Starting my own meat birds dark cornish and cross with white rock

[mdrake]

Do you have any of those dual purpose mutt chickens around anymore? It sounds like it would be interesting to continue working with them. Not to compete with the Cornish x rocks but as the multi purpose meat, egglayer that they are. My opinion is they make a better baking cooking chicken and the broilers are better as a frying chicken.

 

[Ramona Chickens]

Al I am trying to start my meat birds can I ask where you found you cockerels? I also am having a very hard time locating two Roosters White Cornish... Yours looks awsome!

 

[Ramona Chickens]

How did your project go? I am trying the same thing..

 

[mdrake]

I have located and purchases a trio of LF white Cornish. Not much for layers and look like bantams compared to my Orpingtons, but the cockerel is just under 9 lbs. I get about 6 eggs per week. I'm only experimenting by adding a hen or two to the pen as I want to hatch out as many Cornish as possible now till August or so. I would like to over winter 2-3 cockerels and 12-15 pullets along with the original trio. Next year I may have some eggs for sale if your still looking for some.

 

[mdrake]

I'm also working with some New Hampshire which are supposed to be a old meat type. So far so good, rapid feathering and growth. I have started keeping growth records on several of them to see how fast they grow and more importantly which ones to keep as breeders next year. No intentions on crossing them I want to keep them as heritage breeds.

 

[Ramona Chickens]

Keep me in mind I'm interested

 

[freerangepossum]

I have some good Java hens and going to cross a taller dark Cornish roo on them, and some white rocks. I have some Sully white leghorns, and wanting to cross either a large barred rock roo or my Java roo.
I love the Jersey Giants for so many large eggs over their lives, and shear size and good eating. The Java roo is with them now. Anyone one got suggestions there?
We feed black soldier fly larvae and the chooks ignore feed but when it's too cold for the flies. I also provide fodder but again they love the BSF larvae.
Since I have selected only the largest stock and best layers I am hoping that we can sustain a healthy,happy,productive flock that can provide good meat more kindly than broilers but good eggs cost effectively!
The BSF larvae save us sooo much and I feel it when winter gets here so ideally we would harvest all by Thanksgiving we do not want breeding. Roos and hens. Our Flemish Giant Rabbits range with the main flock so that if something goes after chickens, their screaming gets us out there with a gun. They get along well except when I throw them dandelions! Thanks!

 

[eldonrgv]

About a year and a half ago I bought some chicks from Pure Poultry (Madisons, White and Barred Plymouth Rocks, RIR, Orphingtons, and Dark Cornish) wantimg to raise them and do some crossings to see if I could get some decent meat birds. About 5 months after I got them a gang of stray dogs hit the coop and killed a good portion of my birds. Being all disappointed, I gave the remaining flock to my father. Fast forwarding to today my dad has a beautiful flock 2 Dark Cornish Males, 1 Buff Orphington Male, 15 Madison Females, 5 RIR Females, 7 White Plymouth Rock Females, and 1 Barred Plymouth Rick Female. I told him 2 months ago to separate them into two coops so we could do some crossings so we put the Orphington Male with the 15 Madisons (which are supposedly a "breed" Pure Poultry designed for eggs and meat and they do pretty well in laying large brown eggs and are a pretty good size bird) and the 2 Dark Cornish Males with the Plymouth Rocks and the RIR' s. I set 90 eggs 8 days ago on my GQF 1202 and candled them last night, I had 3 blood rings, 5 unfertiled, and 4 with small cracks on shell so i ended up with 78 eggs on my bator for this experiment, plus another 39 I set last night. My plans are to raise and choose the largest birds of both flocks and breed the ones of Flock A with the ones of Flock B and hoping to get nice meat birds.

 

[eldonrgv]

Candled the 78 eggs last night on day 14th and 72 remained 2 blood rings and 4 stopped developing. Due on the 17th.

1st candle of 39 eggs set last Saturday (7th day) and 35 remained. 1 bloodring and 3 unfertiled. Due on the 24th.

Set another 41 eggs last night to be due on the 31st.

 

[eldonrgv]

Lockdown tomorrow noon!!!!! Out of the 90 eggs set 72 appear going to lockdown, we'll find out tomorrow on last candling. Eggs of my Dark Cornish Males with my White/Barred Plymouth Rocks and my Buff Orphington Male with my Madisons.