Corndells Extinct?

[nepoisopen]

Well I got a brand new Brinsea Mini Advance for Christmas so when you get your eggs let me know! I am not sure how much it costs to ship a bird back to you but it could actually work quite well if you have enough eggs... Especially if you were to provide and reuse the shipping boxes! Send one out with each batch of eggs, it comes back filled with a bird and can be sent out again with the next set.

That'd be exactly what I was hoping would work.
I love this whole idea, hopefully we can make it happen.
-KS

 

[call ducks]

What makes a broiler good at what it does is that hybrid-vigor is maximized. When you are working on the project even if you use large birds and cross the f1 will be good birds because they are crossed and have increased hertosis. But once you start to get on and when they are pure breeding you will have to keep large flocks so hybrid-vigor is not loss.

You could in theroy produce a a two way cross - It would take ~5 years to do. It would not be easy but it would not be harder than trying to make a pure bred meat bird.

PM me if you want to talk about it.

Cheers

 

[Clsikes]

How is your project going? I have started my breeding pens, and have some Delawares from a local breeder. I will be ordering some Cornish chicks from murray mcmurray, and some del/ New Hampshire cross chicks from purely poultry to use for breeders. I am going to save some Cornish cross hens to breed to as well, and see how they turn out.

 

[enel 1]

How is your project going? I have started my breeding pens, and have some Delawares from a local breeder. I will be ordering some Cornish chicks from murray mcmurray, and some del/ New Hampshire cross chicks from purely poultry to use for breeders. I am going to save some Cornish cross hens to breed to as well, and see how they turn out.

It my seem easier and cheaper to go with hatchery stock but, spend the money on breeder quality birds if your going to take on this project, otherwise you just end up with a mixed flock of layers. Hatchery don't breed for size but for egg production, so even thier Deals and Del NH cross bird are going to be quite small by comparison, they advertise their birds as having the same positive meat bird traits as the original Dels and Indian rivers but they arent even close.

 

[Clsikes]

I have been looking for breeders, but have not had much luck. All of the breeders I have found, are raising chicks from hatchery stock. I would like to find a Cornish, and Delaware breeder close enough to me to pick up some chicks. I really want some of the cull Cornish chickens, that's legs are to long, because I do not want to have to AI my chickens.

 

[call ducks]

Quote: But unless a breeder is selecting for growth rate in starting a meat project that would put them on the same level.... Hatchery flocks have something that birds from breeder flocks often lack - a lot of heterosis!

 

[enel 1]

A breeder is going to breed toward the SOP and if they are breeding birds that were previously meat birds, white rocks Delaware Cornish etc. then I would think size is important to a breeder. Isn't there minimum weight requirements? And when ever two pure breed are crossed then there is hybrid vigour...right? So you could cross a hatchery Dark Cornish with a hatchery white rock, and the bird will maybe you will get a bird that's a little better than its hatchery parents, but it wouldn't even compare to the same cross done with quality birds, and although expensive at first, you get to where you want to be a heck of a lot quicker than you would with hatchery birds thus saving years of time and expense. Just to note you still won't have anything close to a commercial broiler.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Why does everyone who reads these types of threads seem to think people are trying to reinvent the commercial broiler? I am pretty sure that the whole point is to make something totally different than a bird that doesn't breed true, lays poorly, dies young, is lazy, poorly feathered and weighs three times an adult egg layer does at only 6-8 weeks.... Don't get me wrong, CXs are meat houses, but that is all they are!

 

[enel 1]

Because its fun and interesting not to mention the drama these conversations create and we all know people love drama...lollol

 

[call ducks]

A breeder is going to breed toward the SOP and if they are breeding birds that were previously meat birds, white rocks Delaware Cornish etc. then I would think size is important to a breeder. Isn't there minimum weight requirements? And when ever two pure breed are crossed then there is hybrid vigour...right? So you could cross a hatchery Dark Cornish with a hatchery white rock, and the bird will maybe you will get a bird that's a little better than its hatchery parents, but it wouldn't even compare to the same cross done with quality birds, and although expensive at first, you get to where you want to be a heck of a lot quicker than you would with hatchery birds thus saving years of time and expense. Just to note you still won't have anything close to a commercial broiler.

But when breeding a meat bird - growth rates are way more important than the size of a bird. It does not take long to boost size up but it does take a while to (and a lot of knowledge) to get good growth rates.

It will take years of work no matter where you start. But if you start with birds that are slow growing it will take longer.

Why does everyone who reads these types of threads seem to think people are trying to reinvent the commercial broiler? I am pretty sure that the whole point is to make something totally different than a bird that doesn't breed true, lays poorly, dies young, is lazy, poorly feathered and weighs three times an adult egg layer does at only 6-8 weeks.... Don't get me wrong, CXs are meat houses, but that is all they are!

While the OP was not trying to recreate a commerical broiler - the origins of the Corndell are closely tied to a commerical broiler, and they are a meat bird. There is some evidence that corndells were not breeding true. Anyways I gave some information to the OP that should help them in their endeavors. Corndells are a rustic broiler they should take 9-12 weeks.