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| Freedom Ranger Chickens; Pastured chickens, free range | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 20 2011, 04:03 AM (246 Views) | |
| HandFarming | Dec 20 2011, 04:03 AM Post #1 |
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We're going over our 2012 farm production plan and this year we are going to try Freedom Ranger chickens from: http://www.freedomrangerhatchery.com/ They don't grow quite as fast as the Cornish x but since they are mainly raised on pasture with 2/3 the grain, then the savings might be worth it. That and every time we order the Cornish x before June, half succumb to the cooler temps....they are very touch n go the first weeks. I'm hoping for better results from a hardier breed that grows nearly as fast. They also say the taste of these range fed birds is superior to the soy fed birds. My biggest problem in raising birds last year was that we let the cornish x roosters get too old. After 7 weeks they develop a off-taste from the male hormones. I'll know better now to not let more than 1 breeding male live over the 7 week period! . . Or they could be dog food! Live n learn as there are very few places that turn Roos into caponized birds these days. To increase our production success we are turning some old refrig/freezers into the brooders so they keep a more constant brooder area temp. Maybe next year we can turn the freezer part into hatchery units with the brooder on the refrigerator side. . .? Don't know if that would work but it's on the drawing board. If anyone has tips on successful raising of pastured poultry, please let me know as raising poultry is something most sustainable farms do and I would like to learn to do it well! |
| You can lead an ass to knowledge, but you can not make it think. | |
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| Raven | Dec 20 2011, 11:10 AM Post #2 |
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Cornish X are some of the most tasteless birds that you can eat. I start my chicks in a separate area of my chicken house. It is enclosed with plywood and has chicken wire on the top. Heat lamps hang from the ceiling. I hope that by using the freezer idea works for you...I think that it might hold in to much moisture. Moisture can be just as, if not more than, deadly temperatures. There is a guy close to us that told me of how he used to raise pastured chickens. He got a wagon with a ramp on the back. He used pvc pipes to make an arch and wired a tarp over that. Everyday he would let the chickens out to roam and the next morning before he would let them out, he moved the wagon to a new area. Chickens don't generally roam to far from home base. He had roosts set up in a ladder type system in the wagon. He didn't use a net or fencing for them but did have a LGD that took care of them. |
| The truth is not for all men, but only for those that seek it. Ayn Rand | |
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| Mommacat | Dec 20 2011, 12:08 PM Post #3 |
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Hf, "caponizing" roosters isn't really difficult - it just takes practice. There are several videos online that show how, or you could find someone that knows how to do it and have them show you. It seems like a real waste of a potentially juicy, tender bird to feed it to the dogs when it could be very good people food. |
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| Raven | Dec 21 2011, 01:02 PM Post #4 |
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Why don't you try Barred Rocks instead? The Freedom Rangers are not sustainable as they don't mate naturally. |
| The truth is not for all men, but only for those that seek it. Ayn Rand | |
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| Mommacat | Dec 28 2011, 10:07 AM Post #5 |
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Umm.....Do they mate "un-naturally"??? Sorry, had to...... |
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| HandFarming | Dec 28 2011, 12:44 PM Post #6 |
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Ha...un-naturally matured like my 2 year old Cornish x rooster. He just started crowing! Raven, you've convinced me to try the barred rocks and I'm going to get some jersey giants. If I decide to do 1,000 birds this year on pasture as part of the farm-makes-money this year, it will have to be mutant hybrids and I'll put the heritage birds in my own freezer. . .or save them for their eggs to hatch next year. |
| You can lead an ass to knowledge, but you can not make it think. | |
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