How do I keep my own Broiler Chicken Flock through breeding?

[RooandherRooster]

Hi everybody!
My family is starting to get into raising our own birds for the meat, but we are going to have to buy them every time and I was hoping there was a way to slow down their growth long enough to hatch chicks. Or if that would even give me the Cornish Rock birds we need for meat. But I think I read that they're crossed between a Rock hen and a Cornish Rooster. If that is the case, how do I keep the rooster alive long enough and not let him break my hen? I know to not feed them all the time or at night, which slows them down tremendously, but is there any tricks to it?
Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

 

[keesmom]

Modern Cornish X are no longer the product of a simple cross of 2 breeds. They are a result of a highly specialized, much researched, very secret 4 way cross. You could produce your own fast growing meat bird but nothing will compare to the fast growth and feed conversion of a Cornish X.

This thread may give you some insight on how to develop your own meat crosses.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/toad-raising.1152440/

 

[Ridgerunner]

I was hoping there was a way to slow down their growth long enough to hatch chicks.

These show how the professionals raise them but it does not give a lot of the details. The way to limit the growth is in what you feed them and how much. Those details are missing. Still these might be interesting.

Or if that would even give me the Cornish Rock birds we need for meat. But I think I read that they're crossed between a Rock hen and a Cornish Rooster.

When the Cornish Rocks were developed in the middle of the last century, they started out as a cross between true Cornish, certain strains of White Rock, and possibly some other breeds. Through generations of selective breeding they developed a superior meat bird. That was 70 years ago. Since then they have gone through a lot more selective breeding. The original Cornish Cross meat birds were never just a simple cross between breeds and they are even further away today.

The Cornish Cross are a hybrid cross and as hybrids will not breed true. However, all sets of parents and grandparents have the genetics for good meat production. If you manage to cross two Cornish Cross you will still get a meat bird that has all the characteristics of the Cornish Cross, just maybe not quite as intense. So yes, if you can get offspring they will be great meat birds.

If that is the case, how do I keep the rooster alive long enough and not let him break my hen? I know to not feed them all the time or at night, which slows them down tremendously, but is there any tricks to it?

There are tricks to it, or maybe a better way of saying it, 70 years of learning how to do it. There are several threads in the Meat Birds section of this forum where people have tried, practically all of them have been disappointed. It is not an easy thing to do.

There is no way you can beat the efficiency of the Cornish Cross meat birds in "feed to meat" conversion. Unfortunately that means you have to buy chicks. There are some advantages for some people to buy a bunch of chicks and two months later have a freezer full of meat. That way they don't have to fool with chickens year around. But many of us prefer other ways.

You can raise Rangers, they are another meat bird that grows slower than the Cornish Cross but you still run into the same issues, it just takes longer for the issues to show up, including the difficulty in breeding them.

Many of us raise dual purpose breeds for meat. The feed to meat conversion ratio is not real good, they grow much slower, and they never get as big as the Cornish Cross. Because they grow so much slower they are butchered at a greater age so you are limited in how you can cook them and not get really tough meat. The advantage though is that we can breed out own. Each of us are unique with our own goals and ways to do things.

Some people have tried to cross Cornish Cross or Rangers with dual purpose chickens to get a chicken better for meat than dual purpose chickens. They cannot match the Cornish Cross production but they are better than straight dual purpose. Again, this is not real easy but some people have had more success than trying to use just Cornish Cross or just Rangers. I'll give you link to a thread that has some good information.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/crossing-my-red-ranger-hens.1281099/

 

[Compost King]

You can slow down their growth through feed rationing and foraging encouragement, some posted a link to Toad Raising where that is explained if you take the time to find the posts. There are other Meat Hybrids that are a bit slower and I have had success putting a heritage Rooster over a Red Ranger Hen (any of the freedom ranger types will work) . They end up being slightly slower growing than the Red Rangers however still good enough for backyard meat raising. I am even working on putting heritage Roosters over the offspring to where they are just 1/4 Red Ranger(meat bird). Chicks are still young but they seem to be developing fairly rapidly so I am find this to be my Sustainable solution. I may still need to buy a new Free Ranging type of meat bird every 3 years but I prefer that to buying CX every time I want to raise meat birds.