The Final Comparisons! Freedom Ranger vs. Cornish Cross Meat Chickens...Just the FACTS!!

This is week 10.5 for the Freedom Ranger Chickens on our homestead. This week we process them and do our final comparisons of our experiment to determine the best breed of meat chicken for our family farm.
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[@Miss449686]

I know that doing this comparison has added to your work -- thank you for taking the extra time. It has been very interesting.

[@lisabooker6405]

This was THE BEST comparison series I’ve seen to date!!! Excellent job and thank you for going to all the trouble. Yup...that Freedom Ranger better have golden nuggets to convince me it’s a better bird!! Hahahahaha Thanks again! God Bless you and Happy Thanksgiving 🍽🍁🦃 to EVERYONE! ~Lisa

[@HaywireHomestead]

I love that you did this experiment! I was considering doing the Freedom Rangers next year. I think I will stick with the Cornish crosses.

[@dannyandrose]

The rangers are a healthier choice while the Cornish Rocks are diseased ....

[@uddercharmsfarm8159]

I think I’ve already decided for me! But the taste test will be interesting!!! Our Cornish taste so much better than store bought already!!

[@rkorsberg]

That's all you need to know!

[@HeyWatchMeGo]

Excellent video. No wasted time, well presented facts and figures...no uhms/ahhhs/ or 'likes'. 5 star. Thank-you.

[@timgiles9413]

I would love to see you guys do the exact same comparisons with Cornish Cross Males vs Females, in two separate chicken tractors. :) Then whoever wins, males or females, split two batches using dry food vs 3 day wet food. Now that would be awesome :) Great video :)

[@vickycraine4232]

You did a great job with this comparison. Congratulations on being thorough and straightforward..

[@diananore5528]

Very helpful and educational. Your attention to detail is evident in all aspects of your homesteading endeavors.

[@LisaHall-uc8sq]

Praying that you and your family will have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

[@donpastor7244]

When we raised Cornish Cross we normally kept the for at least 12 weeks and depending on the number I had to process we could keep them an additional couple weeks. At that time there was a lot of fat. It never bothered us since the chickens were the size of small turkeys, Soli Deo Gloria!

[@judyzilinsky4095]

Love your show. I have learned so much.I have a small veggie garden. Love watching your animals.

[@rogerholloway8498]

Thanks for doing this great service for future poultry raising folks!

[@tammylowe4047]

You two are brilliant. Very very interesting.

[@maryjemisonMaryjay1936]

Wow 😮 look 👀 at that snow ❄️

[@kerrymyers7004]

I love what you are doing. Thanks for the good work and the entertaining way in which you are making the comparison.

[@lfrias78]

That’s a really good real world comparison I think. Thanks for that. Thanks for what I took as a very impartial experiment. You did a good job of showing both sides of the fence.

[@NiaLin]

I would never have thought that I woulda been so engrossed in a chicken trial 😁. It’s been fascinating info whether one raises meat birds or not. I was wondering if free range could produce a slightly slimmer chicken? Do they work off a bit more of their caloric intake wandering around versus the tractor method you use? Looking forward to the final results w/the taste test. It’s been a very informative, interesting ride! Thanks so much for taking us on it!

[@tulipsmoran5197]

Free range chickens consume more grasses which are much lower in protein 6%-9%. commercial feed mixes are much higher protein from 24% - 15%. Protein is what develops structure and flesh. In my experience free range meat birds are like marathon runners...lean and a little tougher.

[@pmessinger]

The best kind of trial; the judges get to eat the evidence. You should host the annual chicken trials and sentencing; ending with a lots and lots of barbecued chicken (an' fixin's)!

[@NiaLin]

Tulips Moran That’s exactly what I was wondering was the possible outcome w/my VERY rudimentary chicken knowledge. It does make sense. Thanks!

[@kmundwiller3936]

I'm pretty certain they did tractors for ALL the birds. Did I miss that part? We're they letting them free range? Cause here in MO, free range range can mean free meals for the wild animals. Lol

[@wilmagregory8967]

Thanks, great work with the chickens and the comparison between the two. Have a great day and peace on your home, many hugs and much love, blessings.

