Red Laced Cornish X and project talk (pics p. 8)

[Arrowhead07]

A Question for all you pros! I just hatched 10 DC. They all have the same Rooster and there are 6 hens but I think only 3 were laying. Some of the chicks have beautiful WIDE flat heads and some are a little small for me. Everyone says they are slow to develop and just wait and they will change. But I want to know if they are born big and wide will they end up bigger and wider?

 

[al6517]

Quote:
No Chad they aren't born big per say, they will lay on bone mass first then muscle, then another bone spurt then the final touch of mass and shape. True good breeder or show stock may take in upwards of 18 mo before they really look good. I try not to even think about culling the good ones till at least a yr old. You can go out to the pen one day and then another day your like whoooaa there we go. And to get a rooster to top hen's & crow may take 8 mo, their good true colors also won't take shape till their first realy strong Molt and is almost a must for the birds with lacing and tail position.

AL

 

[primal woman]

New question. I did search for the answer, but was unable to find one.

The red cornish cross, sometimes called the red broiler I think, is a cross of what? And what makes them slower growing?
(cornish cross are white cornish with white rock; so red cornish cross perhaps wlrc or dark cornish crossed with a different colored rock?)
Thanks. I appreciate your knowledge!

 

[Arrowhead07]

Quote:
No Chad they aren't born big per say, they will lay on bone mass first then muscle, then another bone spurt then the final touch of mass and shape. True good breeder or show stock may take in upwards of 18 mo before they really look good. I try not to even think about culling the good ones till at least a yr old. You can go out to the pen one day and then another day your like whoooaa there we go. And to get a rooster to top hen's & crow may take 8 mo, their good true colors also won't take shape till their first realy strong Molt and is almost a must for the birds with lacing and tail position.

AL

Thanks Al, Some animals develop from their original shape and size. (More muscle at birth means more muscle when grown or big bone at birth means big bone when mature). So I was wondering if it applied to chickens. Cattle are much easier!!

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Can we see more pictures of these birds from the side and such? Did they get beards and everything?! Any start laying yet?

The oldest being under 11 weeks , I'm not expecting eggs for awhile . The chick hatched in Nov has thin but prominate muffs , one of the four hatched Jan 1 may possibly be clean faced . I've tried getting better pics , but they don't want to cooperate ; its too cold , plus they're determined not to get too far from the safety of that feeder and risk a peck from an older bird . I opened the top and they hoped up on the edge to get that one .

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
I believe they carry no Cornish breeding . Check post #127 here : https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=5609667

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
No Chad they aren't born big per say, they will lay on bone mass first then muscle, then another bone spurt then the final touch of mass and shape. True good breeder or show stock may take in upwards of 18 mo before they really look good. I try not to even think about culling the good ones till at least a yr old. You can go out to the pen one day and then another day your like whoooaa there we go. And to get a rooster to top hen's & crow may take 8 mo, their good true colors also won't take shape till their first realy strong Molt and is almost a must for the birds with lacing and tail position.

AL

Thanks Al, Some animals develop from their original shape and size. (More muscle at birth means more muscle when grown or big bone at birth means big bone when mature). So I was wondering if it applied to chickens. Cattle are much easier!!

I'm a novice , but I can tell you my hatchery sourced WLRC looked promising as day olds , with wide stance and fairly thick shanks . I don't believe they ever going to live up to that promise .

My two Dark Cornish cockerals looked and felt huge at just under 6 and 7 months ; they were pugnacious and crowing when I put them in my pens . They still appear healthy judging by feather ; but both have lost weight and attitude now that they're living in an unheated , open faced coop with subzero temps , and eating layer crumbles boosted to a little over 20% along with my pullets .

 

[ijon1]

Here is one of my Cornish x cross with my supposed to be Buff Cornish, but he looks like Buff Orp. Anyway I don't have a scale but at twelve weeks they are pretty meaty

I have one pullet and one Rooster out of my test batch.

 

[ijon1]

This is the pullet.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

very nice, lets get them weighed in!