Red Ranger breeding

[Red84]

I have 20 RR that will be 12 weeks old the day they are going to the butcher. I was watching them last night scratch and forage and thought to myself, I wonder if I should keep two for eggs and later for breeding. Here is my thought process. Keep two of the smaller RR pullets and add them to my egg laying flock, of which there are currently a mixed group of 6 hens, and 5 pullets, RR not included. Earlier this Spring on BYC I posted a "what is this mystery chick from Murray McMurray" and the overwhelming consensus was a Silver Laced Wyandotte cockerel. He would be my only rooster in the flock after butchering time. I am starting to lean towards being more self sufficient and I was wondering if that SLW rooster would be a good match to those RR hens so that I don't have to order more RR's next spring. I don't expect a RR bird, but my way of thinking the birds would be better than other traditional dual purpose breeds. I raised Buff Orpington's last year as a dual purpose breed and I was so-so satisfied with them. Good taste, but poor yield in my opinion. Not what I was hoping for. I am planning on experimenting with this either way, but I was wondering what other's experiences may have been.

Something else I considered as well, but I feel is less likely. To increase the RR influence in the flock (in turn, next springs chicks), what are thoughts on keeping a RR rooster ALONG with the SLW rooster? I don't mind the pecking order sorting itself out, but I don't want a bloodbath either. I have never kept roosters longer than a butcher date, so I am uneducated on how this may go. I should add, the RR's and my pullets, along with the SLW cockerel, have been together since they were shipped. They have been housed right next to my laying flock, with only a wire fence separating them for the last 8 weeks or so. I know that a RR x RR will not produce RR necessarily, but I also feel as though these birds would not come out to be petite.

All opinions welcome, as everything I do with breeding, genetics, etc. is guesswork at this point.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

To my understanding, red rangers are hybrids. If that is true, they won't breed true. Keeping a couple pullets and breeding them to the Wyandotte would be fine for self sufficiency. The offspring won't grow nearly as fast but will taste just like chicken.
From what I've heard RR hens don't lay particularly well but that shouldn't bother you.
For meat birds, I've only raised CornishX and Freedom Rangers (similar to RRs).

 

[nicalandia]

I have 20 RR that will be 12 weeks old the day they are going to the butcher. I was watching them last night scratch and forage and thought to myself, I wonder if I should keep two for eggs and later for breeding. Here is my thought process. Keep two of the smaller RR pullets and add them to my egg laying flock, of which there are currently a mixed group of 6 hens, and 5 pullets, RR not included. Earlier this Spring on BYC I posted a "what is this mystery chick from Murray McMurray" and the overwhelming consensus was a Silver Laced Wyandotte cockerel. He would be my only rooster in the flock after butchering time. I am starting to lean towards being more self sufficient and I was wondering if that SLW rooster would be a good match to those RR hens so that I don't have to order more RR's next spring. I don't expect a RR bird, but my way of thinking the birds would be better than other traditional dual purpose breeds. I raised Buff Orpington's last year as a dual purpose breed and I was so-so satisfied with them. Good taste, but poor yield in my opinion. Not what I was hoping for. I am planning on experimenting with this either way, but I was wondering what other's experiences may have been.

Something else I considered as well, but I feel is less likely. To increase the RR influence in the flock (in turn, next springs chicks), what are thoughts on keeping a RR rooster ALONG with the SLW rooster? I don't mind the pecking order sorting itself out, but I don't want a bloodbath either. I have never kept roosters longer than a butcher date, so I am uneducated on how this may go. I should add, the RR's and my pullets, along with the SLW cockerel, have been together since they were shipped. They have been housed right next to my laying flock, with only a wire fence separating them for the last 8 weeks or so. I know that a RR x RR will not produce RR necessarily, but I also feel as though these birds would not come out to be petite.

All opinions welcome, as everything I do with breeding, genetics, etc. is guesswork at this point.

I am not sure how Red Rangers are created, but they maybe just slower, smaller broiler type of chicken, I know for a fact that Cornish X terminal lines that the general public has access to are the result of 4 parent lines(two sire lines and two dame lines) is best advised to keep just the terminal line pullets as they don´t carry the recessive sex linked dwarf gene(from one of the dame lines).

the terminal cockerels have one copy of such gene(they are recessive so they don´t show its full effect, but 50% of his daughter line will and 50% of his sons will, bringing alot of variables, 50% of those pullets will be about 30% smaller, 50% of the males will be abut 10% smaller).

My two cents would be to keep only the pullets, dont overfeed them, keep the largest pullets but don´t overfeedthem because this will affect the laying and fertility, breed them to the Wyandotte rooster, of that cross keep good cockerels and breed them back to RR Pullets, not until you get to that point is where you are going to see good results(75% RR blood). I would also advise to obtain white cornish x terminal line for breeding purposes(keeping the females on restricted feed) or just range, I can assure you that a these hens will produce better stock than the Red Rangers when crossed to dual purpose roosters.

 

[nicalandia]

To explain the 4 way Hybrid cross..

