How long will Cornish chickens live?

[greyfields]

I don't think your comparison with turkeys is true at all. I have used and witnessed many people use Cornish roosters on all shapes, forms and sizes of hen. There is lead in their pencil, and they aren't afraid to use it. It's simply untrue to say they need to be AI'd; or even that the process is at all common.

My dark cornish are actually decent layers. They were the first to come in lay, sooner than my black sex links (which surprised me a lot). All I can say is the eggs are medium to large; so a bit on the smaller size. I've had two hens go broody already on me this year; which could be a breed trait or just my bad luck.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Yes, I've read in the past that these birds could have problems breeding and may have to be artificially inseminated. At the time I thought it was probably uncommon, but could be a problem with some birds.

I've been reading more and more about showing birds and a lot of the literature says that novice showmen/breeders should avoid choosing Cornish. They say that the birds that are bred to the standard will have problems breeding. Which led me to believe it was a more common problem...

 

[EweSheep]

I failed to SEE that....

I got a friend that had a Cornish hen that lived to be five years old before she died of "old age". She was a Dark Cornish.

 

[Kirizarry]

We have 2 Cornish cross roosters. They're about 15 months old now. One is definitely the ruler of the back yard, more like a mob boss, and the other one is pretty chill. Gotti has mated a few of the hens. While they are fairly large, they get around pretty well

 

[Aunt Angus]

We have 2 Cornish cross roosters. They're about 15 months old now. One is definitely the ruler of the back yard, more like a mob boss, and the other one is pretty chill. Gotti has mated a few of the hens. While they are fairly large, they get around pretty well

Just fYI - this thread is 15 years old. I am *so bad* about checking dates sometimes, and I've been on this site for years....