Cornish Thread

[zzGypsy]

ok, it's probably a silly question, but I'm new to chickens (had mostly waterfowl)... what's LF?

and...

I love the look of the dark cornish, would love to have some. I've got great egg layers in my ducks, so I don't need a super-layer in the cornish, but would like to have enough hatchable eggs to get a sustainable meat flock going. I'm not interested in showing in particular, or in breeding to sell. from a cosmetic standpoint, I'm not fond of the very short-legged look. and I'm interested in full size, not bantams.

what do you recommend for a source for flock foundation candidates?

thanks!

 

[chickened]

A few of my DC, the pictures are from my phone sorry. Will get some with a better camera.

 

[big medicine]

Quote:
LF is large fowl, or standard, full sized as you called it.

 

[zzGypsy]

thank you! so many new acronyms to learn...

 

[kfacres]

Quote:
I don't reccomend cornish to you then... Most True, Good, cornish, cannot reproduce naturally. Most hatching rates are truly terrible.

cornish chickens are mostly made to show, and are made according to the SOP.

Cornish are extremely short legged.

cornish also take close to a year, or more; before they get mature enough to breed, lay, or butcher...

not to discourage you, but I don't think they fit the bill you are hunting.

Honestly, you are in the same boat as several other people on this board... check out the White laced red thread on the meat birds page... you'll find plenty of reading to interest you...

When I first got interested in cornish, I wanted them to use as a terminal sire on my standard ole run of the mill backyard chicken flock.. As I've grown my pure cornish flock, both in knowledge and numbers.. I found my true interest is not in the same anylonger. I'm now falling into the rest of the pool of cornish breeders who want to propagate what a true cornish should look like...

good luck.

on the other hand, hatchery sourced cornish might come closer to what you want... buut the real question is... ARE THEY REALLY CORNISH???

 

[zzGypsy]

Quote:
maybe 20 years ago I got a cornish roo as the extra chick in a hatchery order... I'd forgotten about him until I picked up this conversation. I was really pleased with that rooster, and I think he's characteristic of what I'm looking for ... he had the dark cornish coloring, the wide stance, heart-shaped body, the tight hard feathers, the heavy shanks, and that little bit of chest showing where the feathers split on his breast (something I recall reading was desirable in the breed). but he did not have the short legs, his legs were pretty much standard with my other chickens. I'd say he was the same height as my leghorn rooster, although he didn't look it at first glance because of the tight feathers. I recall he was the last of the birds to mature, but not much behind the others.

does that sounds like hatchery cornish? if so, it may be hatchery cornish I'm looking for.... even if the answer to your question is "maybe not"

 

[The Red Rooster]

Here's my Cornish Bantam! Her name is.... umm... I know your going to laught at me... Kabob (because shes so round).

 

[kfacres]

Quote:
maybe 20 years ago I got a cornish roo as the extra chick in a hatchery order... I'd forgotten about him until I picked up this conversation. I was really pleased with that rooster, and I think he's characteristic of what I'm looking for ... he had the dark cornish coloring, the wide stance, heart-shaped body, the tight hard feathers, the heavy shanks, and that little bit of chest showing where the feathers split on his breast (something I recall reading was desirable in the breed). but he did not have the short legs, his legs were pretty much standard with my other chickens. I'd say he was the same height as my leghorn rooster, although he didn't look it at first glance because of the tight feathers. I recall he was the last of the birds to mature, but not much behind the others.

does that sounds like hatchery cornish? if so, it may be hatchery cornish I'm looking for.... even if the answer to your question is "maybe not"

That sounds close to the type of hatchery Cornish I have seen, although the ones I have seen here quite recently, don't even have the heart shaped body.

I currently have 4 pullets, which trace back to hatchery stock, they are sired by a "HQ/ BQ" Dark roo. I also have some Cornish from Breeders... By know means do the hatchery decendants come close to being anything like the ideal Cornish. I doubt they will ever get the huge breast, stout/ short shank, or the heart shaped bodies... but maybe they will...

I saw some HQ DC hens a few weeks ago, they were identical body shaped to the rest of the pen... NHR, RIR, WR, etc. etc... ONly thing that kept them apart was a slight cornish head, and cornish coloring... which wasn't even that good...

Send me a PM or email... I might be able to direct you more towards the route you wish to go... I have some ideas and tricks up my sleeve...

 

[zzGypsy]

yay!
email sent

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
I lost an Aseel to an owl, and believe she was the one laying.

Getting a an occassional egg from a DC, but nothing's seperated to breeding pens. If they've been covered, it's by an Ameraucana; I've got three that are dancing for the girls. I haven't looked for fertile eggs, because no combination I was planning to use is old enough either to breed or lay. I may try to incubate a dozen of what I'm getting , if fertile, for EEs...................... but that's more because I want to hatch something than because I want the chicks.

My CX pullets should be laying in Oct/Nov, and I plan to set up breeding pens then. I'm running into the same problem this year as last; the males I want to use are not old enough to breed when the CX start laying. [I had several 2010 and very early 2011 cockerals I planned to use, but lost them all to blackflies last spring.]