The Rangers are DONE-10 wks.3 days!!! Woo Hoo!!!

[moenmitz]

The verdict is in...tastes like chicken. Cooked two of them, one in the crockpot, one I roasted, just to get a comparison. Crock pot chicken became mushy, I will stick with using that for older DP roosters. The roasted ranger was perfectly done- moist, tender- very, very meaty. This was a 4.5 pounder, and it is like there is no end. My DH keeps cutting away, still eating, I think out of curiosity to see just where the meat will end than actual hunger. Definitely get another meal or two out of this one. I sold a friend a 6 lb one earlier tonight, they probably think it is a turkey.

Flavor wise- I am a little let down- not that it wasn't good, it was. But I think I had built up so much anticipation in my head that I was expecting fireworks, bells and sirens with the first bite. It tasted like good chicken- but did not have a noticeably stronger flavor, which I guess is my only let down. I will experiment with some different recipes- I went pretty simple on this one-butter, rosemary and a little bit of lemon pepper seasoning-nothing else, not even salt, for the reason that I wanted to taste the actual flavor of the chicken, without having it camoflaged with too many seasonings. I did not brine them, and they were in the fridge about 30 hours.

Overall, this chicken project gets an A-. Hardy birds, fairly easy to raise, good feed conversion, excellent meat quality & quantity- I suspect the only things that really prevent this from being an A+ are from judgements made on our part, and since this was an experiment all along, we have definitely learned a few things that should help us save money, time & birds next time. Next batch I will experiment with what I feed them and see if the flavor can be enhanced that way at all as well. Since I still have 8 that are about 2- 3 weeks from butchering, any suggestions on what I might add to their feed to see if I can soup up the flavor a bit?

 

[SandraMort]

How did you free range them so young? I let them go all day at 6 weeks and 5 never made it home.

 

[Acre of Blessings]

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Try marinating for several hours before you cook it next time. This is what I am gonna do.

Just a couple thoughts that I thought may help.

 

[greyfields]

When I first started I was excited for the 10 lb roasters. Now, that I've done it a lot, a 4 lb roaster seems to be the butter zone where you get enough to eat, still have some leftovers and there is plenty of carcass left to boil down for soup or stock.

 

[moenmitz]

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Try marinating for several hours before you cook it next time. This is what I am gonna do.

Just a couple thoughts that I thought may help.

Oh they didn't taste funny, they just didn't have the intensity of flavor I was used to with free range chicken. But I will try the marinating, that is a very good idea.

Greyfields- yup, it is kind of a rush to get the huge chickens, but I am not going to let them get so big next time- one of my customers I talked to this morning is lamenting all of her chicken recipes are for a 3.5 lb chicken- hers are in the 5 lb range. "How on earth do I cook these?" she asked me.

Next time I think I will skip the turkey starter and see how they do just the grains and free- ranging. (I have an organic base mix to mix with the grains to cover all the nutrients) It would definitely be cheaper. I would like to get my costs down so that I could sell these for 2.50-3.00/ lb- I think that would be easier for people to handle. They are paying the $4, but I feel bad CHARGING that much!

 

[moenmitz]

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Technically, I suppose it isnt free- ranging- I had them in my fenced garden, which is about 60 feet x 75 feet from 3-5 weeks- full of bugs and weeds, and tehy ahd a ball and more than enough room to run aorund at the size they were then. At 5.5 weeks, they moved to a 1/2 acre pasture which was fenced with chicken wire, then by 8 weeks they took over a 2 acre pasture tjhat was fenced with woven wire. We haven't had an issue with daytime predators, YET...we do ahve alot fo ahwks around, but I think having our 4 goats in there with them has served as a deterrent, since so far, teh hawks have only looked, not touched!

 

[greyfields]

Let's not split hairs on free range. Free range is access to outside, even if outside is fenced. :0

 

[SandraMort]

I have a fence in about a half circle around the barn wall, approximately 18 feet long. I can't tell how many sq feet that is when I'm this tired. The birds get to come and go as they please. That's free ranging?

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[moenmitz]

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346 lbs total, for 73 broilers- so average dressed weight was 4.74 lbs.

 

[UncleHoot]

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According to most definitions. There is no legal definition in the US. And actually, "pastured" chickens would meet the definition as well, but I certainly do not consider it "free range" any more than the 100 square feet of outdoor access at the end of a "free range" poultry shed. But being outside certainly has benefits for the chickens, imho.