Cornish Crosses

[Rhonda0115]

I purchased 17 Cornish Crosses as meat birds. All cockerels. They remind me of Jurassiac Park, how they gang up and literally 'hunt' the other chickens. Are these typically this mean? I have 13 "heavy breed" cockerels (also for meat) and they are no where as aggressive as the CCs.

I may have to re-think ordering more of these next year....

 

[cameronfarm]

Are these a commercial strain or heritage cross? We breed heritage crosses and I have never seen them be overly aggressive but the definitely do remind me of dinosaurs

 

[NikonD2xer]

I know what you mean by Jurassic Park. I have 26 cornishX from a hatchery and they aggressive to say the least with a never ending appetite. My hands get attacked when ever I reach in....feeding time or not.
I don't think i would want to fall down in there.....might get eaten.

A couple more weeks and I will be the one doing the eating.

 

[Rhonda0115]

Are these a commercial strain or heritage cross? We breed heritage crosses and I have never seen them be overly aggressive but the definitely do remind me of dinosaurs

commercial strain...from McMurray. Got them as part of a "Fry Pan Special". Definitely aggressive to other chickens...haven't been to me. But I'm amazed at how they 'hunt' in a pack.... 1 or 2 will get another chicken's attention and 3 more will pounce on it. If it runs away, others will attack it. ...and they do not seem to attack each other (they square off against each other like normal cockerels but not in the hunt situation). Weird....

 

[Rhonda0115]

I know what you mean by Jurassic Park. I have 26 cornishX from a hatchery and they aggressive to say the least with a never ending appetite. My hands get attacked when ever I reach in....feeding time or not.
I don't think i would want to fall down in there.....might get eaten.

A couple more weeks and I will be the one doing the eating.

Exactly!!!! At what age do you dress yours out? Mine will be 9 weeks this week but they don't seem to be putting on the weight. What should I be looking for in order to know it's time??

 

[carolinagirl58]

mine came from Mt. Healthy by way of Tractor supply. They are 5 weeks old now and honestly are big enough to butcher but I will hold off for a few more weeks. If yours are not putting on weight, are you sure they are cornish crosses? The first batch of "cornish crosses" got at tractor supply turned out to be Leghorns instead. My cornish have not shown any aggressions towards each other or me yet. The leghorns are a different story. They bloody each other on a regular basis. That started at just a week or two old.

 

[Rhonda0115]

mine came from Mt. Healthy by way of Tractor supply. They are 5 weeks old now and honestly are big enough to butcher but I will hold off for a few more weeks. If yours are not putting on weight, are you sure they are cornish crosses? The first batch of "cornish crosses" got at tractor supply turned out to be Leghorns instead. My cornish have not shown any aggressions towards each other or me yet. The leghorns are a different story. They bloody each other on a regular basis. That started at just a week or two old.

Hmm...I googled photos of Cornish Crosses and Leghorns. They look more like the Leghorns than the CCs (slim, tall and full wattle/comb combo). Now you have me wondering....

So I went back to my original order form and they said they were supposed to be CCs....I just emailed them with a photo...kind of curious what they say. Thanks for mentioning this....

If they are Leghorns...any clues on what I should be looking for in order to dress them ...or clues on weight?

 

[BCMaraniac]

commercial strain...from McMurray. Got them as part of a "Fry Pan Special". Definitely aggressive to other chickens...haven't been to me. But I'm amazed at how they 'hunt' in a pack.... 1 or 2 will get another chicken's attention and 3 more will pounce on it. If it runs away, others will attack it. ...and they do not seem to attack each other (they square off against each other like normal cockerels but not in the hunt situation). Weird....

Rhonda, You got White Leghorns.....here is the description of the "Fry Pan Special" from McMurray's website:

"Some people prefer a smaller, lighter bird for fryers and these will fill that bill. They are white feathered, yellow skinned, light breed cockerel chicks from either our White Leghorns. They are delicious fryers but will take longer to reach butchering size. They will not be as large as Cornish X Rock or Cornish Roasters. Many of our customers buy the Frying Pan Special for butchering and raise them with the pullets they order"

You definitely want to butcher them before they sexually mature if they are little roos. I would guess 12-14 weeks or so.

 

[Rhonda0115]

Rhonda, You got White Leghorns.....here is the description of the "Fry Pan Special" from McMurray's website:

"Some people prefer a smaller, lighter bird for fryers and these will fill that bill. They are white feathered, yellow skinned, light breed cockerel chicks from either our White Leghorns. They are delicious fryers but will take longer to reach butchering size. They will not be as large as Cornish X Rock or Cornish Roasters. Many of our customers buy the Frying Pan Special for butchering and raise them with the pullets they order"

You definitely want to butcher them before they sexually mature if they are little roos. I would guess 12-14 weeks or so.

Thank you for the advice. Definitely will re-think ordering these again though.

 

[jaylyne8]

I GOT 2 BATCHES OF CORNISH FROM TSC AND BOTH TIMES HALF WERE CORNISH THE OTHER HALF LEGHORNS... 1ST BATCH I GAVE LEGHORNS TO FRIEND AND THE 2ND BATCH I'M KEEPING.... ARE THESE THE SAME LEGHORNS THAT ARE THE EGG LAYER ONES?