Cornish Thread

[Fat Daddy]

More White Cornish! I left one egg that I thought was too damaged to in the tray and it hatched just fine. This is the second straight time this year, that every egg I put in the hatcher has produced a chick..... This is sure to change but every time it happens, it makes me Smile! ;-)

 

[GreatBreeder]

I'm going to try to breed a dark Cornish to a barred Plymouth Rock. Any ideas? Also maybye a leg bar to a Cornish Rock, White Leghorn, RIR/ White Rock Cross, and Slow Grow Broilers. Maybye even a Cornish to a leg bar?

 

[Dave C]

Put my first batch of Cornish eggs In today, so fingers crossed.

They are laying very well this year and good sized eggs as well.
Probably 6 eggs each a week on average.

 

[Fat Daddy]

I'm going to try to breed a dark Cornish to a barred Plymouth Rock. Any ideas? Also maybye a leg bar to a Cornish Rock, White Leghorn, RIR/ White Rock Cross, and Slow Grow Broilers. Maybye even a Cornish to a leg bar?

Thats a lot crosses! You are gonna need a white lab coat!! From my experience, It depends a lot on the Dark Cornish you have. If the cornish are good, they are hard to beat..... I have tried lots of simple crosses. For the most part, I got a bird that was lankier, had the "Y" breast of a typical heritage breed, and skewed the bone to meat ratio... I always raise a few pure cornish along side what ever cross I try as a control. Its the only way you can really know if the cross is better that the original breed you're working with.... Good luck on your project.

 

[StephWind]

I'm going to try to breed a dark Cornish to a barred Plymouth Rock. Any ideas? Also maybye a leg bar to a Cornish Rock, White Leghorn, RIR/ White Rock Cross, and Slow Grow Broilers. Maybye even a Cornish to a leg bar?

I am planning on trying a number of crosses with my Dark Cornish as well. I plan to keep good records of the crosses and weights. The breeds that I plan on using include Delawares, Dorkings, Niederrheiner, and Chantecler.

 

[JRNash]

I've done the Dorking cross. Wasn't impressed. I've had the best luck with barred rocks

 

[StephWind]

I've done the Dorking cross. Wasn't impressed. I've had the best luck with barred rocks

Which Dorkings did you have? I don't have barred rocks, but I have some very nice pencilled rocks.

 

[JRNash]

Silver

 

[StephWind]

I've not had any of the silver-grey dorkings. I have rose comb colored chicks, and will wait to see how they mature before I decide if I want to try that cross. I will say that I am extremely impressed with my Delawares though! I think they will make an awesome cross with the Cornish.

 

[spangledcornish]

I'm going to try to breed a dark Cornish to a barred Plymouth Rock. Any ideas? Also maybye a leg bar to a Cornish Rock, White Leghorn, RIR/ White Rock Cross, and Slow Grow Broilers. Maybye even a Cornish to a leg bar?

I guess the question to ask is why do you want to cross? What is the intended end game?

Most of the hatchery type Cornish have plenty of egg laying ability and if you have a more show type you can keep track of females that tend to lay more eggs to increase that aspect as you keep birds for future breeders. As for accelerated growth rate, most hatchery types are about the same rate of growth except for the commercial broiler types. if you are trying to increase carcass mass and the amount of meat with out using commercial broiler genetics, crossing the Cornish will most likely not meet your expectations.

The next question you have to ask your self is what type of cross breeding SYSTEM do you intend to utilize. are these going to be terminal crosses, back crosses or breed the F1 to each other. if you breed the F1 back to each other you will have a % of the bird revert back the parent breeds.

I have read a lot of post regarding crossing ( and there are plenty of reason to cross) and don't want to sound negative on the subject, I just think that sometimes we get into the idea of fashioning our own crosses without a true end game to the point were we lose both uniformity in what we hatch and the heterosis that is the hallmark of crossbreeding.