Breeding Cornish X Rocks

[lpatelski]

I have crossed both ways. I started with a Dark Cornish cockerel and crossed him with two Murray McMurray Cornish Roaster pullets. Then crossed the white splash pullets back. Last year I came across a 4-H project, 2 cockerels and 2 pullets. I crossed the 3/4 Dark Cornish(white) pullets with the two Cornish cross cockerels. Finally I crossed the better cockerel with the Murray McMurray hen. I will be keeping the females back to cross with my blue 7/8 Dark Cornish. The cockerel just below is the 4-H CX... he had no manners at first. I used feed sacks as a reprimand to the attacks. He respected my legs after those many lessons.

 

[Bridget-Louisiana]

I want to have a self sustaining population of fast growing meat birds. Meaning, they keep laying and hatching chicks and after 8 or so weeks I cull and eat them. Rinse, lather, repeat. A multitude of standardized egg-laying breeds, such as RIRs, Orps, etc., are readily available. There exists no standardized broiler chicken genetic package that can be reproduced true to type, available to the homesteader. All of the broiler chicks bought and sold in the U.S. are generated from hybridized parent stock that are under the proprietary control of large multinational corporations. I see Cornish X Rocks sold all over the place in almost every hatchery with a disclaimer that goes something like this:

"Cornish X Rocks are hybrids. Therefore we do not recommend breeding, they will not produce the same high quality in the next generation and due to the extreme rate of growth they will be too large at time of sexual maturity to breed successfully."

I do understand this, but I'd like to create these hybrids myself, instead of reordering chicks months after month. Is it possible? I'm sure it is b/c they do it, but I don't hear or read anything about people doing it themselves. What kinda of birds to I need exactly? Indian Game? White Plymouth Rocks? Does one breed need to be pullet and the other a roo? How is it done? Does anyone actually do this? I don't need to breed top quality hybrids, I just want to have some dependable meat birds clutch after clutch.

Please fill me in, enlighten me, and correct my misunderstandings here. I can't find much on this subject and want your expertise and knowledge on the matter.

THIS IS BS: "Cornish X Rocks are hybrids. Therefore we do not recommend breeding, they will not produce the same high quality in the next generation and due to the extreme rate of growth they will be too large at time of sexual maturity to breed successfully." ---- Our CC ladies started laying at 7 months. WE CROSSED THE CORNISH CROSS hens with our BUFF ORPINGTON ROOSTER and now have CHICKS that just hatched. Can't tell you yet what they are going to look like as they are 3 days old. But I'll keep you posted. Our CC ladies are BIG! Doubt they'll live much longer, but we are hatching all of their eggs till they pass. I don't think they will be as big as the CC, but w/the BO roo genetics, they will be a nice size and live a much healthier life. Next year, I'm going to get two separate batches of CC chicks and mate one batch with our BO rooster and the other batch with our RIR roo and then mate those two. FYI: As the chicks get a little older, they look to be getting BO color.

 

[cassie]

Developing your own Cornish X meat birds is a little like reinventing the wheel. It took over 60 years and a lot of money to develop the present day meat chicken. If you want something sustainable, use Buff Orpingtons. Or you can cross white rocks and cornish (not cornish X) and see what happens.

 

[rockpapershotgun]

That's what I mean. I'm sure the Cornish X's at every hatchery is not exactly the same. Can you just throw some Dark Cornish and White Plymouth Rocks in a pen and call it a day? Like I said I'm not trying to make a super hybrid, just hatching and raising a reliable meat bird that I can put on the table in 8 weeks.

 

[irf1983]

Quote:
Great post. I just ordered some freedom rangers for my first batch of meaties. But after that I intend to start a new flock of DP, and you gave me the perfect info. I was going to go for dark cornish and white rock, but didn't know what rooster to use. Your point about a white bird is true as well. I'll be ordering some dark cornish and barred rock next year. Thanks for the info.

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

The cornish X rock strand cannot be achieved because the hatcherys add a 4th bird to the breeding cycle thus genetically creating a block of reproduction. as such "Modern broilers are typically a third generation offspring (an F2 hybrid). The broiler's four grandparents come from four different strains, two of which produce the male parent line and two of which provide the female parent line, which are in turn mated to provide the broilers. The double cross protects the developer's unique genetics as strains cannot be reproduced from the broiler offspring.[2] Additionally, the male lines and female lines are not bred for the same traits; for example the female line needs to be able to lay as many eggs as possible, since the number of eggs laid per hen influences the cost of broiler eggs and hence broiler chicks. Egg-laying ability is less important in the male line, while rooster fertility is very important." Hope this helps

 

[Country Parson]

Quote:
Genetically modified? They are have practiced highly selective breeding, but not genetic modification in the same way as has happened in grains. But, I'm sure that is eventually coming...

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

You missed this line "These particular birds are only intended for research purposes, not for consumption." in your first article
and this line "Intriguing as the new approach is, the problem is far from solved. Years more testing will be needed to make sure there's no hidden hazard from this type of genetic modification. And then there's the public relations work that will be needed to persuade government agencies and consumers to accept the GM chickens" in your second article.

Not to mention neither has anything to do with genteticly modifying meat birds for rapid growth, or for the consumer trade.

As was said before CX are selectively bred, they are not geneticly modified.

 

[cassie]

They would be white. Maybe even nice chickens. But they won't grow as fast or have the same efficient feed conversion as their parents. Sounds like an interesting project though. And you might even luck out and prove me wrong. That's OK too. Keep us posted.

 

[kfacres]

Simple solution, linebreed and keep the lines pure.

Adding in new lines and looking for genetic diversity, will never be a goal of mine.

I can make plenty of progress with enough hatching and genetic selections.