Cornish X - Laying like a champ!

[aoxa]

I always hear that Cornish X's can not reach breeding age. Well fortunately for Big Bertha, here they can. She was hatched on June 28th and started laying at 18 weeks old. She now lays regularly 4-5 days a week.

Also gives us the biggest egg. We average 20 eggs a day right now, as most are just starting up - but the biggest egg in 20 is impressive to me. She is also competing against the Red Sex Links, so it is no easy feat to give the biggest egg!


Here she is laying her egg this morning.


Here it is next to a golf ball and a medium egg.


We raised them differently than 99% of the CX out there, so she is able to reach this milestone. I realize that she will not breed true, but we are going to test breed her with a heritage Silver Pencilled Rock cock. He is the largest and fastest grower we have that is heritage.

 

[aoxa]

This is encouraging. Melinda (my wife) has taken a liking to three of our broilers and has asked me to "pretty please" not butcher them. One is a cockerel for sure, but if the other two are pullets then it looks like I may be able to keep at least those two afterall. The rest are specifically for food.

Since looking at some of your videos I have cut back significantly on the feed and let them out with the layer flock...and much to my surprise they seem to actually PREFER scratching around and free ranging. How cool is that... They are "red broilers" so already a slower grower than the white CX, so I am hopeful that we've changed their diets in time. I love to be able to eat my meals knowing that they are pasture fed/garden grown meals. It doesn't always work out that way, but it's fun to strive for.

So glad you decided to cut back and let them really range with other chickens. They do better if they are raised with heritage birds. Seem to understand how to roost, scratch and forage better that way.

 

[aoxa]

Hi,
Any chicks from Big Bertha yet?

Yep, they are 6 weeks here

 

[ChocolateMouse]

This is a picture of MY "Bertha". I had "Bertha" "Betsy" and "Beatrice" but only Bertha made the cut to be kept. This was last fall at about 1.8 years old. She's 2 years old now and looks even better. She does lay eggs sometimes, but only occasionally. My rooster breeds her regularly. No idea what she weighs but she's massive. She loves to run across the lawn with the other birds.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Slingshot, I think you answered your own question. If you can get them to bred, you can hatch out chicks that have those traits. Most of us have a pretty solid grasp on the genetics of it (yes, we've all heard the "But they're not meant to live so long!" lectures, the "They're too big to breed naturally!" lectures and the "But hybrid vigor and four way cross!" lectures) and have determined that it's worth having a couple around to breed out a single generation cross in mixed flocks to produce meat chickens for ourselves that we both don't have to pay for from a company, as well as will manage a bit better with natural raising methods. Getting to show all the nay-sayers who claim CX are sickly, dying frankenchickens wrong is kind of a nice benefit too.

At least... That's why I do it! XD

 

[Ekim]

Hello aoxa,

I love hearing about cornish cross projects. I'm curious, do you know which brand-name Big Bertha came from? cobb 500? or whatever?

Thanks mike

 

[aoxa]

Hello aoxa,

I love hearing about cornish cross projects. I'm curious, do you know which brand-name Big Bertha came from? cobb 500? or whatever?

Thanks mike

Mike,

She came from a local hatchery. We are in Canada, so I doubt we have the same strains as the USA. Here we call them Meat Kings. They are a Cornish cross.

I bought them at the Co-Op feed store, and that's the extent of what I know about the strain. They did say it was a local hatchery that does not sell eggs to individuals

 

[offgridhermit]

I always hear that Cornish X's can not reach breeding age. Well fortunately for Big Bertha, here they can. She was hatched on June 28th and started laying at 18 weeks old. She now lays regularly 4-5 days a week.

Also gives us the biggest egg. We average 20 eggs a day right now, as most are just starting up - but the biggest egg in 20 is impressive to me. She is also competing against the Red Sex Links, so it is no easy feat to give the biggest egg!


Here she is laying her egg this morning.


Here it is next to a golf ball and a medium egg.


We raised them differently than 99% of the CX out there, so she is able to reach this milestone. I realize that she will not breed true, but we are going to test breed her with a heritage Silver Pencilled Rock cock. He is the largest and fastest grower we have that is heritage.

Wonderful! Good luck with the breeding. I would love to see any chicks she produces.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Oooh! Good luck! If it goes well or not let us know! I am really interested!

 

[LilRedRoo]

This is encouraging. Melinda (my wife) has taken a liking to three of our broilers and has asked me to "pretty please" not butcher them. One is a cockerel for sure, but if the other two are pullets then it looks like I may be able to keep at least those two afterall. The rest are specifically for food.

Since looking at some of your videos I have cut back significantly on the feed and let them out with the layer flock...and much to my surprise they seem to actually PREFER scratching around and free ranging. How cool is that... They are "red broilers" so already a slower grower than the white CX, so I am hopeful that we've changed their diets in time. I love to be able to eat my meals knowing that they are pasture fed/garden grown meals. It doesn't always work out that way, but it's fun to strive for.