Cornish Rocks... should they...

Brunty_Farms

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12 Years
Apr 29, 2007
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be considered a breed to their own? I see many people comparing them with other chickens.... and honestly it's funny. I mean it's seriously like raising chukar partridge and quail and comparing the two.

I understand... that a chicken is a chicken... but heritage type breeds don't get the credit they deserve when they are compared to a cornish x rock. Same goes with flavor on the cornish x rock, you can't compare them with a 16 week old heritage breed... it's not fair for the cornish x rocks in that aspect.

Both breeds excel with certain traits. I keep reading people bashing the other breed... on both sides. Like.... " you don't know real chicken until you eat a leghorn fryer" or "them' birds are so small I can't even get a meal out of them" I guess the sad part about it is the fact that people can't respect each others choices... and it ends up turning into a battle for the best eating chickens.... come on seriously?

Like I said many times before, and I will say it again. They both have their places in todays society both commercially and in backyard flocks. They have their places in the kitchen too... I for one have had fried chicken from multiple breeds. I LOVE the cornish rocks in just about any aspect of cooking, I'm a bit partial.... BUT I have to say.... they make lousy fryers. If you have fried chicken from someone that knows what they are doing with a well raised AND processed heritage breed chicken. It truly is amazing, if your able to do it, try a rooster special from a hatchery and wow what a experience you will have. They are very easy on the eye and at 14-16 weeks they make great frying chickens... my favorite hands down. I think the smaller bones play a big role in the frying chicken along with less meat as they seem to fry up better.... there is just so much flavor... you seem to embarrass yourself because you stuff your face full of fried chicken getting it all over your hands and cheeks. Have you ever tried to fry one of those big cornish x's? It can be done, but there is almost too much meat on the bone for frying and it's hard to get the meat next to the bone fully cooked. Unless you have those big fryers like KFC it's hard to do... which is one reason why I like the young dp roosters.

But when it comes to grilling I prefer the meatier parts... or beer canned chicken... and the cornish x fits the bill to a T. My first experience with cornish x's were "beer butt chicken" OMG it was awesome... we injected it with cajun and butter and some other stuff... what made it neat was the fact that I raised it myself.... and processed it myself. I just couldn't see one of those leghorns sitting on a beer can on the grill... LOL... i would probably laugh.

I guess the thing is, you have to appreciate what both breeds bring to the table... both bad and good. Also you have to give respect to the people that are raising them... what gives you the right to tell them that the chickens they are raising are no good? There is economics that come into play that many people forget. For some it's not about being 100% sustainable in hatching their own chicks. All they want is to raise 50 Cornish Rocks for their family... most people here that do this, have a job and have kids. SO coming home every day to feed and water chickens.... is not easy... and to be frank.... I wouldn't call it lazy.

So... what do you think... should we petition to call Cornish x the Franken Chicken of it's day? LOL... I would like to hear the pros and cons of each breed so people can see positives from both. Heritage Poultry vs... Cornish x's. Taste wise??? How were they cooked? Or even why you chose the breed that you chose... certain traits? I think that this could be helpful for people wanting to get started in meat chickens.... either heritage or cornish x's.... ONE RULE.... be civil....
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I love the big cornish crosses for roasting and baking. I have BO's for eggs & brooding. Would love to have some young roosters to fry too.
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BO's for Buff Orpingtons? Those are my favorite frying chickens... the white skin... nice tender meat... yum. If I was you I would raise a few extra cockerals to eat....
 
In my opinion, Cornish Crosses (and Colored Ranges and their variety of names) should not be considered breeds because they do not fit a common requirement of a breed, namely breeding true. It's a semantics thing for me.

I think that anyone who is going to raise chickens for the table and does not consider the Cornish Cross is making a mistake. Even if they choose a different route, the Cornish Crosses should at least be considered.

There are lots of goals or objectives that might lead someone to eat the chickens they raise (or to raise chickens for sale of meat). Considerations might be economic, environmental, nutritional, sustainability, self-sufficiency, and probably a host of others, or some combination of those. Even with identical considerations, two people might choose different answers that are right for them. The contentiousness that often arises here is generally a case of either insufficient information in the question -- "What's the best meat bird?" does not prioritize the considerations and will lead to a variety of valid answers, none of which will be right for everyone -- or a case of mistaking personal preferences for universal truth.
 
First off, i agree with all that you said Jeff. As far as the Cornish being considered a breed, I say no. I say this because it is my understanding, broiler strains are constantly being genetically tweeked to perform better. I don't know how you can set a standard on a moving target.

As far as Cornish vs Heritage, my family and I are beginning to like each equally. I would agree BO's are the best tasting dual purpose, but take at least 24 weeks to get to size I like. The leg quarters are fabulous. With having both Cornishes and extra roos in the freezer, it is nice to have a choice, depending on what we are making or what you're hungry for. I respect the Cornish for what it is, a fast growing, great feed conversion, and tender juicy meat. Dual purpose, takes at least twice as long to get less meat, go thru more feed, but meat has more texture and flavor. Wow, when you look at it like this, it really doesn't make sense to do the dual purpose, but yet I think they are worth the extra feed and time.

At the end of the day, it is up to the individuals expectations, needs, and preference. You're right Jeff, it shouldn't turn into a debate everytime someone asks the over used question - "Dual Purpose or Cornish?". Everyone who can, should try both and decide for themselves which is better. I am amazed evertime at the end of a batch Cornishes about how much meat you can get in such a short time. As well, I am equally please when I bite into a leg quarter of super dark meat from a BO or a young Buckeye roo.

Great topic Jeff.
 
I am working on Del's as a dual purpose. Now I kind of wish I had went with my initial instinct to get Buff Orp's, but I love my Del's. The whole argument seems silly to me. It's like picking out someone else's clothes for them and expecting them to be happy about your decision to be so intrusive. I want to get some Cornish just to know for myself what the differences are and which I prefer. I will always have my dual purpose birds for eggs and sustainability, but I may like the Cornish for meat as well. I don't like the genetic questionability, but the whole idea is to produce meal for my family, so I figure, we may as well TRY it at the VERY LEAST!
 
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I should maybe rephrase that... I don't mean a breed as in chicken breed... I mean in like a whole other species. In real sense I guess just among BYC members. That cornish x kind of stand alone as far as a species. The example I gave was chucker and quail... You have chickens... than you have cornish rocks... To totally different things in my opinion. They almost don't even resemble chickens.

You see what I'm saying? I agree that they shouldn't be a breed as they are in reality just a mutt chicken.
 
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The more I think about it,....... I'm not sure. I guess all breeds are being tweeked by breeders, which is the same thing. :dunno

Over time you could develop your own breed.... if you could prove that they bred true. May take 5 years or so to get something that is sufficient enough.
 
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I should maybe rephrase that... I don't mean a breed as in chicken breed... I mean in like a whole other species. In real sense I guess just among BYC members. That cornish x kind of stand alone as far as a species. The example I gave was chucker and quail... You have chickens... than you have cornish rocks... To totally different things in my opinion. They almost don't even resemble chickens.

You see what I'm saying? I agree that they shouldn't be a breed as they are in reality just a mutt chicken.

Oh, now I see what you're saying. If they did start a Cornish X section, it would change things in the meat bird section. Actually, it may be a really good idea to start their own section. It would be neat for a GFM to do a poll on this. Question being, "should the Cornish X have it's own section?" Maybe someone will. So, yes I think they should be considered as something like chukar, quail, ect.....
 

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