
Every year my family and I raise broilers for our freezer. We typically buy 20-25 chicks and in about 8-12 weeks, we have enough fresh chicken to fill our freezer for a long time. I typically purchase my broilers as chicks from our local feed store. The type that we purchase has always been the Jumbo Cornish X Rocks, that is, until this year.
Why I Decided To Try Freedom Rangers
I heard about a different breed of meat bird from a friend whose rabbits I process. She told me that she gets meat birds called Freedom Rangers from a local hatchery and that she was able to obtain them for free because every week, there are “late hatchers” or hatchery leftovers from the main hatch. She never had a problem getting free chicks if she went in to the hatchery the Wednesday or Thursday after the hatch. She offered to pick some up for me and let me try a few. Although I had already ordered my white broilers from the feed store, I thought it was a great way to obtain extra chicks at no extra cost. I also thought it would be interesting to raise them side-by-side.
Freedom Rangers are touted to be a heritage “breed”. They are said to be healthier and more likely to free range than their Cornish X Rock counterparts. They are also said to have a better flavor. So with much curiosity, I began my experiment.
The Chicken Test Begins

I got both set of chicks the same week. They were literally days apart in hatching. They were fed the same feed and were raised in identical conditions. They were moved outside at 3 weeks and given unlimited access to pasture, fresh water and for the most part, grain. Although the conditions were the same, it did not take me long to begin to notice differences and similarities between the two.
Tip: Benefits of Hen Raised Chicks
Differences Between Cornish X Rocks And Freedom Rangers
First, the Cornish grew much faster. I had already expected this after reading about it on Wikipedia. What amazed me what how MUCH slower the Freedom Rangers grew. Each one seemed to be about 2-4 weeks behind in growth compared to the Cornish. This can add up to a lot more feed, if you are raising a large amount of birds.
When it came to butchering time, I found another obvious difference. I skin my chickens versus plucking them to make butchering go faster. The Freedom rangers were very difficult to skin. They took at least twice as long to remove the skin as the Cornish. If you pluck your chickens or pay someone to do the butchering, this may not be a big deal, but if you do it at home like me, this will add quite a bit of extra time and frustration to your task.

Here are two things I noticed that were the same between the two types:
1. Freedom Rangers did not noticeably free-range any better than the white broilers. I introduced both species to the grass at 3 weeks and both types seemed to do a fairly good job of ranging except in the hottest part of the day. They especially seemed very fond of the woods next to our house and would spend hours scratching and pecking in there. This was disappointing since this was a large part of why I decided to try this breed.
2. Another thing was the taste. Apparently the Freedom Rangers are supposed to be more tasty. Maybe my palate is not as discriminating as it should be, but again, there was no noticeable difference. I found both breeds to be quite tasty.
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The Conclusion Of My Chicken Test
I would have to say that I probably won’t raise Freedom Rangers again. Although they were free, they wound up costing me a bit more in feed and I had to raise most of them nearly a month longer. The frustration level of processing them was also something I do not care to repeat. And there were honestly no detectable benefits over white broilers. To me white broilers seem to be the most obvious choice.
Have you raised either of these breeds of chickens? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Tip: Hear some more about raising chickens from a mom that has had chickens since she was a little girl.
would you 100% recommend free ranging of the broiler chickens for beginners like me? what would you estimate the cost of 100 broiler chickens up to three months age and what would you estimate the average weight of the chicks?
Thanks for the notes! You mention that the birds spent “hours” scratching in the woods but then said you were disappointed after expecting them to range more?
I think it’s very clear that the grower has different goals with rangers vs Cornish, and you fit the Cornish side of the comparison.
Receiving my first rangers this week! Excited for the differences, but I’m still raising Cornish, too.
I’ve never had an (adult) loss with Cornish, and I don’t remove feed. I simply have had them on a natural light pattern from the first day, and they absolutely don’t eat in darkness. I still have birds that dress out over 6 pounds in 9 weeks.
I lost a few chicks a few times that got chilled in the cold, I brood outside, too. Now I double the heat plate space.
One thing not mentioned here is the quality of the meat… I was VERY disappointed yesterday when we butchered our first Freedom Ranger. I was so excited and made fried chicken. We butchered the bird at 8 weeks and it was a bit over 4 pounds dressed. The meat was very “chewy”. Maybe not tough, but very very chewy. Maybe we’ve been spoiled by the tenderness of the CornishX. My husband stated this is probably like what chicken use to be a long time ago… but this is not something I would serve to guests. My chickens were very well cared for, kept clean and had access to pasture, even though they preferred to sit close to the feeders… Anybody else found this to be true about the meat?
