Sorry if this topic has already been discussed. I can't find anything pertaining to this so thought I'd ask. I am debating on whether to go with the freedom rangers or the cornish x for meat birds based on their ability to forage and reduce their own feed costs. Has anyone compared the costs of raising both types of birds? While the cx can be butchered earlier, I am under the impression they eat alot more bagged food. If put on pasture at a young age, they should be finding bugs and grasses to eat, right? The freedom rangers or other dual purpose birds are butchered later, but does it end up being more expensive because there's less meat on them? They would still be needing some feed for another month or more than the cx. I thought about feeding my cx minimal pellets and expecting them to forage most of their food. I have 4.5 acres to move them around on and I'm sure it has plenty of things for them to eat. I also plan to toss them vegetable peelings and such. I want to raise a cost effective bird for the freezer (who doesn't?) and I don't want to make it harder or more expensive than it has to be. So what really ends up being the better choice?
