bantam cornish as meat birds?

[pat3494]

I have raised some standard Dark Cornish and thought they made a pretty good meat bird. Does anyone have experience using bantam Cornish as meat birds? I'm considering this as an alternative for my next project. Several hatcheries sell them. Thanks.

 

[kfacres]

I just read a post, and will sum it up like this..

Why would you want to take a mouse, skin it and de-bone it out, and grind it up, and then call it immatation elephant burger?

 

[RWD]

People clean quail and dove all the time and cook them. These are no different, maybe 1 would feed 2 people.
Best of luck.

 

[kfacres]

Quote:
you have a point... but then again, they aren't exactly the 'meat birds of man kind either'..

I always did say though, if you eat it, it's a meat bird...

 

[Tracydr]

I actually asked the same question recently. It's interesting that you bring this up. I see a lot of advantages. For one, I have the feeling that there is more genetic diversity in the Bantam Cornish, which could improve the Cornish birds overall. Two, I've priced that my OEGB are incredibly stout and have a lot of mass for their size. They almost never go to the feed pan, are always digging for bugs. I think that if the Bamtam Cornish are anything like the OEGB, they could be incredibly efficient little meat birds, gaining size relatively quickly with very little commercial food if given a little area to forage.
I'm tempted to try a few, just to get a feel for the breed, except I'm pretty maxed out on roosters right now. I have a tiny area and live in the city. I have three roosters, two OEGB and one Egyptian Fayoumi. If I do decide to get a Cornish trio, I'll need to get rid of one of my OEGB roosters and I sort of like both of them, although my silver Duckwing is not nearly the quality of the BB red. They are both hatchery but the BB Red is a decent looking rooster.
If the Fayoumi keeps raping all the girls, he might get gone, even though I was hoping to be able to raise a few purebred fayoumis with him.

 

[pat3494]

I was thinking that bantam Cornish might be similar to a small "Cornish Hen" and suitable for the same purpose. Sometimes you don't want to eat chicken for 3 days in a row. As one person said, small game birds like quail and dove are eaten all the time. I was more interested in how they fill out and what kind of a carcass they produce, their habits, ease of raising etc. I am aware that they are more expensive than many other kinds of chicks. Different strokes.

 

[Tracydr]

They'd be more expensive to get started but once you had your own flock, the breeders would be less expensive to maintain than full sized breeders, making them a less expensive sustainable option. Plus, most Cornish and bantam breeds are efficient foragers and good broodys, making it possible to raise your chicks on the hen, if so desired, although the broodiness could be a bad trait, if you need to produce lots of eggs in order to produce lots of chicks.
If you're developing them for your own eating, I imagine you could cross another breed, perhaps a large fowl Cornish or rock to increase the meat but not all the way to the size of a large fowl, so hopefully, not losing the good traits of the bantam in the process.
When I have more space, I'm seriously considering trying this process. If for no other reason, because I also have my dogs to feed, two of which are toy dogs who have difficulty with full-sized chicken bones. I'm also considering raising pigeon and quail for the dogs for that reason.

 

[pat3494]

Thanks for the advice. I wouldn't give chicken bones to my dogs though. Perhaps the larger breed could be a Dark Cornish. I'd have to see how big the Bantam Cornish carcass is before deciding to make a bigger hybrid.

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
Actually, the RAW prey diet for dogs consists of at least 10% bones which are frequently chicken bones but sometimes pork, turkey or other smaller bones. Also, 5% liver and 5% other organs. The bones add calcium and phosphorous and keep their stools firm. No big weight bearing bones from large animals, thes can break teeth. My Doberman had a raw turkey neck for breakfast and chewed on it for thiry minutes. She used to eat her kibble in ten seconds!
My dogs have had many improvements in health, overall condition, dental health and enjoyment of mealtime since I switched their diet a year ago.
They don't ever get cooked bones, which become brittle and could splinter inside their throat or intestines.
My 13 year old chihuahua acts younger and younger everyday. He had a total recovery from a steroid induced liver failure and was started on a home-cooked diet, then trasitioned to RAW. This was recommended by his internal medicine specialist. Since then, I've switched all the dogs and I'm now transitioning the cats.
The only supplement they get is fish oil capsules. If I had a steady supply of grass fed meat, game or fresh fish, I wouldn't need to give them fish oil.
My vet saw everyone for a check-up and bloodwork this spring. The chihuahua, at thirteen, had his second dental ever! My vet is totally amazed at their health, coats, weight and especially the chihuahua's teeth, of which he still has an entire mouthful, except for one that he lost by accident, not dental disease.
I've never had anyone choke on a bone or have any complications from the raw meat. No diarrhea, no vomiting, no problems.

 

[pat3494]

That's interesting. I was thinking of cooked bones. Where did you get this diet from? Thanks.