Rangers and flip

[crperdue]

Quote:
I don't think any bird is immune to bad management. I only had two apparent flips and I can't say it wasn't husbandry issues.

Both of those were past market weight and intended as breeders. Maybe a bit of feed resriction is in order for breeders? I had feed
in front of mine 24/7.

I really don't know about the leg issue with that one rooster either. Was it an injury? genetic defect? No way to know really.

Overall, I'm thrilled with the rangers.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Quote:
I think JM was the only US supplier of Rangers this year.

oh that's interesting; I guess I just misunderstood what the breed was then, I thought they were meant to be a bit more sustainable. thanks!

 

[crperdue]

I don't think they were ever marketed as sustainable. I can't think of any meat chicken
that is marketed as sustainable. But, I think if you wanted to breed yourself some
sustainable meat birds, then the freedom rangers are a pretty good place to start.

 

[TimG]

Quote:
I've never seen them marketed as sustainable; I've read some backyard chicken raisers speculate about sustainability. I think there are probably a half dozen or so of us that read this forum that are also hoping to breed Rangers.

Actually, now that I think about it, I think there is a place in Connecticut that sells redbro chickens which I think are the same (or similar) as Rangers. I first heard about them years ago when I exchanged e-mails with a lady who had kept a healthy hen over a year.

Redbro is a Hubbard-ISA Shaver product that is currently available in the U.S. via a Canadian company that imports parents from France. It is not slow-growing but rather a medium-growing broiler—it grows out in 9 to 10 weeks. Jerry Srednicki at a Connecticut hatchery ships day-old chicks.
Yankee Chicks, Inc/Hall Brothers Hatchery
P.O. Box 1026
Norwich, CT 06360
860-886-2421 or 860-608-1389
860-889-6351 FAX
Contact: Jerry Srednicki

That is taken from this article which is (c) 2005. Yankee Chicks has no web presence so far as I can tell.​

 

[Mrs. Mucket]

My 26 Rangers were also from JM Hatchery. No deaths since a feeder accident in the early weeks. We processed at 10.5 and 13.5 weeks. The two cockerels and 6 hens we kept for breeding are now 14 weeks old. The Merck vet manual says flip can occur up to 12 weeks of age and lists a few other causes of death where chickens are found on their backs. "Good broilers found dead on their backs may be assumed to have died of flip-over because that position is rare in death from other causes except cardiac tamponade, asphyxia, and ascites syndrome." Could one of those be the problem with the older ones?

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/202500.htm

 

[Chickanmanfromarkansas]

Myers Poultry Farms also have them. They are calling them Colored Rangers I believe.