Trouble with colored rangers already... (in a good way?)

[charliesgirl]

could you maybe post a pic of a colored ranger? i dont think ive ever seen one. i know the cornish cross breed but ive never heard of the rangers. maybe its the area, i know ive heard some other breed names ive never heard of just because they dont offer those breeds in my area.

 

[TimG]

Quote:
See the grow out journal that you should be able to find pretty easily in this forum.

 

[zephyrcreek]

Here is a pic of my colored range chicks from J&M.

They are super cute, and only a few days old.

They are 2 1/2 weeks now and just as cute.

 

[mcdaid36]

Mine are cute as well, and 2 weeks old now. I am having a horrible time with them pecking each other until they are bleeding and raw. I never had this issue with any of the other 75 chicks I've raised (who weren't colored rangers). Anyone else having this issue? On the plus side, it is going to make processing them a little easier. They're not as cute when they become cannibals!

I just moved them out to the larger pen, so hopefully that will help too and keep them busy with the bugs and greens instead of each others behinds!

 

[vermontgal]

Ooo, mcdaid36 thank you for saying that. There are a couple of mine that I was looking at today thinking - hmm, did someone peck your butt? I think it's time to move mine to a bigger brooder, and to start giving them some time in the tractor during the day. Thanks for pointing out your pecking issue - I'll pay more attention to mine on that front.

 

[New adventure]

I thought the rangers were really hard to find; do you mind saying where you got them?

 

[vermontgal]

I got mine from jmhatchery.com I ordered 100 - they send 102 in case of losses. I posted an ad on my local craigslist and sold off 90 in batches of 10-35. Worked well for all of us.

 

[brandywine]

I really like mine, too. They are five weeks old and out on pasture now.

Had one accidentally break his neck at four weeks; we were right there and heard the commotion, so I dressed him out to eat. Interestingly, he dressed to the exact weight of a supermarket "cornish game hen" -- 22 oz.

I felt bad that the little guy broke his neck, especially since he did it just before I moved them out onto pasture -- so he never got to enjoy foraging and being a real chicken. Boo hoo.

My husband fried him up three days later, and it was so delicious, and such a modest portion, I was ready to run outside and murder another one if Ken would fry it right away.

I'm planning to have someone else process just because I have so many -- 100 birds (plus the four Cornish x and possibly some surplus Delaware roos) -- that it doesn't seem feasible to do it ourselves, even with help.

But I think it will be easier on us, too.

I enjoy watching them out on the pasture, playing at being wild jungle fowl. They are friendly and come to the fence when I approach, gather around if I sit on a bucket with them.

I'm giving them a good life, a real chicken's life, with clean surroundings, fresh pasture, enough space and fresh air, wholesome food and water. I suffer sentimentally from killing and eating them, but when I contemplate the nasty, brutish, and short life of the industrial chicken, I know this is a better way.

BTW, my four Cornish X are as personable in their own way as the rangers. Maybe that wouldn't be true if there were more of them, but they, too, are living like real chickens.

 

[Chicky Tocks]

Maybe you can pick out a nice roo and a few pullets for breeding stock. Then you can breed and brood your own eats while being able to keep a few.

 

[TimG]

Quote:
The rangers are the result of crosses, so will not breed true...at least that is my understanding. You would imagine that their offspring should be similar in growth rate and size, but you never know.