It really doesn't matter if the breeders do tell us how they got these birds. It took years and years to do it.
I personally don't want the frankenbirds anymore, I don't think they're healthy food. I'm willing to sacrifice some efficiency in order to have healthier food.
If you don't mind not having the fastest growth and the biggest breasts, you can raise any number of breeds to do that. That chart that Chiknmama posted the link to, is a great place to start. Look at the ones that mature early, and have been named meat or dual purpose breeds. Look at he adult weights, find a couple of breeds that have roos over 6 lbs. at maturity. Cross your biggest roo of one with the biggest hen of the other, and see what happens. If you let them grow to between 8-14 weeks before you butcher, you'll most likely get some fairly decent birds. Though different from the Cornish X's, they'll be perfectly good, delicious, food, and tender if you don't let them get too old before you butcher. They'll be healthier and more vigorous than the Cornish X's. They won't be as big, or as fast growing. They'll forage a lot more, if you let them range, and that may bring feed costs down to where it's comparable to raising the Cornish X's, which, after, will eat you out of house and home for 8 weeks.
If your goal is simply good food for your own household, you might as well give it a try. Otherwise, stick to the hatchery chicks. You simply can't breed those yourself, unless you've got years and many thousands of $ to put into it.
The alternative is JM's Color Rangers, like Greyfield's mentioned. I haven't raised them yet myself, I plan to raise a batch in the spring, but I hear great things about them.
I hope this is at least somewhat helpful. We all tried!
I personally don't want the frankenbirds anymore, I don't think they're healthy food. I'm willing to sacrifice some efficiency in order to have healthier food.
If you don't mind not having the fastest growth and the biggest breasts, you can raise any number of breeds to do that. That chart that Chiknmama posted the link to, is a great place to start. Look at the ones that mature early, and have been named meat or dual purpose breeds. Look at he adult weights, find a couple of breeds that have roos over 6 lbs. at maturity. Cross your biggest roo of one with the biggest hen of the other, and see what happens. If you let them grow to between 8-14 weeks before you butcher, you'll most likely get some fairly decent birds. Though different from the Cornish X's, they'll be perfectly good, delicious, food, and tender if you don't let them get too old before you butcher. They'll be healthier and more vigorous than the Cornish X's. They won't be as big, or as fast growing. They'll forage a lot more, if you let them range, and that may bring feed costs down to where it's comparable to raising the Cornish X's, which, after, will eat you out of house and home for 8 weeks.
If your goal is simply good food for your own household, you might as well give it a try. Otherwise, stick to the hatchery chicks. You simply can't breed those yourself, unless you've got years and many thousands of $ to put into it.
The alternative is JM's Color Rangers, like Greyfield's mentioned. I haven't raised them yet myself, I plan to raise a batch in the spring, but I hear great things about them.
I hope this is at least somewhat helpful. We all tried!
