First Run of Cornish Cross Meat Birds and Super Excited!

[JRNash]

This just reinforces my intent to build additional pens to segregate the different breeds. That's something I need to do anyway to keep track of my crosses.

 

[JRNash]

I panicked when I first started reading the literature, While I'm in no way a tree hugger,lol, I positively abhor the thought of any of my animals suffering. I can raise them,love them then eat them with no problem. It kills me to see something sick.

 

[JRNash]

Holm, I've got a white Jersey Giant, and two Dark Cornish roosters old enough (they think) to breed. I've also hatched out barred rocks,Dorkings,and Black Copper Marans.
Roosters from all of these breeds will be maintained for the breeding purposes until I find a cross I like. I won't be keeping any of the slow broiler rooster s back for breeding.

 

[JRNash]

The Dark Cornish x Dorking is supposed to be a real good cross

 

[JRNash]

I've been doing a lot of reading over historical meat strains and crosses. Many of the universities have tried different things. One of the studies was focused on hybrid vigor. They found that gains could be made by the introduction of new blood within the same breed. Too much line breeding in closed flocks. The biggest gains though we're between breeds with biggest differences.

 

[JRNash]

One cross involved white leghorns with white giants.The crosses,both ways,grew a lot faster than the pure breeds.total adult size was just a little under the pure bred JGs

 

[JRNash]

Nearly all the literature agrees that when using the Dark Cornish the best results were nearly always with the DC rooster over another breed.

 

[JRNash]

And just to make things interesting I've got a single male Asil

"Lucky" who is destined to have a Dark Cornish gal pal

 

[JRNash]

When I first googled the symptoms the first thing I saw was Mycoplasma,at with point I looked like a broiler minus his head. After more research I'm convinced that is NOT what they have. The pictures don't match. Its definitely an upper respiratory infection,and I'm using the recommended treatment. They also said quarantine is useless by the time,e symptoms appear. I should see improvements in 3 to 5 days

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Wow, that is some comb, and it is a single!

None of my hens have combs like that, Theirs are all real small.

I was talking to a CL breeder friend who also lives in Texas, and she thinks that the over big and floppy combs can develop in CLs if it's really really hot during their chick-hood/teen-hood comb development. (It can be a problem for Texas folks especially for the cockerels, in whom the floppy big combs are more of a problem for those who show, apparently). The other two pullets I have (which are also "more correct", for whatever that's worth) have smaller combs, though also a bit floppy - Paula's is totally out of control!!!! But then again, she's never been one for following rules. She actually tried to crow at 5 weeks.

- Ant Farm