I want to do something other than the white crosses, like the rangers, but honestly I haven't had any issues with legs in over 150 birds. I've had a couple die on hot days, but that's when they're at that 12-15 lb stage...huge birds...they just keel over, literally.

I think the leg problems of those birds are somewhat mitigated by making them move in the pens daily. They get more exercise since they're eating grass and bugs, not just squattin' by a feeder all day, which they will.

the main reason i want another meat breed is to get fertile eggs from.
i have a "homestead" breed, hens are black and cocks are red, that has layed through 95% of the winter with no extra light (my first homestead criteria), and they're hearty (they lived in an open sided pen through the winter with no other shelter) and they're meaty (heavier even than a "heavy layer"). now if I can get them to hatch, and see what the finish weight is at 10 weeks (hopefully at least 5 lbs), I'm on to somethin'.

Chickens, bees, asparagus, rhubarb, winter squash, garlic and rosemary are homestead musts in my book.

Also, man, if you got the room, grow a couple of Embden geese. These birds grow fast, are good to watch, and not only incredibly tasty in the winter, but give some amazingly high quality rendered fat for cooking/baking/storage. I get about a quart of rendered goose fat per bird. Its pure white, a lighter grease, and excellent in the kitchen.

just a plug for my favorite bird.