Bantam Cornish, anyone?

[hiddenmagnolia]

My cornish banty have free ranged with my orps. I have had no problems. But when it to time to hatch they are put in their breeding pens. I do not restrict their diet. You may be thinking about the advice on cornishx that some people want to keep as pets.

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
I think yuou may be confusing Bantam Cornish which are strictly a fancier fowl with Cornish/Rocks which are bred for meat production.

 

[Feathered Wings]

I was thinking of ordering some Bantam Cornish and processing some and keeping some as breeders for little cornies.

So my idea of raising Bantam Cornish and hatching out little cornies is not something i would be wanting to do?
How long is long for them to mature can anybody put a number of months on that?

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Quote:
I think yuou may be confusing Bantam Cornish which are strictly a fancier fowl with Cornish/Rocks which are bred for meat production.

I've been under the impression that Cornish still eat plenty and might be more difficult to keep with birds that tend to limit their own diet (basically all other breeds). Apparently I'm wrong.

Perhaps I have always thought the Cornish and Cornish cross were more similar than they really are. Thank you for the correction!

Thanks everyone for answering my questions. Don't think Cornish are in the cards for me, but I've always liked their bulky, dinosaur-like shape.

 

[Ryu]

Quote:
The Bantam Cornish should be 2-2.5lbs at mature weight. My Standards take 4.5-5months to get to 'processing weight' of 6-8lbs, and pretty close to a year to reach mature weights of 8-12lbs. I don't have any experience with the bantams.

I think if you like them, then go for it. They aren't going to be the most efficient meat bird, but you should raise what you like.

 

[hiddenmagnolia]

Quote:
They can be eaten at 12 weeks or more depends on the line and how soon the birds feather out. They would be about the size of the cornish game hen found in stores. We raised more for show than for eating. But you have to do something with birds that are not SQ or that you are not keeping for breeders. Some bird we could cull early like crooked toes. That usually happened to birds with shorter toes. We did not want to pass that trait on so we culled those birds and did not mate those parents again. This breed is a great breed to have. I have never had a mean rooster. The birds are easy to handle and mine where healthy birds and didn't cost any more to raise than other chickens. So if that is the breed that you would like to try than go for it.

 

[Ariel301]

I think I'm going to try a few when I can finally order chicks. I guess if we don't like them, we can get rid of them and move on to something different.

I've settled for a mix of bantam and large fowl breeds (which ones I want kind of fluctuates, I guess when I order, it will be whatever the list looks like that particular day!) I figure we can eat the bantam eggs first ourselves and sell/share some of the large fowl eggs.

 

[tileman@prodigBird Raiser]

I have seen blue laced red Cornish before. You can breed the main varities together to get them. Fertility problems can be hard with males with short legs, wide breast; which makes it hard for the males to mount the females successfully. My pulleys and hens lay very well with just about an egg everyday or 2. Generally very calm birds. I haves male that gets aggressive when breeding season nears. They take a very long time to mature with about 6-7 months before laying and full size for females and anywhere from 4-7 months for males for breeding. Not a good choice for eating birds. I show and breed bantam black, dark, black laced red. I have Top bloodlines in the country. I have been very successful with these birds in show and am a well know breeder of them in the northeast.

 

[shelleyb1969]

What a neat thread.

I've been following this thread, learning a lot about Cornish. I've been interested in the bantam Cornish for a couple of years, but have been hesitant about getting them. So now I'd like to ask a couple of questions based on what I've read here:

1) Does a bantam Cornish eat relatively the same amount of food as other bantam breeds...such as Cochins? I'm assuming they do since it takes so long for them to mature, but that question has been holding me back from getting them.

2) If I get them, I do not need/want show quality. Honestly, I'd probably raise them just because they're so cool looking, but also for an occassional meal. Are hatchery stock bantam Cornish going develop the way they should as far as looks and weight at maturity?

3) If the answer to question 2 is yes...then...does Ideal Poultry have decent ones?


The answers to these questions may "force" me into ordering a few.

 

[tileman@prodigBird Raiser]

My birds eat more then my other birds like my old English, bantam brahmas. They eat more while they are growing but once developed they slow down but still eat a decent amount. It is a good idea to put food on one side of the pen and the water on the other so that they can get exercise. If you have the food and water next to eachother ten they will not move anywhere and their legs will stiffen up. The males are especially lazy and will get fat on food.

Hatchery birds would not be as heart shaped and typed as the show birds. They are great for egg laying and eating though. Don't know how much they will eat though. They might have longer legs then show birds also. I did get 3 white laced red coenish from ideal but don't remember how they turned out, I got rid of them to get better birds. They would be good pets though.