The Cornis X a;so known as the Cornish Cross is a genetically modified bird to grow to maturity in 8 weeks, they are prone to the breakdown of there bones due to rapid growth, in my opinion it isnt the Freedom rangers or Red Rangers are a heirloom bird they have not been genetically modified to grow quick, on these girds it takes 12 weeks to acheiove buthering weight, in my opininion people should avoid any genetically modified bird at all costs due to the rapid growth of the bird which causes a whole array of health problems for the birds, yes it’s true you can save money on feed, but the slower growing Red ranger has a better flavor, and is a more natural looking chicken as well as it DOES NOT have any pof the health issues the Cornish cross has. to pluck the birds deep them in boiling water for 10 to 20 seconds and the feathers come right out, just puit on some ruuber gloves and run your hands down the carcass and the feathers come right out, then take a propane torch to burn off the pin feathers, problem solved… Peace
The cornish X are not genetically modified they are simply a cross between 2 already existing breeds, the cornish and the white plymouth rock. There is nothing “unnatural” about them
there is nothing natural about a bird who’s genetics have been engineered to grow so fast and with a body type designed for so much breast meat that they are incapable of reproducing naturally – they must be bred through artificial insemination. That is not natural.
Like said above they are not genetically modified(theirs no scientist in labs rearranging DNA that is simply not true). Like said above they have been selectively bred for those traits. They suffer from the same health problems any purebred dog does as the more limited the genetic diversity you have within a breed the more health problems that arise as when you breed two birds with the same health problems it brings them out more, like when you breed two animals over and over for larger breast like the Cornish cross and every time you get a bird with a bigger chest you breed it over and over again and any health problems said bird may have had are also passed on over and over and then when down the line two of those breeds get bred together bam it brings out the health problem even more. So their is big difference between genetically modified and selectively bred. So if your so against Cornish cross than dont ever by a purebred pet ever cus thats all it is. you take that cornish cross and breed it to another breed not used in the original cornish cross mix you will end up with a actually really healthy and hardy bird. Also just cant reproduce naturally doesnt actually mean its not natural, their are alot of crosses in the wild that can’t reproduce.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_genetic_hybrids
alot of the hyrids on that list don’t produce fertile offspring and if thats not natural then why has it happen in the wild not just in captivity. People just have this imagine fed to them that these super fasting growing chickens are unnatural GM animals and thats not true at all but they take it to heart. just like hormones, no major chicken producer has ever used hormones, antibiotics yes but thats alot different than hormones. Only case ever of consumer feed animals being given hormones were the milk cows with rbst, and all that was is like birth control but opposite, it tricks the cow into thinking their always pregnant so they will constantly produce milk but they havent been doing that anymore for years. So people need to do little research before just jumping to conclusions.
I acknowledge that the Cornish X are not modified at the genetic level. However, surely you must know it’s not a simple as crossing two chicken breeds. Regardless, it’s not sustainable.
the reason for the leg problems in the cornish rock hybrids is that people don’t know how to feed them. when they are 4 weeks old, you pull the feed for 12hrs over the night and replace it for 12hrs during the day. if you keep them on full feed, they will grow unaturally fast and be unable to walk and most likely die. I raise them every year and never have “health problems”
I have never pulled the feed on my birds. We found that if the food and water are on opposite ends of the pen and the pen is big enough they are forced to get up and walk and that exercise reduces the health issues/losses. Our pen is 35×35 and food and water are in opposite corners.
You are correct that Cornish X grow much faster but I have been raising them free range for 2 years about 800 chickens at a time and the Cornish X are terrible at free ranging and by comparison the Freedom rangers don’t take that much more feed to grow out, they are much more appealing to look at and free range awesomely in large quantity. I would recommend freedom rangers to anyone that is doing this for the first time every time. Cornish X are filthy creatures.
I agree, Adam. Also, I have never heard a Cornish X crow.
We have had many Cornish cross roosters crow.
Adam you are very correct. Let’s not get hung up on GMO arguments. We have raised chickens of all breeds for over 40 years. We have raised the cornish cross birds and the rangers. Without a doubt the rangers are far superior. Yes they grow a bit slower, but they behave like chickens not unstable grain processing organisms, that can’t walk or even move about much. The cornish cross are filthy, filthy, filthy. I hated looking at them touching them processing them. They have poor legs, are to breast heavy, get ill often and easily and spend all day lying in filth, near the feed source, no matter how carefully you move them or provide litter.. The rangers pluck much more easily than the x’s and are a joy to grow and watch. They behave like living organisms, eating grass, moving about and recognizing you when you approach. Newcomers to small backyard flocks should avoid the cornish cross birds.
