Red Rangers - 8 weeks - live weight 4 to 6.25 pounds - thoughts??

[FlaRocky]

Hi,

The fat on him was 17oz. He had a lot around his gizzard and right under the skin at the rear cavity is where most of it was. Very little fat by the crop and did not have the huge amount inside the leg like you find on store bought leg quarters. ( I still buy them if DH need to take something to work for the crew or if I need to take a dish into work. They do not care that it is home grown, so they don' t get any.)

Wish I would of took some photos to post. I have a large comericial bakers scale. I do a lot of baking. And make my own sausage. I was going to weight
them beforehand but they were all wet from the pouring rain.

I will take time for photos next week when I finish the other Red Rangers.

Maye

 

[ldube]

Thanks, FlaRocky, that's exactly the info we needed. We sell a little meat and some of our customers would balk at the blotching.

Another issue is whether we could raise the RR with NH reds. We need to replace some of our layers this fall. Would we be able to raise them together? How easy is it to tell them apart at 12 weeks? Would everyone have access to feed for the most part? I'm not talking about the pecking order thing, cuz I don't think there's anything you can do about that. We made the mistake of raising White Cornish (not CX) with ducks. The ducks were merciless and nobody got to eat much!

Last of all, is there a hatchery in the east that sells them as males only? We use Mt Healthy (which is great), but they sell them as straight run. We've used an IA based hatchery, but they ship through Dallas, resulting in lots of DOA so we won't do that again.

 

[shadowmane]

Try S&G. They're Gulf Coast, but its Alabama.

 

[FlaRocky]

I was in the barn doing chores. Came in to start dinner and DH had started one of the hens I processed. Just put pepper and a garlic mix on it. Put in oven @ 425' for 20 min. or until browned. Then cracked open door and turned down to 300'. When oven kicked back on shut door and cooked for 1 hour. Checked with meat thermometer and twisted leg to see if done. Took out and let rest for 20 minutes. It was great, very moist, great flavor.
Will most definitely be getting more red rangers for fall.

Maye

 

[ChickenDavid123]

10 weeks ago I purchased 25 freedom ranger chicks, received 26. Just took them to processor yesterday, had 26 processed birds 112.5 pounds total, 4.33 pounds average dressed, did not weigh live, processor claims 75% of live weight. We are in an area that doesn’t allow roosters, I asked on this forum if there would be a problem with them crowing before I had them processed, answer was that they will not crow that fast. 3 of my roosters started crowing at 8 weeks, very feebly at first, then they got pretty good at it. This morning was the first time in 3 weeks I got to sleep past 5:10am. Kept giblets and feet, looking for good feet recipe.

 

[Dbennett]

@ldube Four months for a reply to you isn't bad. Coloring or staining from the feathers on the skin or meat of the red rangers? I haven't seen any. The processor said I may see a dye dot but I haven't even seen that.

 

[boggie62]

HA, How much water do you put in the p.cooker, AND WHAT KIND OF FISH is that and the weight. I love chicken inners, so would welcome any new way to cook them.

thanks

 

[loanwizard]

HA, How much water do you put in the p.cooker, AND WHAT KIND OF FISH is that and the weight. I love chicken inners, so would welcome any new way to cook them.

thanks

I probably use too much water but I put in a quart or two. OK.... I put two in but you could do it properly with one or so.

THAT, is a Blue Catfish from the James River out of Chester Virginia, weighing 72 lbs, 8 oz.

I think the world record is right around 140lbs right now.

 

[Sarah Jane]

DBennett, can you tell us how many Red Rangers you raised and the total amount of feed you went through? I've decided I want to order some chicks but wondering what the feed cost is going to be for these as this will be my first time raising meat birds. Thanks

 

[dascountry]

Just ordered my red rangers.....They won't be here till the end of July though. That way we won't be butchering in the heat. I'm hoping to be able to raise a hen or two and a rooster so I won't be having to buy the chicks anymore. I already incubate by other hens eggs. Glad I found this thread ... now I know I didn't make a mistake with the order