[@brittneyshaleen]

Wowza! What a huge difference. Thanks for doing this experiment - VERY informative!

[@davidthomas5482]

based on your average carcass weight, that's an extra 38.75 lbs of meat in the freezer based on 25 birds. Seems like the Cornish Cross are the most economical bird to raise.

[@kathybluxome5514]

WOW! That's a lot of lbs difference! I wish they would have let three of the Cornish Cross go another 2 1/2 weeks to see how much heavier and the fat layer developed Next to the Freedom Rangers! That would have been interesting!

[@jackfanning7952]

@@kathybluxome5514 If they had let the Cornish Cross go another 2 1/2 weeks thaye would not have been able to walk at all. They are bred for large breast meat and their little legs would not have been able to carry them.

[@dianehall5345]

You are so correct Jack! I got busy and did not dress my Cornish in a timely manner. Their legs started breaking :-O. I had to stop everything and dress out those wounded birds. I would raise Cornish again, but would be more careful about when to process....

[@kmundwiller3936]

Buying the chicks, Cornish are cheaper too. Didn't seem like they added that cost in here...

[@gingerreid8569]

@@kmundwiller3936 , we paid 1.98 per chick at Tractor Supply...based on how many you buy, from hatcheries, it can be cheaper...so far I am very happy with what we bought and the cost and work to feed them.

[@rmartinie]

What an amazing job you two did!! 😮 Incredible!!! 👍🏻 Thank you SO MUCH for this comparison experiment 📝 You two ROCK!! 💪🏻

[@pennymclain2532]

Good morning. Thank you so much for the work you had done to encourage and spare the rest of us from any unwanted agony in pursuing our own adventures of raising different breeds of birds and between hens and roosters. I am thinking of raising my own meat on a minimal budget next year and this helped so much for me. Once again, thank you for ur time and efforts in bringing this important info to us. 😎👍❤💯

[@ecw13pi]

Great series! Thank you for all your hard work and the info you provided to us. Thank you!

[@50shadesofgreen]

good day to you Kevin and Sarah !! thanks for sharing another awesome update and adventures on & off the homestead 👨‍🌾🎥👍✝

[@carolcurley7840]

Great experiment and video. Thanks Kevin and Sarah.

[@colemyst]

Thanks so much for so much detail in your calculations and information.

[@StaceyHerewegrowagain]

This was a fantastic learning experience so I can raise and butcher my own chickens hopefully one day soon. We are slowly transitioning to homesteading & have been growing our own food for a while, but never meat. This series gives me the confidence I need to start small, so thank you so much! I love watching you and your new friends over at roots & refuge😊 keep up the amazing videos! I love the country! My goal is to homestead ourselves while investing and donating most of what we grow to homeless shelters in need. Unfortunately there are way to many hungry people around here where I live. I'm just hoping to have the right tools and finances to be able to help them someday soon! Thanks for sharing!

[@StaceyHerewegrowagain]

@Zara Ibrahim Thank you so much!

[@paulaedens3463]

Have a great holiday. There was a lot more difference in cost than I thought there would be. Have a blessed day.

[@kathybluxome5514]

Thank you so much for this series! I know I'll choose the CC when I raise my chickens next spring!

[@NS-pf2zc]

That was a very fair comparison! I wonder if anyone has ever done a nutritional analysis between the birds. Because of the extra fat on the FR I wonder if they are higher in fat soluble vitamins. Personally, we've opted for rabbits due to ease of processing and we like them better, Haha. Have you ever done this type of thing between rabbit and chicken? That would be interesting to see the feed to meat ratio.

[@michaelripperger5674]

Natasha S. Would love that

[@giverny28]

Was thinking the same thing.

[@BLHomestead]

Or even a rabbit breed comparison. That would be interesting. I wouldn't be able to do rabbits because the wife is allergic to them. I wouldn't mind having a few for an occasional switch up for me though.

[@mio.giardino]

Natasha S. Well that’s something they can aim for next season. Great suggestion as I like rabbit meat as well as chicken 👍🏻

[@Thisisit120]

Wow you guys put in a lot of work doing this. Thank you so much.