Hear! Hear! Adam! I don’t raise Freedom Rangers but would never consider Cornish X. My birds are Speckled Sussex. Yes they grow slowly compared to meat birds but then I am actually in the egg business. I also raise Ancona Ducks. I sell fertile eggs from both flocks. When eggs don’t sell in a timely fashion they go in an incubator. I offer ducklings and chicks for sale straight run only. If they don’t sell within 2 weeks they go out to pasture. At first molt most go in the freezer. I flash freeze them whole. I do not butcher my birds. My system works for me customers that come to my farm and buy live birds can have their purchases slaughtered and butchered after the sale. I cannot sell pre-butchered birds. Too much bureaucracy.
Live in Western Colorado on small farm. We purchase and raise 85-100 Freedom Rangers every summer and butcher in October. Never have had a problem with these birds and we get all roosters. Big birds and easy to process at butchering time. We purchased a Featherman plucker and a large scalder so we can process 85 birds and clean up time in 8 hours!! Great taste! These birds will roam around a bit, but in my opinion, ALL meat birds get too heavy that they don’t care to “free range” a lot. Meat birds generally like to stay close to their grain food!! We process at 10-11 weeks. I would highly recommend Freedom Rangers. Haven’t ever tried a Cornish Cross. Have heard bad news about them. Hopes this helps everyone.
Have you found that rooster freedom rangers are tough?
I have skinned and fried one of them so far and was tough. I didn”t pluck because I wasn” set up yet.
Make sure you age your chickens until rigor passes. I usually wait 1 week after butchering before cutting up and freezing.
How did you receive Free Freedom Rangers? You live in Alabama and the Freedom Rangers main hatchery is in Lancaster PA.
Did you raise the Red Ranger?
Are Freedom Rangers and Red Rangers the same thing?
I’ve eaten Rangers (not sure which adjective) and found them much more tasty and filling than the Cornish Crosses raised at the same local farm. (I am also not a fan of the white meat, and so the ratio of dark to white is more to my liking on the Rangers I’ve tasted — plus even the white meat tastes better! ) I prefer to keep the skin on birds (unless I’m making Chicken Tandoori, which — yum!)
Next year I plan to start up my own bird farming operation. I realize non-Cornish Cross birds take longer to grow, but I’m going to be doing it for me and some neighbors, and trying to get in some research and varying opinions in, now. (One thing I’ve seen is that Rangers may also be prone to the leg problems of the Cornish Cross… it may well be I move to strict heritage birds. Maybe a starter bird for the first season?)
it strikes me, andrea, that you might be missing some of the superior flavor of heritage breeds because you cut the skin off. that’s where the fat is, and of course it is fat that provides flavor. it might be particularly important with heritage breeds to keep fat because their flesh is less juicy than is that of the white broiler.
the fat of animals that range and eat field grasses possesses the right ration of omega-3 and omega-6 fats, and so are healthy for humans. in fact, we remain hungry until we satisfy our bodies’ need for omega-3 fatty acids. consuming too much omega-6 fatty acids – which happens when we have low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets, keeps us hungry. animals that are confined and fed on grains (even organic grains) are too high in omega-6 relative to omega-3 fats, and so set up the eater to crave more food, rather than to feel satiated.
we find that 3 lbs of heritage breed, pasture-raised chicken, eaten with the fat and skin, satisfies us more than 6 lbs of commercial, skinless chicken. (among other things, that means we can afford to pay at least twice as much to raise our own heritage breeds and still break even. and when we add in the other savings from not snacking nearly as much, and not needing larger meals, we are definitely ahead in the food budget.)
Bio, Backyard poultry hobby small flock 10-30 birds at a time located near Grand Rapids MI.
I have raised both cornish cross and freedom rangers and by far the flavor of the rangers is superior. As for raising the two there are distinctive differences. My hopes were to have rangers range and return to the coop, they did but sometimes on top of the coop vs going inside. The Cornish cross on the other hand are simply dumber than a box of rocks in this category and when i raised them I found it easier to keep cooped up which is disgusting and requiring bedding change but they did well and with food rationing didn’t grow to fast and develop leg issues due to weight. I was pleased with my rangers and rationed their feeding as I would the cross. They require a minimum of 3 months to harvest. The rangers have nice yellow fat which is very rich.
