- Thread starter
- #111
KoopOnTruckin
Songster
I just found this on Ross Broilers, very interesting read, but gets far more technical then is needed for this this simple/small project:Look forward to it lad. I think it was the white rocks, after some research last night, that went into the likes of ross and cobbs, the two well known broiler hens over here in the UK. Are they the same then as the US in the industrial scale?
http://en.aviagen.com/assets/Tech_Center/Ross_Broiler/Ross-Broiler-Handbook-2014i-EN.pdf
From the pic at the beginning of the book, they really resemble our Cornish Crosses. The white rocks by themselves don't quite have that girth or wide stance, nor do they have the growth rates or appetite.
I am pretty sure that the white rocks are part of the hybrid "Cornish Cross" mix. I'm not 100% certain, but I think the Cornish X's that we normally eat/buy from the grocery store are mixed with a White Cornish roo and likely a white rock/??? cross. The unknown breed could be a white orpington, light brahma, or Delaware, but again I'm not at all certain - seems like they try to keep that a guarded secret.
I'd like to get my hands on a White Cornish pair, but they are pretty rare/guarded and EXPENSIVE - even fertilized eggs bought online can cost around $250 for a dozen... Depending on the success with the Dark Cornish, I'll look further into getting some whites. I think the main reason for the whites is the ease in plucking - you don't have to deal with the dark pin feathers and it makes for a cleaner carcass. But then again, I'm not doing this to sell them, and I can deal with an uglier carcass since it's just for my family dinners.