The Cornish Cross: “What is wrong with this picture?!” There is so much to think about in this arti

[aoxa]

can those with good experiences raising CX detail their feeding schedule? The typical hatchery "recommended" schedule (I believe) is 24hr light+food for 2 weeks, then 12 on/12 off light+food.

If you are raising them on pasture however, you would set the feed 1 - 2 x per day (?) for .. 30min at a time? or how long? Formulating our meatbird plan for next year.

I start out with feed being available with the sunlight. Once the sun sets, the feed gets taken away (I use EcoGlows to brood them). So depending on the time of year, it can be 12 hours on 12 hours off or 14-15 hours on, 9-10 hours off.

At two weeks they are cut down to 3 feedings. One in the morning (30 minutes of available food) Supper time (because that is when I am off work) 30 minutes of available food, and than bed time (which is around 9pm in the summer). They have food available for 15 minutes before lights are out. At 4 weeks they only get 2 feedings a day for 15 minutes a feeding.

I do the same with all of my birds to encourage them to forage. In the winter I try to extend the amount of time food is available, but never is it available free choice.

 

[Angelicisi]

We practice this also. I have a set now a lil over 2 weeks that are fed 3x's a day dawn/lunch and hour before dusk. At 4 weeks I plan on twice a day feedings.

I start out with feed being available with the sunlight. Once the sun sets, the feed gets taken away (I use EcoGlows to brood them). So depending on the time of year, it can be 12 hours on 12 hours off or 14-15 hours on, 9-10 hours off. 

At two weeks they are cut down to 3 feedings. One in the morning (30 minutes of available food) Supper time (because that is when I am off work) 30 minutes of available food, and than bed time (which is around 9pm in the summer). They have food available for 15 minutes before lights are out. At 4 weeks they only get 2 feedings a day for 15 minutes a feeding. 

I do the same with all of my birds to encourage them to forage. In the winter I try to extend the amount of time food is available, but never is it available free choice. 

 

[cassie]

I think the biggest problem with the Cornish X is the ability to reach over and get more food. Not even moving. KEEP the food to once or twice a day, all they can eat in just a few minutes. Then put it away. Make sense?

I fed mine free choice from seven in the morning to seven at night. I had hanging feeders and they had to reach a little to get, to the feed. They couldn't just sit there and eat. I also had the feed and water some distance apart so they had to walk a bit to get to either. I didn't have mine on pasture because I was not set up to do so. I kept mine in a 12 x 12 box stall bedded with shavings and it was a convenient very low labor set up. Wish I had something like it here. Anyway, my system worked for me. Everyone has to use a system that is comfortable for them to use.

 

[LilRedRoo]

Done WHAT to the breed? The industry developed a fast growing efficient meat chicken that requires less feed per pound of gain than any other and is ready for the table in just a few weeks. Seems to me they have done a pretty good job. Cornish X are not meant to be long lived. They don't need to be. If you want a long lived dual purpose chicken, don't raise Cornish X. If you want a meat chicken that will give you the most for your money, the Cornish X is the logical choice...

This is pretty much where we are at on our place. We really like to see our broilers getting heavy, fast. But we know they will all need to be butchered in a fairly close timeline (whether I feel like it or not). Having played around with the options a bit we've decided that for the future we want to do the dual-purpose breeds only, so we can harvest per our wants, and keep certain birds for the long-haul if we choose.

I guess that's what it comes down to...having the option to choose.

And of course, as I mentioned earlier, the flavor of our DP's is really incomparable to the broilers. Even when we offer feed, that free-ranging really does wonders for the resulting meal.

 

[aoxa]

This is pretty much where we are at on our place. We really like to see our broilers getting heavy, fast. But we know they will all need to be butchered in a fairly close timeline (whether I feel like it or not). Having played around with the options a bit we've decided that for the future we want to do the dual-purpose breeds only, so we can harvest per our wants, and keep certain birds for the long-haul if we choose.

I guess that's what it comes down to...having the option to choose.

And of course, as I mentioned earlier, the flavor of our DP's is really incomparable to the broilers. Even when we offer feed, that free-ranging really does wonders for the resulting meal.

So, why can't you free range your broilers?

I do both DP and CX for meat. When free ranged, the flavour of the CX is identical to a DP the same age, but the texture and quantity of meat is better.

I do DP because I have extra males. What can I do with them other than eat them or breed them? It's necessity. I totally prefer the CX overall, as do my customers. They can be processed before puberty where the DP roosters really start to get stringy after puberty and can only really be enjoyed if you slow cook them for 8+ hours by most people. Not all. Some people like the texture of a heritage chicken, but MOST people like the tenderness of a CX. It's reality.

Got a text from a friend that bought some of our chicken breasts last night. He said it was the best chicken he has ever tasted. So there is a real difference between free range poultry and poultry raised on grain alone.

