We buy Rangers to dress out for our own freezer. We used to buy Cornish crosses, but a lot of them had weird fatty tumors. Plus, they have heart attacks and die if you don't slaughter them on time. They lay around a lot those last few weeks. I really prefer the flavor and vigor of the Rangers. Our garden is fenced, so when it's spent, we turn the Rangers out on it to scratch around and fertilize it over the winter. Those birds are so much tastier.
Since you are what you eat, it's probably better not to eat unhealthy chickens. After my experience, I would consider all Cornish crosses and commercial birds to be unhealthy. All those commercial chickens have the same issues as the Cornish crosses we raised. Plus, what I buy from the feed store to give them is different quality than what the commercial guys buy them. I know some folks that opted for the chicken companies to come in and build facilities on their farm. It looked like nice income. It's curious the way the companies control everything. One should be suspicious.
