Cornish cross genetics

[SteeleFaithFarm]

There is a lot of debate about the Cornish cross. A lot of people love it and a lit of people consider it unnatural. This isn't a post to start an argument about if it's good or bad.

what I would like to know is...
Why can't you just take a dark Cornish and cross it to a rock and get the same results?

would crossing a dark Cornish to some dual purpose breeds improve their meat qualities?

I have a mixed flock and was thinking of crossing a dark Cornish rooster to some of my red star hens. Would the resulting cockerels produce better meat than red star cockerels? Are there books or literature on poultry genetics and breeding?

 

[tadkerson]

The cornish cross is the work of over 60 years of breeding and selecting. The companies that sell the birds have four different lines they use to produce today's cornish cross. Any book you would buy could not help you to produce such a bird.

I have crossed a buff orpington male with cornish cross hens. It produces a large bird.

Tim

 

[call ducks]

Also to the best of my knowledge theses crosses require grandparent lines. IE those four lines are bred (grandparents) to produce the parents and then those parents produce the cornish cross.

 

[SteeleFaithFarm]

Wow! I didn't know so much went into the CornishX. Next year I'm going to try raising some "Cornish roasters" from Murray mcmurray. I may raise some of the dark Cornish red star Crosses just to see the how they compare side by side. I'm not fond of the common health factors associated with the Cornish X. But, seeing is believing. I have a flock of pullets. Some are 14 weeks and some are 17 weeks old. The dark Cornish are younger but they have a much fuller breast compared to the other birds. You can not even feel their keel bone. I'm sure some people are not fans of cross breeding but there is something kind of excitement seeing what you get.

 

[call ducks]

IF you would like a fast growing meat bird with out heath issues look into Mistral Gris. Great meat bird fast growing, no leg issues or other issues assoaited with cornish crosses. Again 4 way cross

 

[nicalandia]

The cornish cross is the work of over 60 years of breeding and selecting. The companies that sell the birds have four different lines they use to produce today's cornish cross. Any book you would buy could not help you to produce such a bird.

I have crossed a buff orpington male with cornish cross hens. It produces a large bird.

Tim

that´s right... 60 years of breeding by guys that go to school and get paid to do just that...

Also to the best of my knowledge theses crosses require grandparent lines. IE those four lines are bred (grandparents) to produce the parents and then those parents produce the cornish cross.

Here in Nicaragua I´m able to get the parent stock(not the grand parent) I am able to pick them up at the local meat market, you can tell the difference between the end product(sold to anybody) and the sire parent line(smuggled out by workers) the parent lines are leaky whites, they look like this




you can see Barring on the leaking feathers when they get older.

 

[enel 1]

Its more than a four way cross even. These meat production birds (grand parent and parent lines) have been bred to the point of being an actual breed with pedigrees,they're genetics are patented AND pedigreed,with names like Avian48,and M77,there is over 50yrs of selective breeding and line breeding and billions of dollars spent on geneticists to come up with two distinct "true breeding" breeds to produce the so called Cornish cross broiler.Nicalandia,you are verrrrrry lucky to be able to get your hands on the parent line of these birds...I wonder how well eggs would ship and hatch if mailed from there to the states.

 

[nicalandia]

Its more than a four way cross even. These meat production birds (grand parent and parent lines) have been bred to the point of being an actual breed with pedigrees,they're genetics are patented AND pedigreed,with names like Avian48,and M77,there is over 50yrs of selective breeding and line breeding and billions of dollars spent on geneticists to come up with two distinct "true breeding" breeds to produce the so called Cornish cross broiler.Nicalandia,you are verrrrrry lucky to be able to get your hands on the parent line of these birds...I wonder how well eggs would ship and hatch if mailed from there to the states.

I think I´m lucky, but these people(smugglers) do it to earn an extra buck, the broiler company are not aware of this and if they are there is little they can do about it..


whats the difference between the Sire Line and the Dame line? while both birds grow very fast and can put on weight like normal broilers, the Dame line is focused on egg laying ability and amount of hens per scuare feet(there is always more hens on the breeding pens producing the end products) and the Sire Line is focused on Frame size..


how do Dame line achieves this? by using the sex linked dwarfism gene(dw). this gene reduces the size of the hen to about 30% but does not reduce the rate of egg laying, meaning the breeder can have more hens per square feet producing more eggs than none dwarf hens.. when this dwarf hens are mated to a rooster of the Sire Line, the F1s will have normal size(hens will be Dw+/- and roosters will be Dw+/dw) end product broilers

edit. I dont think I can ship eggs from Nicaragua to the U.S.A, maybe a breeding pair?

 

[SteeleFaithFarm]

I think this makes me kind of stay away from the Cornish X. I had no idea the genetics were so closely guarded. I just thought it was easier to buy the terminal cross instead of breeding your own. I find this stuff pretty interesting. Who controls the grandparent strains? Tyson and Purdue or some other group?

 

[Fred's Hens]

I think this makes me kind of stay away from the Cornish X. I had no idea the genetics were so closely guarded. I just thought it was easier to buy the terminal cross instead of breeding your own. I find this stuff pretty interesting. Who controls the grandparent strains? Tyson and Purdue or some other group?

Tetra is a large firm in eastern Europe. The ISA/Hendrix Poultry Genetics group has gobbled up a half dozen or more smaller outfits, whose names you'd likely know. Hyline is also big. There are a few more major players. Their home websites make very interesting reader, both on the layers and the meat birds.