Freedom Rangers

[WalkingWolf1]

We got these back in the middle of April '12 from Kendall (@ FreedomRangerHatchery). We knew it was getting too late for another start of meaties this far south but decided to go with a small batch of FR with no real end-date in mind. They did very well early on foraged well (and still do) from the time we started letting them out. They free-range all day and are fed in the evening. As they got larger we had a couple get that leaning-over-forward walk like they were just too heavy. We processed those as they got large enough. (We did find the flavor to be more "chickeny" than the CX that has been raised prior. More noticeable as the birds got older) We had one end up with what appeared to be a dislocated hip. Lost 3 in the earlier part of the summer when they didn't leave the enclosure during the day and overheated. With all this said, we have ended up with about 12 birds that are doing well and have grown into nice looking stock. We intend to keep a Roo and 4 hens and raise some F1 from this stock. The BYC'er opinions on this seem to cover the whole spectrum so we decided to try it ourselves. There are a few other combinations we may experiment with as well. We have some young Buckeye roos as well as RIR roos we'd like to try. We'd also like to see a cross with a CX roo. Looking forward for some cooler temps.

We didn't get current weights on these birds as we do not handle the birds in this heat. They forage out on pasture in the morning hours and under groves of trees during the heat of the day. Everything comes in for light rations in the evening. They are no longer penned as they simply roost with the laying flock in the barns.

I don't particularly like this shot as there is just too much interference. This ended up being the only shot that shows this roos nice upright stance and confirmation. Of the roos available this one appears to be the one we will keep.




This is a shot of the same roo to show the width through the back.




This last shot is just a melange to demonstrate the variety we got in this batch of birds. The hens I like the best all look like young buff orpingtons with a bit of "columbian" coloring in the lower neck area. This pic also shows some of the nice coloring on the other roos.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I just raised my first batch of Freedom Rangers as well. I started with 35 and lost 4 to a predator when they were around 7 weeks old. I had one rooster who seemed to have some difficulty walking around 9 weeks when I started "harvesting". He was the biggest of the bunch and sort of walked back on his heels and sort of bowlegged. He was the first to go into the freezer. I processed 7 at 9 weeks, 6 more at 10 weeks and 9 at 11 weeks and have 6 more to do this week. I also intend on keeping my favorite rooster and two pullets, which I have added to my mixed flock of layers to see if what the offspring will look like. Does anyone know what Freedom Ranger eggs look like, or are they as varied as the chickens themselves?

 

[Life is Good!]

You've got some very nice looking birds! I too was surprised at how broad their backs were. Made it easier during processing though.

We raised our first FR's this spring as well. Our laying flock is Black Java's and I'm very interested in keeping that breed going strong. However, we wished a 'meatier' bird for the table and chose FR's. I was not at all disappointed.

We handled ours weekly to weigh them - they were exceptionally friendly birds overall. I would have kept a gorgeous barred roo and a trio of exceptionally friendly hens who were surrogate mom's to our Java chicks, but determined our goal was Java's - and am staying with that goal. At least for now!

The ones we have had on our table have been fantastic! I am not at all dissapointed in the efforts - wished I would have done more processing, so I had a bag or two of just chests, legs, etc. I am finding it challenging to thaw a whole bird - it's all in the planning!

This fall, we will try CX's - we just don't have the 12wks needed in good enough weather to do a good job. I'm very much looking forward to next spring to get more FR's! They were just such a wonderful bird!

 

[Mosherd1]

I have 25, 5 week old FR's. So far they have eaten about 60 lbs of feed. I have feed available to the 24/7. I am wondering if this is recommended. Also, I tossed some old bananas in their penned off area of my yard. Flies were all over the bananas and I was hoping that the FR's would start eating up the flies. They sho no interest at all. Should I stop allowing them free feed? They have about 500 square feet available to them. I could open their area up a bit more if you guys thought I should. Any thoughts or help would be great!

 

[Mosherd1]

So sorry, not 60 lbs of food but 125 lbs of food in 5 weeks. Thanks again,

 

[Salt and Light]

I've probably raised and slaughtered close to 100 FR's. In fact, I have on FR rooster that my son didn't want me to kill because he's too pretty. But, I've decided to go back to X-rocks. The FR's mature at too varied a rate for my liking. After this batch of X-rocks, maybe I'll try all male FR's and see if that makes a difference.

Like others, my FR's have had plenty of hip problems. During butchering, it's easy to see why. Bearing in mind that I piece out the birds during butchering (leg quarters and breasts), several birds always have what I consider to be hip arthritis. Where the femur and acetabulum should be covered in smooth hyaline cartlidege. Birds with gait problems always have degeneration of the cartlidge, which is exactly what osteo-arthritis is. I suspect it's a genetic thing, but who knows. I actually have butchering pictures of the bird with one good hip and one "bad" hip.It's very easy to see the difference.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I have 25, 5 week old FR's. So far they have eaten about 60 lbs of feed. I have feed available to the 24/7. I am wondering if this is recommended. Also, I tossed some old bananas in their penned off area of my yard. Flies were all over the bananas and I was hoping that the FR's would start eating up the flies. They sho no interest at all. Should I stop allowing them free feed? They have about 500 square feet available to them. I could open their area up a bit more if you guys thought I should. Any thoughts or help would be great!

Not an expert, having raised only one batch of Freedom Rangers (last 6 are in the 'fridge now awaiting final processing). I did note that they were not nearly as active foragers as my DP hens. Whether in a tractor that was moved to new grass every day or a large pen with plenty of grass or allowed out to free range for part of the day, they seemed to prefer to hang around near the feeder. I started around 6 or 7 weeks taking up their feed at night and offering them a fairly small breakfast in the hopes that they' would take more advantage of the natural and free food available for foraging. It seemed to help if I'd offer things like scratch or toss them treats so that they'd lean to run around and look for food on the ground rather than just climb over each other for access to the feeder. My memory is that the DP chicks were much more curious and interested in exploring what might be tasty.

 

[Mosherd1]

Is 125 lbs of feed alot, not much, or average for 25, 5 week old freedom rangers?

 

[WalkingWolf1]

It seems a bit high for this stage of the game. How much are they wasting?

If you use a 2:1 FCR and you have 25 (birds) X 5 (lbs dressed weight) = 125 lbs chicken. This would equate to 250lbs of feed. You are already 1/2 through this and only 1/2 through the growing process. At the rate your own your efficiency will be less than 2:1.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

It seems a bit high for this stage of the game. How much are they wasting?

If you use a 2:1 FCR and you have 25 (birds) X 5 (lbs dressed weight) = 125 lbs chicken. This would equate to 250lbs of feed. You are already 1/2 through this and only 1/2 through the growing process. At the rate your own your efficiency will be less than 2:1.

Taken straight from the Freedom Ranger web page: "If you harvest at 8-9 weeks it 9feed conversion) should be around 2.5 lbs feed per lb of gain. If you wait til 10-11 weeks, it will be around 2.7 -2.8 lbs feed per lb of gain. Depending on environment and other conditions, some customers will see a feed conversion that is higher than this, up to around 3."

FR's are not as efficient as the CornishX, but I think most folks know that going into the rearing process but choose the FRs anyway for other reasons.