Is this a Good Idea?

Hello-

I am thinking about starting a flock with hens of various heavy breeds, and a Dark Cornish roo.

The breeds I was considering for the hens were:

Australorps

Rocks

Jersey Giants

Orpingtons

Wyandottes

Brahmas

New Hampshires

Sussex

I've read that the "Cornish Crosses" are basically a Cornish crossed with any other breed. I've been searching and searching online for information about what you end up with when you cross a Cornish with each of the above mentioned breeds, but I can't even find photos, much less information. I'm assuming that a Cornish crossed with any of those heavy breeds would produce a good meat bird. Of course growth rates would vary depending on the breed of the hens.

I know that the hatcheries sell the Cornish x Rocks (I have a few right now, they are huge!). Rocks aren't the only breed that produces giant meat birds when crossed with Cornish, correct?

What about the rest of the breeds? Has anyone tried crossing Cornish with any of the above breeds? What did you get? What cross would you recommend I stay away from? Any pictures?

These hens would be primarily for my viewing pleasure, but for practicality I would love to be able to scoop up a few eggs, pop them in the incubator, and hatch out an assortment of different Cornish X meat birds whenever we're planning a barbeque or something like that.

I also heard somewhere that the Dark Cornish are hardier than the White Cornish? Yes or no? I think most people use the White Cornish on their hens because the offspring are easier to pluck, or look cleaner, but since it will be me doing the plucking, I prefer more colorful feathers.

Any information would be great!

Thanks,

Jenne

Quote:

Originally Posted by gmendoza 

 

 

I have a dark cornish bulldog roo with my hens and my hens are of various breeds too.I also have two dark cornish bulldog hens.I also have chicks that are about 4 weeks old.I'll send pics this weekend to share with you.Im starting this project so maybe we both can colaberate on our werks ok?

 

Sounds like a good idea to me! I just don't know what I will do with all those extra eggs LOL. What breeds are your hens?

My idea is to build enclosed coops for a few small flocks (BLRW, GLW, SLW, EE, and a couple of Fayoumis and Campines that I needed like a hole in my head) along side the garden so I can be sure of the parentage of those chicks (and keep more roos lol), and building another larger coop about 100 feet away which will be for the heavy hens and the Cornish roo. So far I'm planning on building it so when they wake up in the morning they can hop right out and free range wherever they want. I figure the big fat hens won't be as tempting as small quick hens that dart around and attract hawks. And, if one does go missing, I won't be as heartbroken over it as I would be if one of my BLRW's got scooped up or dragged off.

Oh, yes, and I'm planning on building another coop (not sure if this project will ever get done!!) all the way at the other end of the property for just roosters, since I always seem to have so many of those and it's rather difficult to slaughter them when your mom names them all. I want to have them free range, too, which will be great since I wouldn't have to feed them nearly as much. They would be right next to the horse barn, which would enable them to spend hours pecking at horse manure and scouring the ground for dropped goodies. It's almost a 1/2 mile drive from the horse barn to the garden, and there are fences and gates up, so there would be no jealousy or temptation from the ladies. I doubt that the roos would find their way all the way to the other side. That's another good question for BYC- how far away from the coop do free range chickens typically travel?

I'm wondering though if all that extra exercise isn't going to make their meat even tougher? Already my mom thinks eating rooster is comparable to chewing on rubberbands.. lol

Thanks

Jenne

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sundown_Farmer 

Well, not really.  It's a cross between a Cornish and Rock...but even that's too simple.  There are any number of CX strains, each the result of 4-way crosses, and all the result of decades of culling and selection.

 

So, could you roll the dice and end up with a yummy bird?  Depends on the cook.  Are you going to end up with a carcass similar to the CX?  Probably not.  Will you learn and have fun exploring the world of genetic diversity and animal husbandry while maintaining a beautiful and colorful flock?  Yup.

I heard that the hatcheries have a special 'recipe' for those colossal chicks. We know two of those four grandparent chickens, atleast lol.

I'm sure they'll all be yummy. I'm not hoping for a gigantic, fast growing chick like the ones you can order, but if I can breed a Cornish to those girls and end up with something meaty and large, that would be just as satisfying!

Thanks!