Are you questioning which meat rooster breed it is best to raise, Cornish Cross or Freedom Ranger?
There’s an rising assortment of meat rooster breeds obtainable to the patron at the moment, to not level out the selection of elevating larger, standard, dual-purpose, laying hens. The two hottest selections correct now are the white Cornish Cross and the Freedom Ranger Broiler.
The two breeds have some variations which might make but yet one more suited to your homestead than the alternative. Let’s uncover these contrasts so you too can make the selection that works biggest for you!
Cornish Cross or Freedom Ranger? Which Meat Hen Breed Must You Choose?
Cornish Cross Breed Traits
- Frequent Time to Elevate: 8 weeks
- Frequent Weight at Harvest: 4 kilos
Cornish Cross are found with only a few variations to their title nevertheless are often a heavy-bodied white rooster. Cornish chickens are bred with large breast meat in ideas for buyers trying to find low-fat protein.
They’re often inactive and within the occasion you’ve solely raised laying hens before now likelihood is you may be surprised at how they really don’t behave very similar to a rooster. They primarily spend their lives consuming, consuming, sleeping, and defecating.
It’s a personality well-suited to bulking up shortly.
“These broiler chickens are acknowledged for his or her excellent, speedy growth and feed effectivity. Whether or not or not you should elevate these top-selling meat birds to your private pleasure, or to spice up and promote, you acquired’t uncover greater.
Females could have an amazing, straightforward finish when dressed and attain pretty roasting dimension. Looking for straight run chicks offers you a number of of each intercourse so to learn from the sturdy components every strategies. Males will robe from three to 4 kilos in six to eight weeks, and females will take about one and a half weeks longer to attain the similar dimension.”
McMurray Hatchery
Benefits of Elevating the Cornish Cross Meat Hen Breed
Sooner to Elevate
Many uncover you may elevate Cornish Cross to butcher weight additional shortly than totally different breeds. They seem to get to the 4-6 pound ending differ inside 2 months of age. Afterward, their growth cost seems to decelerate… in case you want to hazard elevating them longer for a much bigger carcass.
Less complicated to Butcher
The inside organs on this breed are less complicated to remove and since they spend loads time laying down, feathers often don’t develop on their breast. This suggests there are fewer feathers to remove at butchering time.
Later Maturity
Not like Ranger Broilers, Cornish Cross will not attain maturity sooner than butchering so the roosters acquired’t crow or act aggressively in path of the females.
A lot much less Expensive to Elevate
There is a elevated demand for Cornish Cross chicks which lowers the worth of day-old chicks. On account of they’re moreover an inactive breed that reaches a ending dimension additional shortly, Cornish Cross have a greater feed conversion and are cheaper to spice up.
Cons of Cornish Cross
Pasture Raised
When you’re excited by maximizing the properly being benefits of pasture-raised meat chickens, Cornish Cross may not be the breed you’re trying to find. They hardly forage for bugs and greens, preferring to hold round throughout the feed trough and waterer.
Effectively being Factors
For various causes, the Cornish Cross are vulnerable to have additional properly being factors compared with totally different breeds. They’re notorious for coronary coronary heart failure and broken legs, notably as they near maturity. They’ve moreover been acknowledged to experience rectal prolapse. Sadly, these sorts of properly being factors are expert later throughout the rooster’s temporary lives… which suggests nearly all of your funding in elevating them has already been made.
Freedom Ranger Broiler Breed Traits
- Frequent Time to Elevate: 11 weeks
- Frequent Weight at Harvest: 6 kilos
Freedom Rangers are moreover hybrid chickens that fall beneath various monickers. Usually, you’ll uncover the time interval “Ranger” throughout the title though. They are much additional energetic, healthful birds and behave additional like what you’d anticipate from a rooster. They could run spherical, chase bugs, determine at grass, and roost as a substitute of parking themselves on the feed trough all day. Their leg bones are stronger to help their physique weight and, due to this, you’ll uncover they’ve an elevated yield of darkish meat.
“Freedom Ranger chicks develop at a common cost, reaching their peak weight of 5-6 lbs in 9 to 11 weeks. These energetic, sturdy chicks are acceptable with out price differ, foraging and pasture environments and produce tender, succulent meat with additional yellow omega 3 fat and fewer saturated fat than fast rising breeds.
Our Freedom Ranger chickens perform each purple or tri-colored feathers and have yellow shanks, pores and pores and skin and beaks. They’re an lively breed and thrive when allowed to free differ, scratch and dust bathe in pure daylight.”
Freedom Ranger Hatchery
Benefits of Elevating Freedom Ranger Broilers
Pasture Elevating
That is seemingly top-of-the-line benefits of elevating Ranger Broilers. When raised on pasture they will forage properly, diversifying their consuming routine and rising the flavour and greater than seemingly food regimen of the meat through the addition of greens, bugs, and regardless of else chickens love to look out and eat whereas scratching spherical.
