Questions about Freedom Ranger breed.

[Artichoke Lover]

I’ve been day dreaming about raising meat chickens. And after doing a little research Freedom Rangers sound like a good fit since I’d like a fairly quick time to harvest and the ability to free range but I have some questions and concern.
#1. Do they breed true I haven’t been able to find any info about this.
#2. Are they heat tolerant I read in another thread that they aren’t and this would be a deal breaker in our area.
#3. Life expectancy. How long will they live I plan to keep a few hens and a rooster to sustain the flock. Is this feasible?
#4 Does anyone know of other breeds that meet these parameters that I should look into?
Thanks in advance!

 

[iwltfum]

I raise quite a few freedom rangers every year. I would say they are more heat tolerant than Cornish crosses, but compared to dual purpose breeds, I'm not sure. They do have a muscular build so I imagine they would start suffering from the heat sooner than, say, a lanky leghorn or something. Heat is always a bit of an issue with meat birds because any bird will slow down their intake of protein in the heat and generally meat birds are on a rigorous time schedule so any dip in consumption is considered negative, but if you are ok with a heat wave making it so it takes an extra week to bring your birds to butcher then heat below 90F is really fine. Above 90 with high humidity, and I would be doing something to try to keep them cool. I have used misters in the Colorado desert, but you have to be careful of constantly wet ground. The longest I've ever raised Freedom Rangers is 12 weeks so I can't speak to your longevity or breeding questions. As far as other breeds, there are a ton of Red ranger type birds out there other than freedom ranger, and they are all a little different. Most heavy dual purpose birds I've raised have taken at least twice as long and more than twice the grain to grow out to a similar size (4-6 pounds) so I am on the fence about their cost efficiency, but I have only raised a handful of dual purpose birds.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

I raise quite a few freedom rangers every year. I would say they are more heat tolerant than Cornish crosses, but compared to dual purpose breeds, I'm not sure. They do have a muscular build so I imagine they would start suffering from the heat sooner than, say, a lanky leghorn or something. Heat is always a bit of an issue with meat birds because any bird will slow down their intake of protein in the heat and generally meat birds are on a rigorous time schedule so any dip in consumption is considered negative, but if you are ok with a heat wave making it so it takes an extra week to bring your birds to butcher then heat below 90F is really fine. Above 90 with high humidity, and I would be doing something to try to keep them cool. I have used misters in the Colorado desert, but you have to be careful of constantly wet ground. The longest I've ever raised Freedom Rangers is 12 weeks so I can't speak to your longevity or breeding questions. As far as other breeds, there are a ton of Red ranger type birds out there other than freedom ranger, and they are all a little different. Most heavy dual purpose birds I've raised have taken at least twice as long and more than twice the grain to grow out to a similar size (4-6 pounds) so I am on the fence about their cost efficiency, but I have only raised a handful of dual purpose birds.

My concern regarding heat is more focused on survival than time to harvest. It’s extremely humid here with highs around 95 every summer here and the occasional very hot summer will go over 100. Usually I start icing the main flocks water at about 90F

 

[Molpet]

Rangers are a hybrid so they don't breed true. Some will be smaller than others. But still a worth while project

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are several people on this forum that have tried breeding Rangers of different types. Some breed Rangers to Rangers, many mix them with a dual purpose breed to make them more self-sustaining. There are some tricks and lessons to be learned from them.

#1. Do they breed true I haven’t been able to find any info about this.

They are hybrids so, no, they will not breed true. But lets explore what that really means. They will all have genetics for fast growth and a decent conformation. Since they are hybrids some will have that more than others so you will get a mixed group. They will not be as consistent as the true FR's. Still, the really bad ones will be better than a dual purpose chicken. A FR crossed with a dual purpose will be better than one that is just that dual purpose breed. Of course there is one exception. There is always an exception.
Some Ranger lines use dwarfism to reduce the size of the parent hen's side of the family which makes them less expensive to feed and easier to manage. Dwarfism is a sex linked recessive gene. I can go into that if you wish but the answer is that if you use a male from your FR's you run the risk of introducing dwarfism into your flock. If you use a female and breed her to a dual purpose rooster you eliminate the risk of dwarfism. Once you get a recessive gene in your flock it's hard to eliminate it.

#2. Are they heat tolerant I read in another thread that they aren’t and this would be a deal breaker in our area.

I don't know how heat tolerant they are. Any chicken is at risk when it gets that hot. There are things that you an do help alleviate that but you need to do that for any chicken.

#3. Life expectancy. How long will they live I plan to keep a few hens and a rooster to sustain the flock. Is this feasible?

They tend to overeat so you may need to restrict feeding. One way to do that is to make them dependent on what they forage a lot more than what you feed them. What's the quality of your forage? This might expose them to predators. There are tradeoffs for everything.

#4 Does anyone know of other breeds that meet these parameters that I should look into?

What are your goals for a meat chicken? Is it purely size? Is it age at butcher? Do you have a set way you want to cook them? Is it efficiency in putting on meat per pound of feed you buy for them? The Cornish X and various Rangers are a relatively new development. For thousands of years small farmers have been raising chickens that pretty much took care of themselves and used eggs and meat from them. They were nowhere nearly as efficient as specialized egg layers or specialized meat birds when those are raised a certain way. A lot of the research in the specialized egg layers and the specialized meat birds has been in how to feed and manage them, not just genetics.