[@lovetohuntlovetohunt6241]

Sunshine, little chilly, snow, & snow melt! Meat stay cold & No bugs! You can't beat that, except being finished & sitting in front on a nice fire🙂

[@tammyhanson7843]

You could give me the facts about a bucket of rocks and I would watch. Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🍽 P.S. Nerdy chicken math saying cracks me up every time 🦋💜

[@BluegrassHomestead]

This has been a great series. I agree with you all, you could have free ranged or had other supplemental food sources, but for someone who really wants the most accurate numbers of feed, this was the best test. I think it's worth it to get the Cornish, then incubate the eggs and not have to buy chicks, or course, that's all about scheduling too. You know what I mean, planning your chicks and hatching them out at the best time of year. Anywho, great series, really showed me what to consider for the future, having had freedom rangers but no Cornish, I'll have to try the Cornish! God bless you! Have a great week!

[@droxlundquist8013]

This was Interesting and I loved the comparisons. Cornish Cross is the least expensive way to go, but I would still raise some Freedom Rangers because Diversity in our eco system is important. Remember the potato famine in Ireland. What if something like that happened to our chickens? Just a thought. Love the channel. You guys ROCK!

[@charlesmichael5654]

Y’all just keep getting better...👍

[@teresawoodard2938]

Good morning from Magog Quebec Canada.,we got 12 inches of snow on Friday, love watching your videos .

[@tropicallivingoverseas5202]

On est rendus à 10 pouces en Ontario 😉

[@joellest-jean3086]

bonjour Magog de Rawdon nord de MTL....

[@LivingTraditionsHomestead]

Lol...When we filmed this I said to Sarah people in Canada would laugh at us for considering that snow!

[@tropicallivingoverseas5202]

@@LivingTraditionsHomestead Your winters are adorable! 😉

[@missmartpants2269]

Can't wait for the taste test! This was such a great series of videos. God bless!

[@ronnie9958]

Wow! Big difference between them! CC’s for sure 🐣🙏

[@bettyjoelauper]

Fantastic nerdy chicken math experiment. What a great series. You guys rock. Soo informative..

[@ritamccartt-kordon283]

I really appreciate what you've done!

[@stevemcdermott8263]

Thanks for doing this experiment, much appreciated.

[@heatherbrewer1586]

Love these videos. Very informative, super helpful and much appreciated.

[@melodycapehartmedina2264]

This was such a pleasure to watch!! Just a note to share now that the feed numbers are revealed. I have the Rangers as part of my flock and like having fresh baked chicken for meals and don’t mind processing a couple by themselves. But I have learned they are eating machines and not in a good way. I have pigs, cows, rabbits and ducks and I have to really be creative with feeding them all or the Rangers will consume their food quite rapidly. They will free range very well but only when there is no feed available. Last Spring I went back to the Brahma’s which is what my grandma had when I was young to compare them with the Ranger. I will leave a comment on that after you have done your taste test 😊 No spoilers here. lol I am so not a math geek (my accountant would LOVE you) so I completely enjoyed your labor of love to share this information with all of us!! It has answered a lot of questions for me. Thank you so much!!

[@bruceswabb7145]

Melody did you compare with the brahmas?

[@jeannemckay2206]

I'm curious about your result with the Brahmas

[@rennells]

I’m so grateful that you did this.

[@rennells]

I’m on the same page as you all with the freedom rangers

[@jerryj3854]

Your videos just keep getting more and more interesting. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[@wendyall1]

Thank you for sticking with the experiment all the way to the end!! I enjoyed this immensely!

[@celinebridges7817]

Hey Sarah and Kevin Thanks you for all the work you both did on the chicken and roosters.. We think we do cc next year . Have a bless Thanksgiving with your family and family . Love ‘ll and stay warm.. Great fire in the wood heater .. Blessing 👩‍🌾

[@gbC4mpos]

Great series! One of the most valuable qualities of your channel is how organized it is with your playlists. It's so easy to find what I want and helps peak interest in new areas. Great job, God be with your family

[@leslieMClass80]

Very excited for the taste test! Have a good weekend!