Whereas Rangers do have a additional diversified consuming routine, it isn’t a serious adequate consumption to offset manufacturing feed costs that can allow you to decrease your bills once you problem throughout the longer time to attain harvest weight.
Fewer Effectively being Factors
Freedom Ranger Broilers often do not experience the properly being points that the Cornish breed is vulnerable to endure from. That’s properly worth noting since these properly being factors often occur after practically the entire funding has been made throughout the rooster.
Better Darkish Meat Ratio
On account of their legs are bred to be sturdier to help their heavy weight, they’re larger and have a greater ratio of darkish meat. Your need for darkish meat will determine if this generally is a skilled or a con. I place it throughout the skilled column on account of the moist flavorful darkish meat is my favorite!
Richer Style
The flavour of Freedom Ranger meat is significantly richer than Cornish Cross, notably the darkish meat. Chances are high you may uncover the meat to be juicier and the texture barely additional company. (Which is not a troublesome feat to carry out since Cornish Cross breast meat is almost sawdusty in texture. )
Keep Longer
On account of they don’t experience properly being factors, Freedom Rangers can live longer than Cornish Cross. We now have saved one alive and healthful for 3 years.
Can Lay Eggs
A Ranger hen could also be saved for laying, nevertheless they don’t seem to be extraordinarily productive. They lay a giant pointy egg about 3 situations each week for about 2 years.
It’s a shame that they seem to be a hybrid cross on account of you presumably can’t hatch out these eggs for regular self-sufficient meat manufacturing. Chicks hatched from Ranger broilers acquired’t show with the similar traits as their dad and mother and shouldn’t make a tremendous meat rooster.
Cons of Freedom Ranger Meat Hen Breed
Longer to Elevate
The growth cost of the Ranger meat rooster breeds is slower than their Cornish counterpart. It seems the Cornish acquire the 4-6 pound aim differ additional shortly sooner than slowing off their growth cost. Nonetheless Rangers seem to take the similar dimension of time to attain a much bigger carcass weight (we would like the 7-pound differ). Every breeds get to that weight in about 14 weeks or so in our experience.
Further Troublesome to Butcher
The excellence is totally negligible and within the occasion you haven’t butchered Cornish likelihood is you may on no account uncover, nevertheless the interior organs in a Ranger are a bit of additional hassle to remove. They’re moreover additional completely feathered than Cornish and attributable to this reality require additional work at plucking time. When you may have a plucker, this isn’t an issue the least bit.
Within the occasion you are taking your chickens to a butcher to be processed, they might price a greater cost per rooster (typically decrease than a dollar each) with a view to accommodate the additional work eradicating feathers.
Further Expensive to Elevate
Because of the longer time it takes to spice up them, Rangers could also be dearer. It’s a troublesome variable to search out out on account of it relies upon upon many parts along with feed conversion, much like properly being factors.
Can Be Aggressive
On account of they attain maturity additional shortly, Rangers may develop to be aggressive. That’s typically solely an issue within the occasion you elevate a straight-run flock. With all males, they will do the squeaky teenage rooster crow, nevertheless acquired’t run spherical and chase each other the best way wherein they do when the ladies are spherical. We now have on no account as quickly as had them flip that aggression in the direction of people, along with our children.
We’ve been elevating meat chickens for our family for over a decade now. We’ve expert elevating every meat rooster breeds many situations and have executed intensive comparisons of their properly being, hardiness, longevity, costs, and style. Ultimately the choice as to which breed to spice up comes proper right down to your needs, homestead set-up, dimension requirements, and style need. Part of the homesteading journey is having gratifying and experimenting to search out which breed works biggest for you! So now that you simply already know what to anticipate, try elevating every breeds and research which you prefer to spice up in your homestead.
Regarding the Creator
Quinn and her family have been homesteading in Ohio for over 17 years, quite a lot of which she spent sharing their experiences and provoking totally different homesteaders at Reformation Acres until 2018. Furthermore elevating their major crop of 8 children, Quill Haven Farm revolves throughout the Queen of the Homestead, the family milk cow. Together with cheesemaking and totally different dwelling dairy, the cow moreover presents skim milk to fatten only a few hogs yearly, elevate up a beef calf, complement the feed for his or her flock of laying hens & broilers, and pleasant compost for his or her 14,000 sq. ft of pure gardens. Yow will uncover her writing at the moment on her Substack- https://www.quillhavenfarm.com
Further About Elevating Chickens
Whether or not or not you’ll be free-ranging them or not, preserve finding out for additional particulars about elevating the healthiest and happiest yard chickens in your homestead!
