Many people recommend raising the Red Ranger chicken over other breeds of broiler chicken. So, what is this bird all about? Let’s take a look!
The Origins of the Red Ranger Chicken
Nobody actually knows where the Red Ranger chicken comes from.
Since it is not an official breed of chicken, it seems nobody really kept that many records. It just seemingly appeared out of nowhere!
So, if you are expecting a rich heritage breed of chicken, then the Red Ranger chicken is probably not going to be the right breed for you!
The Look of the Red Ranger Chicken
The look of the Red Ranger chicken is pretty similar to that of most broiler chickens. It isn’t anything special. It is a fairly weighty bird because you are going to be raising this baby for meat. However, that is it.
We do want to point out that the breasts of the Red Ranger chicken are going to be a bit smaller than most other broiler chickens, so if you are a breast person, then this bird is not going to be a great option.
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As a Show Chicken
These chickens are designed to be raised and butchered. They are broiler chickens. Nothing more. This means that you are not really going to be finding that many shows to show off the chicken.
Sure, there is a standard for this breed, but nobody is raising them for a show. They just do not look all that good.
About the most you can do with these chickens is raise them, and sell any chicks on that you do not feel that you are going to be raising for meat. People will be buying them, but only to slaughter them themselves.
You should also not be buying these chickens as decorations for your garden. Once again, they are broiler chickens and not show chickens. They are designed to be slaughtered eventually.
This means that if you are raising them for long periods of time, there will be all sorts of health issues that start to pop up which, of course, is the last thing you want to have happen.
The Red Ranger Chicken Eggs
To be honest with you, nobody is really agreed on how many eggs the Red Ranger hen can lay per year. Some people say around 200, and others as low as 100. It seems to be all dependent on the chicken.
The number that seems to be thrown about quite a bit, however, is 175 eggs per year. This means that the chicken is going to be a fairly safe bet for anybody that is looking for a dual-purpose chicken.
Although, to be honest with you, it is unlikely that you will be raising this chicken long enough for you to get that many eggs out of it. This bird is destined for the table.
It is worth mentioning that a lot of the people that raise the Red Ranger hens are not fans of raising it because of the eggs. This is because it is a broiler chicken. There are far better chickens for eggs out there.
However, it is a broiler chicken that grows a little bit slower than other broilers. By the time it is ready for the slaughter, it will already be laying eggs.
Some people report that slaughtering a chicken that is growing eggs inside of it is not a pleasant process. Obviously, you will get used to it, but we do want to point this out.
The Red Ranger Chicken Meat
As you may well know, the Cornish chicken is a tough chicken to raise. Just as many other meat chicken breeds.
This is because it is mostly for meat, and they grow so incredibly fast that it puts a lot of strain on their bodies, which does create either a lower quality chicken or a bird that is simply not going to be suitable for raising beyond 8-weeks in most cases.
This is not going to be an issue with the Red Ranger.
This chicken does take a little bit longer to grow to full size so it can be harvested for meat. It is going to be about twelve weeks before the Red Ranger chicken is ripe for harvesting.
This means that it grows slower and, ultimately, it is going to be subject to far fewer health issues. If you want a chicken that is perfect for meat, then this is probably going to be the best route to go down.
They are easy to breed, so you should always have a good number of them coming up to harvest.
We do want to point out that the taste of the Red Ranger chicken is a little bit different from that of the Cornish chicken. This is due to the fact that there is a bit more fat on the this chicken breed. Their breasts are also not as thick, and thus if you are a fan of chicken breast, then the Red Ranger may not be the right chicken for you.
The Personality of the Breed
This is where people are not fans of the Red Ranger chicken. A lot of people do report that the chicken can be a little bit aggressive at times. This isn’t all chickens from this breed, and it is mainly the roosters.
If you are just raising hens for their eggs and meat, then this is probably not going to be a massive problem. However, if you are breeding Red Ranger chickens, then you may run into a couple of issues.
One thing they do better than most chickens, however, is foraging. A lot of people absolutely love to watch the Red Ranger chicken foraging around the place. So, you should try and give them a lot of space for them to do this.
In terms of flying, this probably is not something that you will need to worry about with the Red Ranger chicken. They are a bit too heavy to fly. They will certainly try, but they will not end up getting all that far.
