Home Bred Broilers - Pics

[greyfields]

I've been keeping the hens; but my guess is you can go one way or the other.

All broilers are hybrids, so yes your results will be random/chaotic. But, they are not single cross hybrids to begin with. Basically, for the last 50 years, they have taken teh best performing birds and linebred them. So today, we are dealing with hybrids with a very limited gene set from which variation can spring forth. It's why it appears that broilers can almost breed 'true', since there is just a scant genetic base to begin with.

You'll notice a few things as well looking through broiler catalogs. The "Cornish" and "Rock" they use look nothing like the breeds they are named after.

 

[Swamp Roo]

Thanks, that's what I thought. So I guess you only need another 50 yrs to get it down!

Swamp

 

[dancingbear]

Nice post. You did a good job with the results. I'm always on the look-out for this type of info. Those are some nice looking birds.

I don't expect the hens would have really high egg production, like a layer breed, but on average, how well do the broiler hens lay?

What F1 crosses did you try in the past?

Have you kept red bros or other range broilers to breed among themselves?

It'll be at least mid summer before I really get going on my breeding experiments, meanwhile, I have plenty to learn. Thanks for helping with that!

 

[greyfields]

I have crossed Dark Cornish with Barred Rock, Speckled Sussex, Black Sex Link and Freedom Ranger. The Freedom Ranger X was by far the largest and fastest growing.

Broilers will come into lay. They are large birds and slow, meaning they are half featherless becuase they get overbred. But, they can live long enough to lay eggs in a breeding pen for you.

 

[Bassleg]

greyfields how long have you had your Premier fence?
Do you move it around and is it ez to move?
Would you buy it again?

Thanks Bassleg

 

[greyfields]

I would only buy Premier.

 

[Acre of Blessings]

Nice looking birds Grey, But my question is this. Why not breed a cornish X hen with a cornish X roo? Wouldn't you get the same type of bird, My kids keep asking me why don't I keep a few broiler hens and a roo so we would have more later.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I know broilers will come into lay. I was wondering how well they lay. Not the Cornish X's, I had some of those hens I kept for quite awhile, I'm wondering about the color rangers, and some of your crosses, if you kept any of those hens.

I'll be crossing dark Cornish roo over Dorking, Delaware, Brahma, Australorp, and Buckeye. So this will take awhile, I still have to acquire some of them. I don't have a Cornish roo yet. I have a Dorking pullet, Australorp hens, and light Brahma hens. I'm thinking the best will be Delaware, Dorking, and maybe the Buckeye, but I could be surprised.

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
The commercially available Cornish Crosses are too severely gimped for longevity. Most die before reaching point-of-lay. I do have a neighbor who kept some until they began laying, mostly by not feeding them to cut back on their growth. But, all had died of natural causes by one year of age.

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
Just make sure you devise some trapnests so you can be 100% certain on what crosses you are getting. Even with the same sire/dame the offspring can appear different in color and conformation.

I've always found it hard to get hold of good looking, large Cornish. All the ones I've ever gotten from hatcheries have obviously been outcrossed with Leghorns to improve their laying (Cornish should not have a Leghorn tail, which they often do coming from commercial hatcheries).

If I were to be at all serious about my breeding (and let's be honest, it's cider, lamb, pork time of year and I'm not giving much thought to chickens) my next step would be to linebreed my Dark Cornish flock to upsize my sire. I saw at one show a long time ago which was immense. I'd love a big beast to use as a terminal sire.