Ranger Grow-Out Journals

[Jared77]

Tim how big is your layer? And what roo are you planning to take to her?

 

[TimG]

I haven't weighed the three Freedom Ranger pullets I have in quite some time, and I'm not sure which is laying. I just know I never get more than one a day, so assume it is just one layer. The three pullets are in a coop with a Freedom Ranger cockerel. I haven't weighed him either. All are bigger than my regular laying hens.

Maybe I'll go try to weigh them now.

 

[Jared77]

So your going to do a Ranger to Ranger breeding then?

 

[TimG]

Yes, that's the plan.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Hey Tim just to mention, I have a huge issue with ALL of my meat bird crosses & egg eating. Unless I catch them in the act you would never know they did it, they don't leave a scrap or a sign. If I'm not close by when they are laying I get only about one egg a day per four birds.

 

[TimG]

Thanks, Katy. It would be strange to me if the birds always left exactly one egg uneaten, never two. The laying box has dry shavings in it.

 

[TimG]

Finally got around to weighing.

The cockerel is 11 lbs 12 oz, the three pullets are 11 lbs 8 oz, 11 lbs 1 oz and 10 lbs 1 oz. I do not know which of the pullets is laying, but the largest one has some feathers missing from her back which I assume is the result of mating. Don't know if that means anything.

 

[Mrs. Mucket]

Anyone who has Rangers laying eggs: do your eggs have chalky/rough shells? Our Rangers are almost the same age and eat the same food and oyster shell as our layers but the layers' eggs are smooth. The Rangers lay regularly but always have the dry shells (though they had more shell-less eggs when younger). They're still good and tasty, just curious if this is a Ranger characteristic.

 

[TimG]

I've only had one irregular/dry shell that I can remember. I also experienced some shell-less eggs early on. But, at the moment I have only one layer, so small sample size.

I found one of my pullets dead on her back today. She was not my heavy breather. Is was cold and windy last night, but finding her on her back suggests to me it was flip, not cold, though the cold may have taxed her more than usual.

 

[pigfarmer]

Hi everyone, and Hi to you TIMG

This is Brian, I shared in some of those FR with you last spring.
I have 4 hens and a roo left.
I have lost some to who knows what, just woke up dead. I had one in the process of dieing, but was able to process
him before he was no good.
So far, my biggest bird was right around 11# processed.
As for eggs, I get 1 a day here. I have not tried to hatch any yet... been busy with everything else.
I know they are mating because of lost feathers at the rear, so I am sure I could hatch some out... if I can the egg(s)
before getting too cold and become infertile (below 40 deg).

Sooooooooooooo Tim, planning on another order this year? If so same bird or different.

I am leaning on getting Turkens, they get to 8# for a roo and 6# plus for a hen. And they have no cross breeding issues.
And the Turkens are good layers also.

As for a previous post for the parenting of the FR, by one of the posters', I would have to go back and look it back up.
They had the parents, on both sides, in gibberish. They used letters and numbers (like jx345 with qd123 and so on).
What all that meant............

Interested in some turkeys? Got Midget Whites and Bourbon Reds for sale, still live.