bugs, which to me sounds great because I will be finishing them in chicken tractors. They will have access to grain but I'd rather them forage more. My fiance does not like the idea of the CX, and I can understand... its too "unnatural" for him, if he's already going so far as to raise his own food he doesn't want to compromise and get something so unnatural that it cannot sustain its own weight to survive. Its actually my enterprise, not his, but its his land too so everything is agreed upon before I start. He is okay with FR. So, I came here to read FR posts. I found a couple, but something bothered me...

The charts were great. The info on weight gain and food eaten was accurate. My problem is I couldn't find a post that specified these birds were kept raised in chicken tractors rather than inside and fed only the grain. Clearly, a bird kept inside on only grains will 1) eat more grain--thus cost more, and 2) taste close to, if not exactly like store bought. The difference is in the greens! I probably could have done a bit more searching through posts, but I didn't want to waste another hour reading through posts and not finding what I sought. I apologize if this seems lazy but time is valuable too.

Does anyone have experience raising these birds with chicken tractors or something similar? I read about Freedom Rangers from Freedom Rangers Hatchery website, so I'm pretty sure the info I have on them being better foragers is accurate.

Another question I have, which I may have been able to find easier but since I'm already posting -- what do the FRs look like at slaughter? Are they the normal 'butterball' chicken shape or more heritage shaped? I suppose this may also differ on how they are raised.

Thank you!

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

I raised a batch of 26 of them two years ago. They did really well and I even kept 11 hens and one roo back for breeding and eggs. They are very good layers once they get to the point of lay. Mine foraged a lot, I free ranged them for hours a day, several times a week. We had bad predator problems so some days they didn't get out of the pen.

I understand you wanting them to forage more and get more nutrients that way, however if you want them to grow out to be a decent weight you're going to have to feed them grower for the majority of their nutritional needs. I didn't keep feed in front of mine all the time though. I fed them twice a day, once heavily in the morning and then once lighter at dusk. I cut the cost of food by adding scratch grain to my grower and also gave them all the kitchen scraps I had. I wouldn't have thought of keeping them on mostly forage though, unless you don't mind a bird being much older when you butcher. If you are ok with waiting until you have a six month old bird, they why not get a dual purpose like a white rock? They are less expensive per chick than a Freedom Ranger.

 

[Mrs. Mucket]

Last year our Rangers went outside in a tractor at four weeks. Later we used the tractor as a night range shelter in a fenced area where they foraged during the day. We kept several Rangers for breeding and this spring they have been out and about finding goodies much of the day. We plan to use the range shelter concept in larger paddocks this year for our meat Rangers.

Our Rangers have long meaty breasts (not rounded like CX) and heavy thigh/leg quarters. One thigh is almost twice the size of a grocery store chicken. Here is a picture of a Ranger in a 12" skillet to show size.

 

[DenverBird]

Why don't you post your question on the Ranger grow out journal thread and let the folks that put up the numbers provide the detail?

-DB