Buckeye X Cornish X breeding project. Third generation pics pg. 20

[Brunty_Farms]

Ya, I hate helping because if they are not strong enough to get out on their own they aren't worth keeping. Since I have so few of them, I helped.... and also because like you said... so many other things are at stake with humidity, temps, ect. Since I have still air incubators... so much can go wrong.

So I helped three chicks so 22 out of 25 eggs hatched. The others had growth but died at about 14-16 days, not sure why. However I did end up with about 4 clear eggs that I removed at day 7. So I guess technically I had 19 out of 29 that hatched without help. For a still air I guess I can live with that, I just haven't invested the money in good incubators. Especially when I have so much other stuff going on. It really is tough to purchase one of those cabinet type incubators, my arms a bit too short for that! However I have thought about it many times and it is on my wish list for the future.

Well, the saga continues but for now..... the terminal cross pullets..... have shown great expectations for future breedings. This show will have to wait for another 6-8 weeks to see what the offspring look like and how they progress.

 

[SteveH]

They look great Jeff . Curious , do you intend to raise these breeders on the same feed and under the same conditions as your Cornish X ? Did you raise your Buckeyes on the same feed ? I'm thinking these crossbreds should not need restricted diets but I also wonder if the inherent appetite of their mothers will be passed on to a percentage of the chicks . Since you don't push your meaties to the max and well experienced at raising them I'm sure you won't have any problems . Time will tell ; I'll be watching closely for updates .

One of the strange things about this experiment of yours were the apparently white eggs laid by the Cornish X . If their ancestors were Cornish and White Rock , I'd expect light to medium brown . Sure makes me wonder both about what strain of Cornish X hens you have and what went into the making of them . I also wonder if Katy's hens laid white also.

I've been thinking of doing something similiar since last year but circumstances have prevented me from getting a flock . I plan on ordering 25 chicks tomorrow , and 10 will be Cornish X . I've got some health issues , so this is also a trial on what I'm able to handle

. If I can't feed and water a couple dozen chickens I guess I better hang it up

 

[dancingbear]

My dark Cornish hen lays a pale tan-not much more than cream color. None of my DC hens laid a anything much darker, but they weren't white. In a pic they'd maybe look white, especially on a darker background. Jeff's are probably tinted a little.

My CX hens I used to have, did lay a definite brown, but they were a lighter brown, sometimes speckled a little, if I remember right. It's been along time.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

They were tinted, some are more brown then others though.

 

[SteveH]

Thanks for the info on egg color Jenny Bear and Jeff . I had gone back to the original post last night and read it , saw the written description calling them tinted , but that picture was the part that was sticking in my mind LOL . There's too little info available on the origins of today's Cornish X . Back when I was a kid and we raised them for our freezer , they were actually just getting developed . I can't remember how long it took them to grow out , but they were two or three weeks quicker and meatier than the neighbor's true dual purpose birds . I do remember that a few pullets kept back for roasters had reached point of lay by slaughter because there were eggs forming in some when we processed them , so they didn't come close to the modern strains . Back in those times a White Rock or RIR coming from a hatchery was a much bigger and better bird for eating . Those Cornish Rocks , as they were called , basicly made the dual purpose birds obsolete and the purebreds began to decline in quality .

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

Mine are tinted as well, not brown but deffinately not white.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Update.... 3 eggs hatched and still have three chicks. Average weight at one week is .24 lbs which is just under 8 ounces. So I'm a bit under a standard broiler at this age but I have had smaller broiler chicks weigh this at one week before.


The next batch was set to hatch yesterday without any luck. I had a temp spike in the incubator of 104 for about 8 hours so I don't think any made it. But in all fairness even the buckeye eggs died as well. They are still in the incubator and will leave them there for a few more days to see what happens. You have to keep a close eye on a still air incubator otherwise you will cook your eggs.

Breeders are doing well, however I may process one as she is limping on a leg pretty bad. I should have isolated her from the rooster. The other 7 are doing good, the 5 that I restricted feed at a younger age are doing the best. They seem to be holding their weight just fine without any problems. They are eating free choice at the moment and seem to enjoy free ranging for bugs instead of the feeder.

Feeding a standard 16% layer.... chicks are on a 22% broiler feed.


I should have more eggs hatch this weekend.... and I'm getting about 5 eggs a day now from 8 hens.

 

[redbarnmeadows]

Hi all. I don't follow the forums here very often, but I just stumbled across this thread. I've been down this road myself and actually ended up finding a successful solution. I originally tried keeping some Cornish/Rocks until breeding age, but the females were very poor layers and the resulting chicks were even less healthy than the parents, not to mention the enormous amount of feed the parents consumed, even on a controlled diet, so I had to scrap that project. However, I found another system that works, and I now breed broilers on a small-scale basis for local chick sales. Here's what I do.

I order day-old Cornish/Rock cockerels and White Rock pullets. I typically order about 15 to 20 cockerels and carefully monitor feed and watch them as they grow, looking for which 4 are going to be my potential breeding roos. They actually sort of weed themselves out, and you can select the healthiest males simply by seeing who is still alive and looking healthy and walking normally once they reach adult size. I typically keep 4 -- 2 to use as breeders and 2 spares. I keep 2 breeding pens with 1 roo and 8 to 10 hens each. Their feed has to be carefully controlled, and the hens MUST have saddles (I use a special kind of duct tape). The resulting chicks are technically Cornish/Rock/Rock, so the Cornish is just a little more diluted. They grow just a little bit slower than typical hatchery broilers, but it's not really a big noticeable difference - maybe an extra week to butchering weight. Personally, I believe they are a bit healthier though. I don't seem to get as many leg or heart problems with them.

I use Hoffman Hatchery, but I would assume you can use any hatchery broilers that are relatively healthy, and any large White Rocks. The duct tape I use for the saddles is Nashua 357, and I have to special order it. Anything else just doesn't stick for very long. This stuff usually stays put for at least several weeks.

I've been breeding them this way for 2 years now, getting new breeding stock each year, and it's working well.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Do you have any weights on the crosses? Dressed weights at what age? Sounds very interesting.... It would make more sense to use roosters instead of hens because of the amount of feed that you have to give them.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[redbarnmeadows]

Sorry, I don't have weights, but I have pictures on my website that track the growth rate over 7 weeks. www.redbarnmeadows.com

Yes, the roosters are the main reason for controlling the feed, and the White Rock hens are very good layers. I forgot to mention though that the White Rocks need to be relatively fast-growing. I tried some show-quality super-nice White Rocks at one point and they took forever to get to full size. I didn't even bother to breed them as I imagined they would just slow the chicks down. The hatchery Rocks are good growers though.