Are Cornish X mutants?

[OcoeeG]

I am thinking about raising some Cornish X. I like their size, feed efficiency, etc. I was telling my girlfriend about them but she thinks they sound like genetically engineered mutants. Are they just a true cross breed that is just an awesome meat producer or are they mutants. Any thoughts.

 

[miss_jayne]

they are not mutants. they are not genetic mutations/genetically engineered.

they are true crosses.

i love mine, they are easy to work with and very tasty.

edited to add: they are Cornish males crossed with Plymouth Rock females, if i am not mistaken.

 

[greyfields]

The parent lineages have been specifically bred for the past 40-50 years with one sole purpose in mind; creating the perfect hybrid broiler. The "Cornish" and "Rock" look nothing like you'd see in a backyard.

Now, with that said, what's perfect for someone growing thousands of broilers in confinement, with a controlled climate, will not be the same bird small producers will seek. Whereas having a broiler ready to go at 42 days of age is the priority for the industrial farmer, we in the backyard have to consider other things like mortality, disease resistance, vigor, forage ability, etc.

Some people raise very good Cornish crosses at home, othere really struggle with teh losses becasue the Cornish cross is not the ideal bird for a pastured (or free range) production.

 

[SandraMort]

Not mutants. They're alien crossed with natrual chickens. They're fine, you just might see them conversing with little green men when they think you're not looking.

 

[greyfields]

Your theory explains La Mancha goats.

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
quick, call the Enquirer! seriously, La Mancha's are alien beings. one tried to suck me into its space ship the other night, but i put foil on my head and hid in the closet.

 

[PassthePeace1]

You might consider Dark Cornishes hens covered by a Delware rooster.

 

[smith2]

A couple of years ago my daughter came home from 9th grade all upset over the headless and feetless chickens that commerical poultry producers were using for places like KFC. While we listened patiently and tried to calm her down explaining that there was no such thing, the minute she left the room we busted out laughing. While I don't exactly know how to classify the word "mutant" from a scientific point of view (I think I am one), I don't think there is any genetic engineering in the Cornish cross. Those birds have just been developed over the years to grow fast and become large meat birds. They do have a large chested appearance that indicates a genetic inbreeding type of carcass. They also have some health related issues related to the genetic inbreeding with those crossed breeds, but I don't think that the genetic make-up of those breeds was artifically altered.
I could be wrong, but I don't think they are genetically engineered. Someone from a hatchery might know better.

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
no, there is NO genetic engineering involved, at all, period. they are Cornish Males over a Plymouth Rock Female...see above posts.

this is a topic that is debated over and over and stems from various 'reports' by those who oppose the fast growing birds versus a slow growing food source.

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
Miss Jayne,

You would be correct if we were talking 50 years ago. I could show you some broiler catalogs. The parent strains look nothing like either a Cornish, or a Rock. The name "Cornish Cross" is more an allusion to the origin of the breeding. Both the male and female parent strains are both 'cornish crosses' in a broad sense; but they are thousands of generations removed form the original F1 crosses.

With all that said, breeding a Dark Cornish roo to your Rock hens for the home flock gives you a very good performing bird. They're quicker than a 15+ week large breed rooster, but nowhere near an 8 week bird. My crosses were 12 weeks when I took them in last, placing them 2 weeks behind my Colord Range Broilers and roughly 1# lighter.

The best cross result I've ever had was breeding my Dark Cornish rooster to my retained Freedom Ranger hens. But since this is breeding hybrids, the results are somewhat sporadic.