Sire lines:
Female Sire line: This line is focused on high growth, high fertility.(Stabilized lines breeding true to type)

Male Sire line: This line is only focused on exceptional growth, Early Maturity.(Stabilized lines breeding true to type)


Dame Lines:
Female Dame Line: exceptional production egg traits, good growth.(Stabilized lines breeding true to type)

Female Sire line: same as female dame line but with recessive sex linked dwarfism, When Males of this line are crossed to hens of the female dame line they create a Healthy, exceptionally good hens that bring about 30-36% savings on all important cost saving metrics(feed costs, smaller healthier, more chicks produced per housing facilities)

When the F1 dwarf dame line hens are crossed to F1 sire line rooster the result is the terminal broiler chicks the general public can purchase, Pullets and Cockerels have exceptional growth, not intended for further breeding.. But make no mistake these pullets are packing extraordinary growth genetics that can be harvested if successfully managed(feed restriction is a must, even if they look like they are starving and begging for food, they will get too fat to be good breeding stock if you are not careful)

 

[Red84]

My two cents would be to keep only the pullets, dont overfeed them, keep the largest pullets but don´t overfeedthem because this will affect the laying and fertility, breed them to the Wyandotte rooster, of that cross keep good cockerels and breed them back to RR Pullets, not until you get to that point is where you are going to see good results(75% RR blood). I would also advise to obtain white cornish x terminal line for breeding purposes(keeping the females on restricted feed) or just range, I can assure you that a these hens will produce better stock than the Red Rangers when crossed to dual purpose roosters.

I think I get what you are saying there. Next Spring I will get a few Cornish x's and keep some terminal pullets for breeding. I've wondered about raising a few anyways. When you say restricted feed, referring to the RR pullets and cornish x pullets for breeding, are you talking about just putting food out during the day time? Also, I am assuming the SLW rooster will get along well enough with his offspring cockerels in order for me to keep a few to breed back to the RR pullets? I am assuming I can keep them just long enough to get their genetics, then to the soup pot?

 

[nicalandia]

I am assuming the SLW rooster will get along well enough with his offspring cockerels in order for me to keep a few to breed back to the RR pullets? I am assuming I can keep them just long enough to get their genetics, then to the soup pot?

At this stage you would need to place the SLW rooster on a different pen, remember that you are trying to get as close to the RR genetics as possible.

I think I get what you are saying there. Next Spring I will get a few Cornish x's and keep some terminal pullets for breeding. I've wondered about raising a few anyways. When you say restricted feed, referring to the RR pullets and cornish x pullets for breeding, are you talking about just putting food out during the day time?

These type of pullets need to be feed restricted, if you are going to get into breeding Broiler Breeding stock I kindly suggest to do alot of research on the subject, here is one of many articles available on the internet:

SUMMARY: The modern commercial broiler is the product of intensive genetic selection for rapid and efficient growth. An unintended consequence of this selective breeding has been the loss of the ability for self-regulation of feed intake to closely match the requirements for maintenance, growth, and reproduction. Thus, the broiler tends to overconsume feed, resulting in a range of metabolic and health problems related to the development of obesity. These problems progress with age and become a significant impediment to the production of parent stock. To manage this situation, broiler breeder birds must be subjected to severe feed restriction, beginning early in life, to ensure that appropriate BW and composition are achieved at critical phases of the production cycle. This review focuses on the female broiler breeder because this bird requires the most intensive management with respect to feed allocation throughout production to attain BW targets that ensure good livability and efficient egg and chick production.

https://watermark.silverchair.com/j...eghIMtx2x6Rz2BqqD440mufnMVkX6OrnFyl2jO5HaoADA





Knowing all of that, I am sure Red Rangers will be more forgiving to backyard breeding than White Cornish X breeding..

 

[Red84]

Knowing all of that, I am sure Red Rangers will be more forgiving to backyard breeding than White Cornish X breeding..

Ok. Thank you so much for your input. I definitely need something forgiving, at least to start with! I haven't had any setbacks with my animals yet, fur or feathers, but I am just starting to dip my toes into breeding so I am sure they are coming. Just trying to understand better before I do!

 

[cottontail farm]

I don't know anything about genetics but this is just my 2c. They year before last I raised a flock of red rangers. Come butchering time I kept back the largest 2 hens and hatched their eggs after they were bred by my Brahma too. The offspring were every bit as big as the original hens and in about the same time.
It's my experience that red and rainbow rangers are good layers of large brown eggs. One of the RR hens has also gone broody twice now.
If you are looking to be a little more self sufficient you could do a lot worse than crossing a ranger with a large breed. I would keep your largest hen back to breed with your roo, have fun and see what happens

 

[Red84]

I don't know anything about genetics but this is just my 2c. They year before last I raised a flock of red rangers. Come butchering time I kept back the largest 2 hens and hatched their eggs after they were bred by my Brahma too. The offspring were every bit as big as the original hens and in about the same time.
It's my experience that red and rainbow rangers are good layers of large brown eggs. One of the RR hens has also gone broody twice now.
If you are looking to be a little more self sufficient you could do a lot worse than crossing a ranger with a large breed. I would keep your largest hen back to breed with your roo, have fun and see what happens

Thank you! I am excited to see the outcome.