Meat Bird Project - Delaware, White Rock, Dark Cornish

[KoopOnTruckin]

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?

I just found this on Ross Broilers, very interesting read, but gets far more technical then is needed for this this simple/small project:
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.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

Thanks for the reply! Seems the project is going pretty well then and I'm glad the Dels personalities have been getting better for you

Yes the Dels personalities have gotten better, at least for the majority. But the problem still lies in their growth rates. If they don't catch up, I likely won't keep them. I may keep one roo and a hen just to experiment with to see if I can come up with a mix for the Cornish to fertilize and see if there's something that would be better than a straight Del or WR.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

My weights this week will be late, I'm currently out of town on a business trip. I'll weigh them tomorrow afternoon when I get home, so my numbers this week and growth rates this and next week will be off a bit. I'm thinking that the biggest will be over 2 lbs when I get there tomorrow, so that will be exciting. They are all on 24% protein now, so I'm hoping to maintain that 33% growth rate for a few more weeks before they naturally will have to slow down - otherwise they will be 6-7 lbs by the time they're 11 weeks old.

ONE CAN DREAM!!!

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yes the Dels personalities have gotten better, at least for the majority. But the problem still lies in their growth rates. If they don't catch up, I likely won't keep them. I may keep one roo and a hen just to experiment with to see if I can come up with a mix for the Cornish to fertilize and see if there's something that would be better than a straight Del or WR. 

That's good! But ah. Makes sense. Maybe you could mix them with the white rocks?

 

[Bigshooter]

Well I haven't been able to get weights on any of my chicks because of a broken scale but just looking at them it is easy to tell that my Del's are the biggest, followed by the WR's, DC, and then Dorking.

Also I am super excited, I found some Standard White Cornish. They are a 4 months old, 1 rooster and 2 pullets. Going to pick them up in a couple of days. They are "show stock" and where raised for showing at a fair. So I will get to play with them and get to make some crosses with what I have now. It should be fun.

 

[Dlmillion]

I'll be posting updated weights tonight! I may up the protein in the feed a bit as it looks like the overall growth rate is already slowing quite a bit and the pullets are only about 4 weeks old now.
Not sure yet, we'll see

On another note, they are all getting much less frightened by me handling them! But boy, they give me a hard time catching them haha. They know that they're getting faster and like racing me now, which can be fun... Sometimes

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

So 20 minutes in the yard chasing chicks this evening gave me the following numbers:

3 days 1 week 2 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks 6 weeks
DC 61.8 (g) 84.4 168.4 269.2 373.2 504.4 678.2
growth - 137% 200% 160% 139% 135% 134%
DEL 60.4 81.6 160.8 236 315.1 429.5 585.3
growth - 135% 197% 147% 134% 136% 136%
WR 68.8 100.6 209.6 328.25 452 598.3 853.25
growth - 146% 208% 157% 138% 132% 143%
WR (younger) 65.7 97.7 205.6 330.2 459.3 606.1 -
growth - 149% 210% 161% 139% 132% -

Biggest Smallest
WR Cockerels 959 726
DC Cockerels 790 514
DEL Cockerels 735 600
DEL Pullets 619 405
WR (younger) C 810 616
WR (younger) P 634 465

Here are some highlights:
-The biggest WR Cockerel is now over 2 lbs, the smallest DEL pullet is just under 1 lb.
-The growth rates are a bit higher than they should be, as I was 2 days late this week in weighing them (business trip...)
-Next weeks growth rates will be a bit lower than they should be, as this week will only show growth over 5 days
-WR are the biggest, DC in second, and DEL in third place
-The younger WR pullets are all bigger than the older DEL pullets

The DELs look big, but they are mostly fluff and feel very light compared to the way they appear. Less pecking from them and now just more running. The WRs are all a bit flighty as well, but they are all nice and calm once I get them in hand.

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

That's good! But ah. Makes sense. Maybe you could mix them with the white rocks?

Yes, that's part of my future mad science experiments - I will do a WR x DEL mix, then try the biggest pullet from that group to mix with the DC roo. I'm hoping that there is some 'hybrid vigor' with that mix, as opposed to just getting a mid-point of the 2 weights.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yes, that's part of my future mad science experiments - I will do a WR x DEL mix, then try the biggest pullet from that group to mix with the DC roo. I'm hoping that there is some 'hybrid vigor' with that mix, as opposed to just getting a mid-point of the 2 weights.

Hopefully it should work out pretty well since the rocks are so huge!!

 

[KoopOnTruckin]

Well I haven't been able to get weights on any of my chicks because of a broken scale but just looking at them it is easy to tell that my Del's are the biggest, followed by the WR's, DC, and then Dorking.

Also I am super excited, I found some Standard White Cornish. They are a 4 months old, 1 rooster and 2 pullets. Going to pick them up in a couple of days. They are "show stock" and where raised for showing at a fair. So I will get to play with them and get to make some crosses with what I have now. It should be fun.

I would say that my DELs look like they'd be the heaviest, but it's mostly just fluffy feathers. The weights don't lie... Maybe try a "lady justice" approach and hold what looks like the largest DEL in one hand and the largest WR in the other hand and see what feels heaviest?