Red Skin on Freedom Ranger breast

[Gazette]

New here! This is my first time raising broilers (freedom rangers). They are 11 weeks old and scheduled to go to the butcher Friday. They have a 8x9 foot tractor that I move daily, but they usually roam around in a 300' perimeter pen. Nevertheless, they lay around a lot (cuddled up together) and do not roost much. So they spend a great deal of time laying in their own droppings. I have noticed that their few breast feathers are dirty and the skin is red. Is this normal, and is there something I could have done to prevent this? Thank you!

 

[Gazette]

They have plenty of room, do range a bit, and do not crowd around the feeders, but crowd together in cozy shady places, even when it is hot. At night, they gather together in the tractor very closely to sleep and when we move the tractor in the morning, we find a "carpet" of droppings that they laid on. I have watched them not even stand up to poo but remain laying. Rather gross I must say.
Thanks so much for your help!

Here is just some of their yard

Here are some crowding up in the shade. Note most of the yard is shaded, but they are still gathered together. They stood up because they saw me. They are so flighty compared to my layers.

Here they are hanging around their tractor

Here is the problem I am worried about. They have been like this for many weeks...I should have checked in sooner. This is the breast area.

 

[iwltfum]

Definitely due to laying in poop, but also might not be noticeable post butchering if you are planning on butchering them in the next week or so. If you're planning on keeping them longer than that, try moving their shelter around twice as often so they don't soil the area under the shelter so much.

 

[Parront]

They have plenty of room, do range a bit, and do not crowd around the feeders, but crowd together in cozy shady places, even when it is hot. At night, they gather together in the tractor very closely to sleep and when we move the tractor in the morning, we find a "carpet" of droppings that they laid on. I have watched them not even stand up to poo but remain laying. Rather gross I must say.
Thanks so much for your help!

Here is just some of their yard
View attachment 2296114


Here are some crowding up in the shade. Note most of the yard is shaded, but they are still gathered together. They stood up because they saw me. They are so flighty compared to my layers.
View attachment 2296115

Here they are hanging around their tractor
View attachment 2296116

Here is the problem I am worried about. They have been like this for many weeks...I should have checked in sooner. This is the breast area.View attachment 2296121

That looks poopy alright! The only sugestion I can make is they are so large that you might have to move the tractor 2 x's a day for a while. Move to fresh grass for the night? You have a few days yet before the big day, and it might clear up the redness. Or, put in some straw at night, fresh bedding for the night to keep the irritation down. Think "diaper rash" -- need clean diaper! They do not have blisters or bleeding, it could be worse!

 

[Parront]

New here! This is my first time raising broilers (freedom rangers). They are 11 weeks old and scheduled to go to the butcher Friday. They have a 8x9 foot tractor that I move daily, but they usually roam around in a 300' perimeter pen. Nevertheless, they lay around a lot (cuddled up together) and do not roost much. So they spend a great deal of time laying in their own droppings. I have noticed that their few breast feathers are dirty and the skin is red. Is this normal, and is there something I could have done to prevent this? Thank you!

Welcome!
Sounds like you have lots of room, are they laying in their droppings by the feeder or water? If you post a photo of your set up and how your birds look, there are guys here who have raised Freedom Rangers. I have raised Cornish-x and they laid around a lot, even with the run of the yard -- 1/2 acre. I had to move the feeder to get them to move!

 

[Geena]

The last batch of colored broilers I raised acted the same way, just like red cornishX. All of the cockerels ended up with breast blisters. Seems some hatcheries are breeding them to carry even more bulk and they're losing the "ranger" aspect, disappointing.

 

[speedy2020]

It look like the poop cause a problem. You may want move new location and clean up the dirty one. I expect the skin will turn to normal within 1-2 weeks. The stock look decent for 11 weeks.

 

[Hidrainja4]

Maybe if you put the food in one spot and the water way over opposite. It might motivate them to get up and move more.