I’ve been raising freedom rangers for a few years now. I just love them, no problems with feet,or die of heatstroke or heart attack. The freedom rangers are less messy. They are wonderful egg layers. To me there the bird for use.
I’m raising both types,
And it’s seems my freedom rangers are doubling my broilers size hands down in half the time.
I appreciated this comparison. I agree that when they are both free-ranged, the taste is not so different. But the one time I did Cornish X’s, they had terrible edema (which comes from the body growing too fast for the heart, so there are leaks…?), and they didn’t feather out well. They were hideous to look at. The Freedom Rangers on the other hand, look like healthy chickens. But they do take MUCH longer! Those last few weeks with 30 eating machines are tough. I would personally do Cornish X’s again, just to miss that last month, but my husband was horrified by them. He doesn’t even want to do Freedom Rangers, because we had a couple hens we missed on slaughter day, so we let them be egg layers. Around 8 months, one died suddenly, and the other had terrible extreme prolapse, and died of that. Even the Freedom Rangers are not bred to live past slaughter day.
Do Freedom Rangers breed true? Will they lay and make more Freedom Rangers or are they a special cross?
They do not breed true. They are also a cross between two specific breeds. Why they don’t breed true, I don’t know. There are some backyard growers who are testing the concept, but I haven’t seen the results of the testing yet. Google may help.
If you leave the skin on you will have alot more flavor and vitamin A a fat soluble vitamin. We grow freedom rangers and love their flavor and know that we can raise them in about 8-9 weeks without them falling over or having organ failure. We don’t focus so much on the money we are spending but at the quality and nutrition of the meat that we are eating.
Great post! Glad you were able to do this experiment, everyone keeps telling us to try the rangers.
We did Cornish crosses out in a chicken tractor in the yard last year and they did great. Ours were very active and clean birds that kept our grass down and fertilized. Didn’t lose any to these health issues being mentioned, I think because we had them out on grass and carefully regulated their feed intake so none grew too quickly. Butchered right around 9 weeks old. No complaints with the Cornish!
It is VERY apparent that those complaining of the CX birds getting to big or laying in their waste are NOT moving their birds daily to new pasture. My experience and experience among those such as Justin Rhodes (look him up on YouTube). is GREAT! I’ve never had issues and neither has he. Just as he did we did a BLIND taste test. The taste was not noticeable. Out of seven of us only one guessed correctly which was which. Why? Most found the CC better tasting! Just remember that we are talking about Daily moved chickens who are only fed in the morning. They get table scraps thrown to them daily. YES IF YOU RAISE them ignorantly or like you would traditionally many of your concerns “may” be true. Not so if you raise them as needed. There is and has been a bias against them accept by those who do as they should and move them to fresh grass daily in a 50′ x 10′ area letting them out of the chicken tractor daily to free range. Move to new 50′ x 10′ area as they mow down the old area. Move the tractor daily 10′ at least. To many here obviously do NOT do that. They do not grow over weight or have major health issue if you raise them correctly. Clean water, fresh grass moved daily to free range on the grass. Feed scraps as they come available. Once you learn how to raise them correctly you will not have most the complaints you’ve seen on this page. No matter how long you’ve been raising chickens. You must learn to raise the breed you have as it needs. Not as you’ve done other breeds.
We much prefer freedom rangers. Have raised hundreds of both breeds. Darker, more moist meat in blind taste tests with many family members. We dont skin, we have a plucker which works well. Ours forage very well even at 12 weeks old… they have a prorated 1/2 acre and on cloudy days they use all the space. we kept 2 as layers just to see of they stayed healthy and they are going strong at 6 months old. A cornish cross would have died by now of a heart attack due to fast growth. We process them at 9 to 10 weeks old and all are around 5 lbs, some even bigger.
There are now many copy cat freedom rangers that I’ve heard dont do as well. Thd originals came from an Amish family in PA and they have a patent. We order from them and even with shipping we have less than 1 percent loss. With cornish cross our losses are 5 percent or higher. These are some strong, healthy birds.
We have raised 500 of each breed, for reference.
You mentioned that the birds were free ranged together but were they fed together? I’m just wondering how you calculated how much feed each breed was eating. I’ve raised both breeds and found that even though the broiler reached butcher weight faster they ate more feed than the slower growing birds. We had to run the numbers for 4-H and the broiler were an avg of 2lbs of feed for each pound of weight. Our Rangers were 1.8lbs of feed for each pound of weight. The only real difference was time.