Member Reviews: Cornish

Bought my first chicks today, will see how I like them.

They are great heritage Breed meat chickens. We have crossed them with our Light Brahmas and Jersey Giants. They are huge! These are really sharp looking, tight clean birds. Able to take care of themselves and any chicks. Worth every penny on your farm!  

As of right now my DCs are only 14 weeks old but the cocks are already close to 5lbs.  They seem to be as smart as my OEGs although a little more docile.  I ordered a batch of around 30 from McMurry and have been very pleased with how they are turning out.   The thing that surprised me the most is how gorgeous they are.  In photos they look pretty dull but they are truely beautiful birds.  Especially the cockerels.  They have this brilliant blue/purple/green iridescence to their feathers.  I plan on keeping a rooster and 3-5 hens for breeding next spring.  I'll be updating this review as the birds continue to grow with the rest of my flock.

I got two Dark Cornish from my McMurray order this spring.  One of them turned out being a runt with bad legs.  She was so sickly and weak I did not think she'd make it.  She did however live and turned out to be an extremely friendly, sweet, goofy, funny pullet.  She still had bad legs though and an overly HUGE chest that made her tip forward.  She was unable to fly or roost properly and we had to make sure a special roosting box to sleep in at night.  She was very unwieldy and clumsy and acted mentally "slow" or "off."  At 4 months old I found her dead in the morning with a broken neck.  It appeared she flew headlong into a wall.   ...

Dark Cornish have been a great addition to our backyard flock. All of them eagerly rustle their own food, foraging widely through brush and field, spending little time at the feeder. Birds are broad backed, with their sturdy legs widely spaced. Comb and wattle development is minimal, which may cost it some ability to dissipate heat in the summer, but by the same token, will reduce heat losses and vulnerability to frost bite in winter.  The overall appearance of these birds, especially the males, is more of a wild-type bird, with a bold eye, strong brows, tight-fitting, glossy feathers, and a more stout beak than most domestic fowl. Despite this rather tough looking face,...

The Dark Cornish I have we received from McMurray Hatchery.  They will forage for most of their food often going around our buildings eating every single bug they see.  One of our girls has been known to follow us into our 30x40 shed and has did an awesome job removing spiders and other bugs.  In the past when the box elder bugs and Asian beetles got really bad in the fall they would set off our security alarms.  Now with the Dark Cornish on the job we have very few bugs around.  I rarely see them eating from the feeders which makes them cheap to feed.  Ours seem to do just fine with the cold weather and are seen running around the yard with all the other...