Slow growing CX/FR or fast growing heritage meat bird breeds.

[JB8907]

Dixie Rainbows are another name for Freedom Rangers or Red Rangers.

Do the Rangers have health issues like the CX do and do you know what the feed conversion ratio is like compared to the CX?

 

[Redhead Rae]

Do the Rangers have health issues like the CX do and do you know what the feed conversion ratio is like compared to the CX?

From everything I read the feed conversion ratio is about the same per pound, but it takes 50% longer to get to market weight.

John Suscovich did a video on this very topic that was really informative. For a business it means more labor costs, but for a homesteader, it just means more time invested, not more money.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Actually I was wrong he says the rangers feed conversion ratio is higher than CX.

 

[RUNuts]

Several people have come to the same conclusion. The longer the time, the higher the cost. The taste tests lean towards the CX. Juicier, tender and sometimes more weight. Economically, CX.

The ones on utube are usually in a tractor, high density and not much forage available.

If you go to a larger yard (less dense stocking) with more forage, feed costs should drop. Another idea floating around is to add a couple heritage birds to "teach" the CX how to forage. Interesting idea. Mine figured it out themselves. I did not track feed costs though.

 

[JB8907]

Several people have come to the same conclusion. The longer the time, the higher the cost. The taste tests lean towards the CX. Juicier, tender and sometimes more weight. Economically, CX.

The ones on utube are usually in a tractor, high density and not much forage available.

If you go to a larger yard (less dense stocking) with more forage, feed costs should drop. Another idea floating around is to add a couple heritage birds to "teach" the CX how to forage. Interesting idea. Mine figured it out themselves. I did not track feed costs though.

Time does equal money. So I agree.

Another note I just have a strange feeling about the industrial birds. Idk. I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and grow some out once I get the facilities up and running.

 

[Redhead Rae]

If you want a good guide look at this person's experience over several years with doing Cornish X in their backyard. They feed organic feed as well. They found that there are different strands of CX birds and they found one that works well for them.

Trials And Tribulations Of Suburban Meat Bird Production

 

[JB8907]

OK meat lovers and chicken rearers. I'm going to go with some CX....Is there a difference in the Cobb and Ross strains that is notable? If anybody has ran both did you notice and differences? What were they?

 

[123RedBeard]

Read this ... https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-grand-experiment.1275258/

 

[Molpet]

A guy did a study on heritage hatchery. Breeders birds would do better
https://projects.sare.org/project-reports/fnc12-866/

He also did a taste test
"....In explaining this project to our guests, I mentioned that we had raised eight different breeds, and noted that there were eight different breeds available to taste, but I did not mention that one of the breeds raised (the Buff Orpingtons, which turned out to be all pullets) had been replaced by a pasture-raised Cornish-Rock Cross from a local producer. That is, though I explained my reasons for not raising CRX chickens, the tasters had no indication that one of the breeds tasted was a CRX and as such had no expectation of finding a “lesser” chicken. Therefore none of our guests would have reasonably thought, “That one must be the CRX, so I’m going to rate it lower because I know it’s not as good.” So it was doubly gratifying when, after all the scores had been tallied, the CRX came out last.

The Speckled Sussex was the consensus favorite, with the Dominique and New Hampshire Red tied for second place. The Wyandotte, Delaware, Naked Neck, and White Rock were all close behind, but the CRX lagged considerably. But to me the real takeaway is that they all taste different, and while one person might prefer one breed someone else preferred another. The most common comment regarding the CRX was not that it tasted bad, but that it was “bland,” that there was simply little flavor, particularly in contrast to the heritage breeds. This is due, I believe, in large part to the age at which the respective breeds are processed. As a result of its incredibly fast growth the CRX must be processed young (usually 6-8 weeks or so), while the heritage breeds grow more slowly and aren’t at a respectable butcher weight until at least 16 weeks. An apt comparison might be veal and beef: veal, processed young, is more tender and mild, while beef, processed older, is perhaps firmer (and tougher in some muscles) but more flavorful...."