Cornish X's are getting a bad rap.

[Burbs]

I am at a loss as to why there are so many "horror" stories about the poor old Cornish X. I just wanted to post this to vent my frustrations and dispel some of the myths.

1. Cornish crosses will not forage.

Started out young on grass they will forage. Reducing the amount of food available helps to encourage them.

2. Cornish crosses are more susceptible to injury or disease.

With proper diet and shade they are no more susceptible than any other chicken. The only difference that I have noted is the chicks have a higher ratio that fail to thrive. The first three days after receiving chicks there tends to be about a 10% loss. I have yet to have leg problems, or any problems for that matter after three days. Now all of this goes out the window if you decide to keep them past there alloted time.

3. Cornish crosses are time consuming, requiring more attention than other breeds.

I am really surprised how often I hear this one. So here is my routine. Feed and water in the AM. Takes about five minutes. Feed and water in the PM. Move the tractor ahead 10 feet. Takes about 10 minutes. Just before dark I'll remove their feeder. Really not anything more than I do for my laying flock.

4. Cornish crosses stink.

Different feeds will produce more odor than others. As a general rule ground grains from a mill are less obnoxious than the extruded and crushed feeds. As a side note, I don't think 25 layers would smell too rosy if kept in a 10 X 6 tractor either.

5. It is more cost effective to hatch and raise your own.

The initial cost of the chicks is only a small percentage of the overall cost of raising meat birds. Feed is by far the largest, up wards of 80% if you process your own chickens. I can't imagine how maintaining breeding stock through the winter would offset the cost of chicks. The breeders have done all the work for you, why not take advantage?

Here is a short video of my current batch(shot by my daughter). Notice they are doing what all chickens do. Running, scratching, playing and generally being chicks. These are two weeks old and yes there is a useless "rare" chick in with them. But thats another rant all together.



Bottom line..........you can't get a better meat chicken for the money. They win hands down.

All you Cornish fans please add to this list.

 

[nicalandia]

I gess people love to hate them....

but can´t live without them...

they are the reason chicken meat is so inexpencive, the price would double if they used something like a Buff orp..

 

[cassie]

For the most part I agree with you. I love the Cornish X. Wouldn't consider raising anything else for meat. I have never understood why people say they are time consuming or smelly to raise. We don't free range ours because we don't have the facilities to do so. We raise ours in a box stall in the barn. At night we take up the feed and check the water. In the morning we put down the feed, give fresh water, check the bedding and add fresh shavings if needed. That's it. I have never noticed any bad odor but then I don't let the bedding get wet and stinky either. They will keel over though. We usually lose some. Not many, but a few. But then I like to raise them longer so they dress out between 11 and 13 or more pounds and I am sure that makes a difference. And I wouldn't dream of trying to raise them when the weather is over 100 degrees for days on end like it is during our summers. They are an unequaled meat bird. I love raising, cooking, and eating them. Don't much like plucking them though but we are getting better at it.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I have raised about 200--two separate years, 4 separate batches. Out of those I have lost 2 chicks, and only one mature chicken--two days before butcher date.

I pasture my birds in an electric poultry netting, with a movable shelter for them. I leave food out around the clock. the only time I have found they are stinky, is when they are in the brooder, but that goes for my other chickens too.

I have read that ppl say they taste bland / flavourless and watered down compared to dual purpose birds. That is not my experience, as I have had both my meat birds and my extra BR roos. I don't know where they come up with that thinking, but I don't argue with them I will continue to raise my own cornish crosses for as long as I am able.

They do not take alot of work. I enjoy raising mine, cooking mine and eating mine also. And I agree about the plucking, but we are looking at pluckers for the next batch.

 

[Lazy J Farms Feed & Hay]

The comment that simply blows me away is: "The eat too much feed, they cost too much".

Of course the speaker has no idea of the growth of the birds so they have no idea of just how efficient these birds are. There is simply ho commercial livestock with feed efficiency anywhere close to these birds.

Jim

 

[Sam208]

good post and i would like to say that i havent had the xrock yet but will have the first sept.

i was thinking that their cant be a chicken that bad are one would ever buy them to eat.


thanks sam

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
What makes you think the alternative is the Orpinton? Before the Cross, the standard meat bird was one of the Cornish varieties, at least as I understand it.

And the OP forgot...

6. Self sufficiency is more difficult because they don't breed true or naturally and you have to ship in chicks every season.

 

[nicalandia]

Quote:
What makes you think the alternative is the Orpinton? Before the Cross, the standard meat bird was one of the Cornish varieties, at least as I understand it.

I said BO, not thinking ing the broiler industry, as what the price of chicken meat would be if all the chicken meat we got where from back yard breeders..?

in those days they used to use barred rock x new nampshire, here is the link on how the Delaware was created, for a while they used to be the top Broilers in the country
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGD/Dels/Hoffmann.html


Quote:
they did that with a purpose, they expended lots of money and were not about to let your everyday joe do the same...
thats why I am doing what I am doing....my home grown broilers, but even me I have to use a 2 way cross and the broilers end product will not breed true for that matter...WHY?one of the reason they big guys do it....money savings...with smaller females you save on feed cost and raise egg production....LONG LIVE THE CORNISHX...

 

[Burbs]

Quote:
What makes you think the alternative is the Orpinton? Before the Cross, the standard meat bird was one of the Cornish varieties, at least as I understand it.

And the OP forgot...

6. Self sufficiency is more difficult because they don't breed true or naturally and you have to ship in chicks every season.

That is not a myth. That's a fact. I wasn't trying to dispel facts. My point is simply all of the bad hype, typically from people that have never raised the bird, is unwarranted.

 

[jaku]

Well, I have to say that I can't really agree with your post, but I agree with many of the negatives you listed, and DISPITE all that, they are great birds.

1)They are much more susceptible to injury and disease- you're going to have more losses every time. Most of my losses have come in weeks 5-8. I don't think I've EVER lost one in the first week.

2)I've found they require much more time than the layers- all I do for my layers is collect eggs, feed every other day, and give fresh water every few days. Meaties require multiple trips to the pens every day, which CANNOT be skipped.

3)They do stink more- all they do is poop all day. Sure, 25 layers wouldn't smell great, but I clean my layer coop about twice per season, and if I don't move my tractors twice per day, it's a filthy mess.

I raise a ton of the Cornish X's, and love it. They definitely don't deserve the bad rap they get- all of the possible negatives are easily managed and limited. But, I also don't want to give people false expectations either. I would put it like this- It's not that Cornish X's are so high maintenance, it's just that layers are so LOW maintenance, if you get them expecting them to be as easy as layers, you will be disappointed.