I'm no where near reading all the posts yet on this thread, but this does bring up the only concern I have about the Cross X. I'm wondering about their egg laying ability in a free range environment. I know, they are not bread for laying eggs, etc, and that they are usually processed before that age anyway, but I also really don't want to be constantly having to buy new chicks. Anyone free ranging them have any luck keeping a few around for laying and breeding? One of my biggest goals when I get my place will to be as self sustainable as possible. Having to keep ordering new chicks all the time would be counter productive to that goal.
~EDIT~ Ok, I read the rest of the post from page 8 - 15. Good info. So they can be let to breed. Good to know. I plan on trying more than several breeds. Until reading this thread, I had not considered the Cross X for all the negative stuff I've been reading about them. Now I will have to give them a try as well as the others. It's going to be interesting cross breeding some of the free range birds with them and seeing what comes out.