Dark Cornish Meat Birds

[dancingbear]

Quote:
'Hybrid' isn't really the correct description, it is more a crossbred animal. A hybrid is a cross between two separate species, like a mule...one parent a horse, the other a donkey. Two breeds of chicken are not different species, just different types, so you don't get a hybrid, just a different looking chicken, like crossing two purebred dogs to make a mutt dog. It's not really a bad thing necessarily. It's how new breeds are made, and new colors introduced into an existing breed, or improvements in desired type can be achieved.

A hybrid is a cross between different species OR different varieties of the same species. Hybrid corn is corn crossed with other varieties of corn, not wheat or oats or some other completely different species. Hybrid tomatoes are crosses of different varieties of tomatoes. Any cross between varieties is a hybrid. The Cornish X's are hybrids, but so are my crosses between standard Cornish and Light Brahma, and any other mixed breed birds. Hybrids are not necessarily a bad thing thing. But to maintain genetic diversity, it's good to maintain some purebred stock, as well.

 

[mountainpridefarm]

Quote:
'Hybrid' isn't really the correct description, it is more a crossbred animal. A hybrid is a cross between two separate species, like a mule...one parent a horse, the other a donkey. Two breeds of chicken are not different species, just different types, so you don't get a hybrid, just a different looking chicken, like crossing two purebred dogs to make a mutt dog. It's not really a bad thing necessarily. It's how new breeds are made, and new colors introduced into an existing breed, or improvements in desired type can be achieved.

Hmm, maybe I am wrong...but I found this-

hy⋅brid –noun
1. the offspring of two animals or plants of different breeds, varieties, species, or genera, esp. as produced through human manipulation for specific genetic characteristics.

 

[Ariel301]

Well, all right. That's different than the definition I was taught.

 

[megcpat]

so....... is a cornish X a dark cornish rooster over a leghorn hen, or am I mistaken?

 

[Buster52]

Quote:
A white Cornish over a White Plymouth Rock. Not sure which gender is which.

And the parents aren't standards of either breed, but something different. The key lines are the four grandparent lines, as I understand it. If somebody is able to get some of the parent lines for Cornish X, they can produce Cornish X for the duration of the laying lives of those birds, but won't be able to continue afterward and receive the same results.

Crossing anything with a leghorn won't get you much of any kind of meat bird. Them things is scrawny.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Quote:
A white Cornish over a White Plymouth Rock. Not sure which gender is which.

And the parents aren't standards of either breed, but something different. The key lines are the four grandparent lines, as I understand it. If somebody is able to get some of the parent lines for Cornish X, they can produce Cornish X for the duration of the laying lives of those birds, but won't be able to continue afterward and receive the same results.

Crossing anything with a leghorn won't get you much of any kind of meat bird. Them things is scrawny.

 

[spangledcornish]

getting back to the original post

We breed exhibition type Standard Cornish, it is my experience that they are very slow growing completly maturing out at 2 years of age. they go through an odd skinny looking stage where the bone sructure is set first then they "fill in" . When selecting our breeders we want the females to weigh at leat 6.5 lb at a year and males to weigh around 8lbs in a year.

they will consume feed, but not nerly as fast as the commercial meat bird, however in the long run I believe this is a wash. this year to get a reall idea of feed savings by pasture we had a breeding goup in our coop/and run system and a group in a daily move pen on a grass clover pasture both groups were given feed ad lib. we saw about 1-2% differnce in the amount of feed given to the two groups. We do raise the youngsters on grass.

we have butchered out a few of our cornish and they have a very nice looking carcass that more closely resmbles the commercial type bird. they dont have the same long looking keel and sloped breast that some of the other "dual purpose" breed have

the eggs are small and very round as compared to other breeds. Our hens lay very well when they lay however it is a short laying season when compared to a some other breeds.

As stated before we have exhibition type cornish, so we bought adult birds from a breeder.

Here is a picture of one our breeding males.

please email if any of you want to talk exhibition type cornish pros and cons always will to share information.

P.S. Bantam cornish dress out a nice bird as well, our have dressed out at 1-3 pounds

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Look at the legs on those DC! When do they fill the legs out? Mine still have fairly normal looking legs.

 

[spangledcornish]

they will get a little thicker with age but leg structure or thickness is easy to pick up on when they are young and in the Gangly stage. Genetics is the biggest factor here.

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Here are my DC and they don't have those tree trunk legs. Will they ever get them? I think mine are about 15 weeks.