Am I missing something here???

[LakotaWolf]

I'm interested in raising CornishX for meat birds. When I go to the supermarket I see two Rock-Cornish hens in a package, both the size of a parrot. Great taste, but tiny. Then I read here that CornishX are the same size as any other hen. Is there a difference between Rock-Cornish, Cornish-Rock, or CornishX???

 

[beetandsteet]

A Rock Cornish hen, or cornish game hen, or however they are packaged in the grocery store are simply young cornishX broilers butchered at 2-3 pounds dressed weight. The cornish broiler cross is called any number of things, but the breed was developed using Plymouth Rocks and Cornish; each hatchery has their own strain of this cross. We raised Cornish crosses from Ideal Poultry, they were fed a turkey starter, then flock raiser at four weeks, and reached six and a half pounds live weight in a little over six weeks.

 

[weezy123]

Not sure of the difference of a Rock-Cornish vs a Cornish-Rock. I would guess that the first name would be the bread that the chicken would get the most characteristic from. My dad and I raised 25 I think they were the CornishX. They were a quiet bird and eat well before I returned home we butchered 12 birds which avg out to be 6.5 pounds! My dad did the last a month later and said they grow to almost 8 lbs each. They are a large breasted bird. Hope this helps!

 

[junebuggena]

The only difference between the little Cornish Game hens and the big broilers at the grocery store is about 3 to 6 weeks. The little 'game hens' are actually 3 to 4 week old chicks. The broilers are processed at about 6 to 10 weeks.
All commercial meat birds are the same hybrid-type bird. Cornish Cross, Cornish Rock, and Rock Cornish are all the same thing; a fast growing white bird that will reach harvest weight in just a few weeks time.

 

[donrae]

Basically, what they said

those little parrot-sized birds are the same breed, simply butchered around 3 weeks old. The regular whole chickens or chicken parts you see are the same breed, butchered around 8 weeks. Same birds, probably same feed, just babies vs, well, older babies.

 

[LakotaWolf]

Thanks folks. Sounds like typical sales hype then. Put a food out before it's allotted growth time, give it a special name, and charge twice as much. Ok, since Cornish hens seem to grow a little faster than other types, how long should I wait between the time they leave the brooder and slaughter?

 

[junebuggena]

Typically 6 to 10 weeks.

 

[LakotaWolf]

Thanks June. Let's see, 3 weeks in the incubator, 6 weeks in the brooder, and 8 weeks free run. 17 weeks total. That's doable.

 

[donrae]

You're going to be buying hatching eggs? That's the three weeks in the incubator I'm guessing?

3 weeks in the brooder, and then maybe 5 weeks after that. Typical butcher time for CX is 8 weeks of age. Some folks do take them a bit longer, and if you're free ranging that may be possible. They do tend to be self-terminating and after 8 weeks you might start to see they dying off.

 

[junebuggena]

Not sure that you can get hatching eggs for them. Most hatcheries only have them available as day old chicks. And you do have to start limiting their feed after about 4 weeks old or they will grow too quickly.