Ok, I should have read this whole forum before I posted my last set of questions. Now I still have a few, but haven't found exactly these answers. It seems that the opinion is basically that a cornish rooster can be crossed with most hens to produce a satisfactory meat bird. What about the other way around? Some other decent rooster crossed with a bunch of cornish hens?
Or why not raise just straight cornish? Is there a drawback to purebred cornish that I'm not seeing?
I've ordered an assortment of heavy-breed cockerels, that I'm now reading was probably a mistake, but I'm hoping there might be a dark cornish cockerel in there that I could keep. Should I then order some white rock or cornish hens to be able to raise my own next year?
Also, it seems people prefer white or light birds for carcass appearance. Will a dark cornish rooster (crossed with, say, white rock hens) produced dark offspring with an unattractive carcass? Is there a white purebred cornish? I haven't seen them at any of the hatcheries I've searched.
Or why not raise just straight cornish? Is there a drawback to purebred cornish that I'm not seeing?
I've ordered an assortment of heavy-breed cockerels, that I'm now reading was probably a mistake, but I'm hoping there might be a dark cornish cockerel in there that I could keep. Should I then order some white rock or cornish hens to be able to raise my own next year?
Also, it seems people prefer white or light birds for carcass appearance. Will a dark cornish rooster (crossed with, say, white rock hens) produced dark offspring with an unattractive carcass? Is there a white purebred cornish? I haven't seen them at any of the hatcheries I've searched.