[@LindseyHeine]

So glad you guys filmed this experiment. I have been debating which meat birds to raise (hopefully next year), and this has greatly helped my decision. I think all of the comparisons were fair, and numbers don't lie! Thank you for sharing, and I can't wait to see the taste test!

[@shonitagarcia3222]

Love nerdy chicken math! Thanks for sharing!

[@mfahrney1]

Thanks for helping me make up my mind for my meat birds..you guys are awesome♡

[@wandamannsmith8469]

Wish I had your energy! Thanks for sharing this.

[@marybethham4967]

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving. I really enjoy watching you all.

[@Beecozz7]

Very thorough review of both birds, thanks for the great info!

[@big4metalbabe]

Thank you both for doing this experiment.

[@1970ahmad]

What a fantastic job you guys did God bless

[@legaleagle308]

WOW! What a difference between the two breeds financially! I’m pretty sure I know which breed you’ll be sticking with! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

[@jchny00]

Holding out for the taste test, but the CX have always been my choice. I have done heritage roos and all the alternative meat birds. I do free range and ferment feed, makes the meat much more flavorful. Thank you both for doing this!

[@43pasadena]

Great comparison, you could kinda tell Kevin was leaning towards the CC from pretty early on. 😄 When I put the price of feed around here a few vids back it was $15.49. I bought feed last week and it was down to $10.00. So if a person knows they are going to raise birds, I would suggest buying quite a few bags when the prices lower in the fall. Could end up saving a good chunk of money. 👍🏻

[@nancysadewater964]

This has been a great series comparing the two breeds - thank you for doing it. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

[@pyr8at40]

kevin...at 1:45...you didnt make sara rake up all the snow did ya?.......alll kidding aside, i know you guys worked hard on this for us, i for one am so appreciative of your work,,,,the taste test, fried, roasted , broiled , bbq...just a hint please.....love you guys

[@robingirven4570]

Great comparison! We’re getting ready to order meat birds - we only need 25 for the year, for the 2 of us. So glad you did this. Cornish Cross we’re on our list and now it’s definite! I’ll also be getting a laying flick but….for my freezer, Cornish across it is! Thank you for doing this!

[@brendamontanye9877]

I am totally into the nerdy chicken math. Sometimes it is a little hard to quantify certain experiences though... One year I had new layer birds (probably straight run, but eventually for eggs) in a chicken tractor next to cornish cross. Same age, same everything. One morning early I got there to discover they had been attacked by raccoons. The heritage breed were unscathed because they were roosting towards the middle of the tractors. The CC were missing heads, wings, etc because they weren't roosting and were near the edges. My take away is that though they provided some meat at that point (about 5 weeks), it was nearly a complete loss, so for my situation I have to up my game to take care of the CC. They don't appear to have some of the survival skills that my other birds posess. (I work on upping my game anyway, but sometimes the results seem weighted to favor survivor birds). To a lesser degree, most people I know accept that there will be more CC deaths at all ages and even though there is still more meat in the end it seems that it needs to continue to be accounted for in some way. I am hanging tough on my opinion about the texture/flavor profile issue, haha, as it seems quite clear that the CC are the winners in the cost to raise issue. This has been a thought provoking experiment and I'm glad that I have the winter to think about it.

[@susanb5873]

Good morning. I really enjoy your channel and WOW!! You are growing 10,000 subscribers in less then a month 🤗

[@victorialg1270]

The final cost analysis is so helpful! Would you plan a year end review of hogs, rabbits, chickens, garden etc. We all have limited time and money. To know where to get the most bang for our buck would be a great video.

[@tulipsmoran5197]

Thank you VERY MUCH for the discipline and effort to track and share the comparison test stats between these two hybrids. I appreciate your efforts. I'm also into the nerdy stats that help overcome my impulse/naive homestead decisions. I look forward to the final analysis of taste. I do a similar comparison for my vegetables/canning costs. This next year I hope to compare my inground raised beds with greenhouse hydroponics for tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries. Living on a mtn is wonderful but also presents growing challenges like heavy morning mists that do burn off but leave perfect environment for fungus/insects - then there's the heat/humidity/cool nights. So the intent of my greenhouse is to control for those variables. I plan to video that series.