I'm not sure I know what your true goals are. I don't know why you settled on FR's as opposed to a dual purpose chicken.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

@Ridgerunner My main reasons for not choosing a duel purpose bird is I want a fairly efficient feed conversion rate, have eggs coming out my ears, and I’d prefer to butcher at a younger age.
I have all the free range area they could want and am prepare for a few loss do to predators.
This will be a separate flock from the main one so very little risk of interbreeding. Heat tolerance is important because it’s already a bit of a struggle to keep my main flock of heat tolerant birds cool in the heat of summer so I worry that a less heat tolerant breed might just keel over (this could be a unfounded fear though).
And I’m certainly not set on one specific breed right now. Right now I’m doing research and Rangers sound like they were a close fit so right now I’m trying to dig a little deeper and find some more info. If someone has a suggestion for another bird that someone thinks might be another good option that would also be great!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I want a fairly efficient feed conversion rate,

Can't beat the Cornish X for that but you have to buy chicks. Not what you want. Rangers will be better for that than any dual purpose breed.

have eggs coming out my ears,

What breeds are your egg layers? Do you have a rooster?

and I’d prefer to butcher at a younger age.

There is the challenge. Rangers will probably be a month earlier than any dual purpose breed.

Heat tolerance is important because it’s already a bit of a struggle to keep my main flock of heat tolerant birds cool in the heat of summer so I worry that a less heat tolerant breed might just keel over (this could be a unfounded fear though).

I can't answer this though I think there are people on here that can. It's the week-end, they may not be back on here until next week.

And I’m certainly not set on one specific breed right now. Right now I’m doing research and Rangers sound like they were a close fit so right now I’m trying to dig a little deeper and find some more info. If someone has a suggestion for another bird that someone thinks might be another good option that would also be great!

I still like the idea of a suitable dual purpose rooster over a Ranger hen. Maybe get a bunch of Rangers early in the year so it is still fairly cool when you butcher and save some pullets to breed. That way you have a direct comparison to pure Rangers and a Ranger cross. If you are not happy with that cross try it with a pure Ranger boy. It will take a few years and some trial and error but you'll see how they fit your system. By suitable dual purpose by I mainly mean an early maturing one. He may not necessarily need to be a huge one. The Rangers will give size.

 

[Parront]

@Ridgerunner My main reasons for not choosing a duel purpose bird is I want a fairly efficient feed conversion rate, have eggs coming out my ears, and I’d prefer to butcher at a younger age.
I have all the free range area they could want and am prepare for a few loss do to predators.
This will be a separate flock from the main one so very little risk of interbreeding. Heat tolerance is important because it’s already a bit of a struggle to keep my main flock of heat tolerant birds cool in the heat of summer so I worry that a less heat tolerant breed might just keel over (this could be a unfounded fear though).
And I’m certainly not set on one specific breed right now. Right now I’m doing research and Rangers sound like they were a close fit so right now I’m trying to dig a little deeper and find some more info. If someone has a suggestion for another bird that someone thinks might be another good option that would also be great!

You might like to read the thread, "Crossing my Red Rangers" https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/21781265/
I have a hen from this line, Red Ranger X Dorking. The person I got the hen from hatched the shipped eggs and crossed the resulting hen with her Naked Neck cock. So, 1/2 NN, 1/4 Red Ranger 1/4 Dorking. She is a big girl, much larger than the other hens I have. I thought she was a cockerel she grew so fast. She lays pretty good, a nice large tan egg.
I have some of Sandhill's Red Dorking chicks growing out now, one of the males might be her mate. Naked Necks are popular here in Arizona, they tolerate the heat. My NNs are laying while the rest are slowing down due to 90+ temps now, and it is getting hotter. Even here in Prescott, we can have 100 degree days -- at least we cool down at night.
It is difficult to show in a photo, but here she is with a hatchery White Rock hen, she is larger by quite a bit when hold hold them both.

 

[Parront]

Can't beat the Cornish X for that but you have to buy chicks. Not what you want. Rangers will be better for that than any dual purpose breed.


What breeds are your egg layers? Do you have a rooster?


There is the challenge. Rangers will probably be a month earlier than any dual purpose breed.


I can't answer this though I think there are people on here that can. It's the week-end, they may not be back on here until next week.


I still like the idea of a suitable dual purpose rooster over a Ranger hen. Maybe get a bunch of Rangers early in the year so it is still fairly cool when you butcher and save some pullets to breed. That way you have a direct comparison to pure Rangers and a Ranger cross. If you are not happy with that cross try it with a pure Ranger boy. It will take a few years and some trial and error but you'll see how they fit your system. By suitable dual purpose by I mainly mean an early maturing one. He may not necessarily need to be a huge one. The Rangers will give size.

I have thought of doing this, too. A NN male and a Red Ranger hen. I may just order some Red Rangers next year. A fellow BYCer near me has the NN rooster that is the sire of this hen I have so I could get eggs to hatch from her.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Can't beat the Cornish X for that but you have to buy chicks. Not what you want. Rangers will be better for that than any dual purpose breed.


What breeds are your egg layers? Do you have a rooster?


There is the challenge. Rangers will probably be a month earlier than any dual purpose breed.


I can't answer this though I think there are people on here that can. It's the week-end, they may not be back on here until next week.


I still like the idea of a suitable dual purpose rooster over a Ranger hen. Maybe get a bunch of Rangers early in the year so it is still fairly cool when you butcher and save some pullets to breed. That way you have a direct comparison to pure Rangers and a Ranger cross. If you are not happy with that cross try it with a pure Ranger boy. It will take a few years and some trial and error but you'll see how they fit your system. By suitable dual purpose by I mainly mean an early maturing one. He may not necessarily need to be a huge one. The Rangers will give size.

I’ve got several Roos BRs and RIRs.