Cornish Rocks... should they...

[Bossroo]

You can't turn a Cornish X into a new species which a chuckar and quail each are through genetic segregation of evolution by time and space. This takes thausands of years. Most interspecies if able to interbreed at all will not produce viable offspring and if viable be sterile. Example: horse x donkey = mule . If one crosses a bovine such as an Angus Bull ( a beef breed) x Holstein cow ( a milk breed) = you will still get a bovine, the offspring will look vastly different than eather parent. Then if you breed their offspring together, they will not breed true to themselves eather. crossing a chicken x chicken = chicken. The only difference between a Cornish X and any other breed of chicken is in body structure and a very fast rate of growth. Since there are billions of Cornish X produced per year, and the offspring are fertile, however they do not breed true to themselves because they are a composit of chicken breeds and follow the laws of genetic inheritance. The Cornish X is a crossbred terminal cross and meant to efficiently convert feed to flesh and then be eaten, not to breed true as a specific breed of chicken is.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

I'm not literally calling them another species... I know a chicken is a chicken... but wouldn't you think the Cornish x is kinda in a class of it's own?

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Quote:
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.....

Not so much even another section... but just a understanding that they really aren't classified as your normal chicken. I think people should understand that before they compare them to a Dual Purpose...

 

[Bossroo]

Think of todays' chicken breed types as in a bell curve. On one end there is The Leghorn which is a Single Purpose chicken where the hen is meant to produce a huge quantity of eggs, while their male chicks are usually culled upon hatching. The Dual Purpose are the AVERAGE of chickendom. The hen is meant to produce an average amount of eggs and the extra roos to put an average amount of meat on the table in a reasonable amount of time. The Cornish X is on the other end of the extreme, it has ONE purpose and that is for both hens and roos to pack on a large amount of meat for the table as economically and as fast as possible. Billions of them are served annualy.

 

[TimG]

I think that even within the dual purpose average chickendom, there is great variety. The breeds that were once truly dual purpose have been breed for generations to lay eggs with little or no regard to meat qualities, so they can produce some small roosters that don't really put an average amount of meat on the table. Also in those dual purpose breeds, there are lines that put an above average amount of meat on the table. You might counter that this is the nature of averages, but I think that certain lines will tend to be above average and certain lines will tend to be below average -- you don't get a wide spectrum if you buy (or otherwise obtain) your dual purpose birds from a single source.

 

[slaghunter]

I have never raised any chicken for strictly meat. I currently have some New Hampshire reds (all hens) I have eaten a few and the taste was far superior to store bought.

So here is my question which may or may not be off topic. I know that any DP will grow slower, consume more feed and produce less meat than any meat x. Would it be feasible to let DP cockerels free range exclusively? I understand that you would probably have to feed them for the first 6-8 weeks but what about after that? **** Please don't write a bunch of nasty grams about not feeding my chickens - they get fed every day. Pasture fed cows get exactly that what ever is in the pasture. Chickens are domesticated. That means they were once wild - still are in some parts of the world. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience doing this. Would they get to an acceptable weight - say 2-4 pounds - before they got so old to be good for nothing but soup? Has anybody had noticeable results from selective breeding the larger hens and roosters of any DP breed to continue to increase the average weight of their flock?

I would really like to do some cornish x this fall but I also want to understand other possibilities. I think the OP said it right from the beginning. Both DP and cornish x have their place. Much like say salmon and bass. Both great fish but hardly interchangeable.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

You can free range them solely on pasture, but it has to have some woods close by or a very diverse pasture. They don't do well on just grass, they like the seeds that they find especially in the fall along with all of the insects. If you have too many in one area, there will not be enough for them to eat. However it's best to supplement their ranging with something, the bare minimum would be a coffee can of corn a day so they get plenty of carbs.

Chickens came form the Jungle Fowl... which in the Jungle... there are insects everywhere.... so for a chicken to to hungry in a jungle just wouldn't happen. There is year round supply of food for their offspring and themselves. With that said... they also become a tasty treat in the jungle too! Especially our bigger DP breeds that can't fly, most Jungle Fowl are quick, alert, and flighty.

Up here in the US there isn't a endless supply of food, up north you have harsh winters and down south you have extreme heat and drought. There are few places in the US that would allow total free range systems to thrive. I think that anywhere though during peak season, you could free range your extra roosters and they would do just fine... they would be on the thin side... but they would be ok. You would be surprised how their instincts kick in...

 

[TimG]

This might provide a good protein supplement.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

I would be scared to do that.... I wonder how many potential diseases you may pass on to the chickens. However I do admit, it seems like a neat idea. I use to process a lot of rabbits and had a compost pile for the furs and guts. I would layer the pile with straw than offal... straw than offal... and so on. I would leave it exposed for a day or two so the flies could lay their eggs.... as it speeded up decomposition. I would then cover the pile with a black tarp to keep the pile "hot" after the maggots would hatch, millions of them would try to escape only to hatch out into hell pretty much. My chickens leaned quickly that these little tasty treats were very plentiful and would visit that covered compost pile every morning and gobbled up everyone they seen.

I never had any problems with it, and the eggs tasted great... but the thought just freaks me out... I might have to give it a try.


Tim- have you ever done this?

 

[TimG]

No, I haven't tried it. Just happened to read it recently, thought it had great potential if done carefully, and this thread reminded me of it.