First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[JRNash]

And we are also using CX in our own hybrid experiments in an effort to create a bird with the growth of the traditional CX but minus the skeletal and cardio problems.

 

[JRNash]

I tried the fermentation. The birds ate it.Then again they eat everything anyway. It was too time consuming for me.

 

[Molpet]

seems like this thread started out about cornish cross and has morphed into an anti cornish cross thread. can someone please briefly bring me up to speed on your alternative regimen and philosophy for meat birds? I remember this thread from last year but cant' remember if this is the one that includes fermenting food. I'm raising up some Cobb 500 cornish cross right now and would like to learn more about how to improve their nutrition/bowel health if anyone has info on that.

The one that uses FF is this one: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds

FF seems to be a bit of a hot topic... I love it ...some hate it .. too many lively discussions over it.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

No anti cx here!! I love my cx babies. I have raised 3 sets of 25 or more. I have successfully managed to get a hen to breed and lay. She is my favorite bird. Some trolls just like to xrop in and tell us we are bad for eating a single use bird. No big deal though we all have opinions.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Speaking of the cx breeding. My cx and my bcm are a happy pair. Have any of ypu use a bcm in meat production? Is it a lost cause?

 

[duluthralphie]

Speaking of the cx breeding. My cx and my bcm are a happy pair. Have any of ypu use a bcm in meat production? Is it a lost cause?

Nothing is a lost cause, however, the body type might be a tad small to spread the weight out IMHO,,,but we will never know if you do not try it.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Its a go then. I will put big girl and a few others in with McGoo and see what we get. Incubation tentatively set for april 2. Pics 22 days later.

He is a french bcm does that matter?

 

[jennyf]

I'm just curious, those of you that keep Cornish X for breeding, do you keep the big ones to get them to pass on size or the smaller ones to hopefully keep them from getting so big they have health issues?

 

[Birdinhand]

I'm only on my second round of CX but did a ton of reading before venturing into it. most alternatives I've seen seem to take a long time to grow out and cost quite a bit more per pound to produce. I've found a strain (cobb 500 CX) and a regimen for feeding that seems to be working very well with few physical issues, if any. I put the food and the water up so they have to stand to eat and drink and I leave them far apart to make them walk and I reduce the protein count occasionally if I see lots of loose stools. these birds are plucky, run around, stay active, dig holes in the substrate looking for food bits overnight. in keeping them to breeding age, is the hope to find a way to produce the chicks yourself? I can definitely see an advantage in that I can not find a way to purchase the eggs anywhere. how hard would it be to keep the two parent crosses and breed the cobb 500 myself? seems like exercise/free ranging if possible and lower protein would do the trick with the COBB 500 to get them to breeding age ... has anyone bread them out? my focus, being in a suburban environment has been to produce a freezer full of meat in as short a period of time as is humane (by my standards) allowing for my operation to not overwhelm the neighbors I share fence with (5 of them). I absolutely can not free range them, my neighbors would call the city in a second if they knew how many chickens I had in my coop and I'm sure the city would find something, even though I'm within the 6 adult bird limit.

 

[Molpet]

I'm just curious, those of you that keep Cornish X for breeding, do you keep the big ones to get them to pass on size or the smaller ones to hopefully keep them from getting so big they have health issues?

I kept a small hen