That grass and bugs is of utmost importance in the flavour department. CX CAN be raised like any other free ranging bird. You just have to get passed the idea that food should be offered freely...

Look at them as obese toddlers. Would you put a buffet of candy bars in front of obese toddlers? They have no self control. If they see what they want, they are going for it. Many human adults have the same self control issue

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

One would have to admit that Cornish X has problems. All the accolades in the universe cannot take away what the industry has done to the breed. Inherently, there is a problem.

??????
What has the industry done to the breed, except to breed the best to the best to get an even better next generation? I would say that the breeders of the CX have succeeded spectacularly with what they set out to do. That's what a breed is, humans modifying plant and animals generation by generation until they get what they want. It's not like CX are some heritage breed with a standard to be protected.

We raise about 50 CX per year. I've done DP, too, and still do a few with the CX when I have males to cull, but the CX are so much better taste wise, texture wise, growth wise, and monetarily. It costs me far less time, effort, and money to make a pound of chicken with a CX than it does a DP breed. And they are SO DELICIOUS! Tender like a supermarket chicken, but flavorful like a DP, when they are allowed some space to do more than just eat.

We raise our CX in small pastures, with about eight-ten square feet of space per bird. We'd let them free range, but that's an all-you-can-eat predator buffet around here. We let them have free choice chick starter for three weeks, then free choice 23% protein feed for two weeks, then they go on a 12 hours on, 12 hours off eating schedule. Basically, I pick up their feed in the evening when I gather eggs, and put it back the next morning when I let them out into the pasture. We use a wet mash feed, but not fermented feed. I've never had one die for any reason other than predator attack. We did have to cull one with a broken leg once, but that's because the shelter had a perch bar in it, and the dummy wanted to perch. We ate the broken leg one and took off the perch. The end.

I've never had breathing problems, disease, heart attacks, etc. Mine use the full space available to them, and wander around trying to catch butterflies. They stay clean with enough space, and I find them rather charming. We butcher between 8 and 10 weeks. I've never understood the hatred that CX generate, and have always wondered if it comes from people trying to raise them in 1.5 sq. ft. per bird. That small space would make any animal a bit unpleasant.

Is there any major different between CornishX and pure Cornish for the sake of this article?
After trying my hand at CornishX this year, I was going to purchase Dark LF Cornish next year to see how they differ. Planning to put them on pasture in the summer. Any tips?

I raise Dark Cornish for broody hens. They are not good meat birds by themselves. In fact, when they were first introduced, one source in the 1800's said they "…are nearly if not quite the worst domestic fowls for ordinary use." They are terribly slow growers meat-wise, and lay only a few medium sized eggs per week. They are, however, the very best broodies I've ever used. They sit 2-3 times per year, are big enough to cover 12 eggs, sit tight, and are vicious about defending their offspring. I got mine from Murray McMurray and can't say enough about them as mothers.

They are supposed to be tasty if you butcher them when they are around 3lbs. That's the origin of the Cornish Game Hen.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

These "expert" opinions on the dramatic issues with commercial broiler production give me a nice chuckle.

If the commercial broiler's were so fragile and prone to diseases they would NOT be raised by the millions to meet the demand for chicken meat by the US and worldwide consumer.

Most of the instances of production issues in the backyard setting can easily be attributed to improper management. Instead of blaming improper management it is more easy to blame the birds.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Quote:

 

[mg15]

• The article quoted was not from an expert. He raises chickens just like everybody else.
• The anitbiotics given to the chickens at Tyson or Perdue is what keeps the death rate down.
• And as for taste from of a Cornish X, it is purely subjective by the person who raised them.
• If you are going to defend your position certainly they will taste better.

I think people should have an open mind about doing something different that turns out better.

Quote: I won't back down from what I believe even tho you are all experts. I have a right to challenge the main stream thinking. And ask for something better.

I Prefer the flavor of pastured birds, and the nutrition they provide.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

• The article quoted was not from an expert. He raises chickens just like everybody else.
• The anitbiotics given to the chickens at Tyson or Perdue is what keeps the death rate down.
• And as for taste from of a Cornish X, it is purely subjective by the person who raised them.
• If you are going to defend your position certainly they will taste better.

I think people should have an open mind about doing something different that turns out better.

I won't back down from what I believe even tho you are all experts. I have a right to challenge the main stream thinking. And ask for something better.

I Prefer the flavor of pastured birds, and the nutrition they provide.

No one was attacking your desire to have pastured poultry.

We raise almost all of our own chickens each year and are starting to sell chickens off of our farm. However, we have no allusions that our method of rearing chickens has the potential to feed the world. To meet the protein needs and tastebuds of the growing population we need both large and small farms raising products that meet the needs of all consumers.