[@danielflowers1985]

We like the Cornish Cross, but we have also LOVE the Cornish Roasters a bit better. We had considered raising the Red Rangers but.....nah lol. WE HAVE LOVED WATCHING THIS VIDEO SERIES. THANK YOU SO MUCH AND GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

[@wolfingreen7293]

Excellent video series. I have been waiting for this episode to see how the freedom rangers compared to the cornish cross. I always wondered about the rangers, so now I know. Thanks for all of your hard work, and sharing your information with us.

[@christinellanes1632]

Very informative.. I truely enjoy your videos..I told my husband next year I want to grow some veggies in our yard..we're in California..

[@1AcreHomestead]

This was a great series! If only one could/would farm the majority of the feed...what a cost savings that would be. NICE JOB !

[@jenniferrescott1149]

Love how you guys are so thorough with your experiments.. definitely very helpful

[@FreedomandBaconHomestead]

Great series and thank you for your efforts!

[@SteadfastTrailFarm]

Wow! Thank you!! I was thinking of getting Freedom Rangers but cost wise Cornish cross seems to be the way to go! Gonna watch the taste testing.

[@ginamedley8484]

Awesome experiment. I had thought there was no way the Cornish cross could be the best choice. I can’t wait to here about your taste test!

[@AngiesPantry58]

This is a awesome experiment that you two took the time to do.. Very informational.. Can not wait to see the final reviews.. Thank you for taking the time out of your weeks to do this.. :")

[@utubeaccess7]

Ty guys, great info

[@wordvendor1]

What a great video! Thanks!!!

[@trytobetheballpeople]

Great job folks!

[@cathiegalbraith475]

Even though I do not have the space to have chickens, I found this comparison to be very interesting.

[@007darryl]

It would have been nice if you could have projected all data of the cc out over 10.5 weeks. Maybe you can on your next video. This was super nice of you both to do all this work. I feel incredibly blessed and informed to be able to follow along. Thank you both so much. You both are so incredibly transparent about what you show us and it's really refreshing and informative. Thank you!

[@danagreen9264]

What an awesome experiment thank you for that info 👍👍👍👍👍❤

[@jtop2038]

WOW great final video, the cost does not include your labor. Those are some pricey chickens. But, you gain the experience of being able to raise your own if it came down to have to. BTW, that's a nice blanket of white on the ground. Y'all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

[@tulipsmoran5197]

$1.31 to $2.63 per pound is pricey?

[@jtop2038]

@@tulipsmoran5197 Plus labor, time is money.

[@tonyag4510]

Wow!!! Thanks so much for doing all these numbers and the work involved breaking everything down!!! We raise Cornish cross and have played around every year with getting them. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the legwork you two did!!! Thank you. PS. I can’t wait for the results. Super interested in the comparison, but man oh man that cost difference is huge....

[@phoebemckenzie5707]

have a happy thanksgiving

[@fivetopsfarm8061]

I'm so grateful for you doing this comparison. Really opened my eyes to a lot of factors of both.

[@pamelaremme38]

Thank you so much for doing this!!!! Butchering my Red Broilers at 12 weeks. One more week to go. I'm shooting for 5 lbs.

[@loriehabel1552]

Wow smaller for more. Thank yall for the numbers. I know yall have gotta be tired by now😂have a nice weekend

[@luanngriffin8807]

You're comparison work is so beneficial for all of us following along! Thank you for sharing your experience and wisdom! :D

[@stevenjenks9789]

You guys do a fantastic job 😊

[@wendybarbeau5375]

Thank you for providing this series. I look forward to the final video!

[@PlainJane48]

Thank you!

[@johnmccormick175]

Great video!...you folks are amazing.

[@TheNicoleary]

Thank you very much for this info!

[@makeitkate3240]

This was really helpful - we ended up ordering straight run as well.

[@hollyjolly5483]

God bless and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

[@vickyboyer2384]

I so! throughly enjoy your videos thank you.

[@AmandaIsAwesome]

I am amazed that you guys can put out such entertaining, useful, well edited videos this many times each week. Such great info here!! Love your channel!!! 💕

[@annettecastellanosguillen9491]

Thank you so much for your information very informative