red broilers

[Del Cielo Chickens]

Hello!

I plan on ordering Red Broilers next spring and was not sure what hatchery I should order from. Welp Hatchery and Ideal are the only two I could find that sell the red broiler. I have ordered twice from Ideal and have had many deaths while raising them. The last bunch I got had leg problems. Have any of you raised red broilers from Welp? Where they healthy? Thanks!

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

We got freedom rangers from JMHatchery and they were fabulous. You can see the journal I started on them attached in my sig line if you want to check it out. We just had them butchered last week (at 10 weeks of age) and they were VERY good eats!

 

[Del Cielo Chickens]

I thought about raising Freedom Rangers, but they cost more and I have no green pasture. How much did they weigh when you butchered them?

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

They were all really nice...the roos hit 7-8 lbs and the hens were about 6-7 All together we got over 80 lbs of meat with 24 chickens. And it tastes wonderful too.

 

[jaku]

Get them from the closest hatchery to you, so they spend less time getting to you.

 

[UncleHoot]

Keep in mind that not all "red broilers" are the same. If you really want something that grows to a decent roaster size within 3 months, you should go with JM Hatchery. The red broilers from other hatcheries just don't compare in terms of size.

Of course the fastest growing chicken is always going to be a Cornish Cross, but if you want "red", JM is probably the best thing out there. I'm raising mine in pens. I occasionally let them out to forage for a couple hours, but they spend most of their time in the pens. They're doing just fine.

Of course, there are more things to consider than growth rate. It all depends on what you really want.

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
The red/black broilers you see ou there are "Slow Cornish" which are 12-14 week birds. But you may do better.

The Colored Range Broilers/Freedom Rangers are allegedly 12 week birds, but I finish them in 9-10.5 weeks depending on my processing date.

 

[patandchickens]

I got 10 'red broilers' from an Ontario (Canada) hatchery this spring and was very pleased with them -- they did not put on weight as fast as CornishX but they did not eat as much either, so the cost per lb of meat ended up being exactly the same, you just had to wait a little bit longer for it.

I do not know what they were exactly, breeding-wise, and do not know how they might correspond to, or differ from, red broilers being sold by US hatcheries, sorry.

Agree on ordering them from the hatchery closest to you.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat