What can I do with Ranger Classic roosters other than eating them when they are a few weeks old?

[Seidenhahn]

What can I do with Ranger Classic roosters other than eating them when they are a few weeks old?

In Germany, Ranger Classic is perhaps the best known hybrid with slower growth. I keep reading about Freedom Ranger and Red Ranger on the forum. It is very possible that this Ranger Classic is closely related to the above mentioned hybrids and comes from Cornish Cross. Anyway, I don't really think there are big differences between Rangers. Maybe someone knows... Considering that I am going to do some crosses according to the clan system, namely 1. Melchener rooster x Ranger Classic hen, 2. Indian Game rooster x Ranger Classic hen, 3. Leghorn rooster x Ranger Classic hen and then 4. the offspring will be crossed with each other, also according to the clan system.
I want to ask you if Ranger Classic roosters can also be used in crosses in this system. I've read all sorts of conflicting opinions on the forum about hybrid roosters and I'm very unsure.
Thanks in advance!

 

[SnackMeat]

Do you mind clarifying what you mean about conflicting information about breeding with hybrid roosters?

It might be that my brain hasn't turned on yet for the day, but I don't see any issues with your plan.


Pure breeds versus hybrid don't really matter if you either:

A. Aren't trying to sell them as purebreds, or

B. If the ultimate goal is to create a new "breed" understand that this will take many generations (if ever) to breed true to the qualities you're looking for.


As far as it being a meat bird, I assume you have kept the weight off it so it can move around AND it has qualities you want to further in a future generation (maybe just aesthetics, or even just because it's a meat bird that seems healthier than the other ones you bought.)


I am planning on doing something similar with a Cornish cross hen. Long story short, we didn't buy her, she lost weight, we don't feed her that much but she definitely hunts for all the other birds many, many scraps. She shocked the crap out of us with how high she can jump when she is motivated to try to get to the mealworm bag.

But we plan on cross breeding her with Brahma, and then possibly later down the line silkies to try silkie broilers.

I would suggest you look into artificial insemination as that would be the simplest way to have timely hatching eggs:

Two days in a row, then once or twice a week. Supposedly three days on (not sure from first or second day) should be fertile eggs. Sperm can stay in a hen's system for 2-3 weeks but assume 1-2 weeks is the norm. Then if you want to breed the same hen to a different rooster you would wait 3 weeks (I did see one person report 4 week fertile eggs, obviously at a lesser rate but I think that is an extreme outlier) and then start it all over again.


And gathering from the rooster should cover 3+ hens especially if you kept the rooster away from hens for a couple of days before collection.

I'm not exactly sure how it works breeding a bigger meat bird to a (much)smaller bird with this method, as I think the fetus would be too big to easily turn in the egg towards the end.

But this method would be particularly useful if, for some reason, you had smaller or flightier, or harder to mate rooster (maybe from being immature, or they had a leg injury or something non genetic.) the Ranger hen should have large eggs, so more than enough room for a smaller than ranger chick to move around in, though you may have to play around with humidity to make sure enough liquid is lost in the egg that the chick doesn't drown.

 

[SnackMeat]

Also, I just read the title again (sorry, like I said, brain isn't turned on.)

The other option is caponizing, which is removing their testes through their rib cage. You can also do chemical caponizing but caponizing in general is illegal some places and legal other places.

However, it would have nicer, more hen-like meat on them, no longer be able to breed, and if you catch it soon enough, have more hen like characteristics rather than rooster characteristics.

But these are already meat birds so that all seems....kind of pointless? You could just fatten them and then process.