How to Breed Cornish x

[greyfields]

None of the online hatcheries breed their own meat chickens. They all come from Aviagen, Ross Breeders and Cobb-Vantress. So they are as much in the dark as we are.

This is typical of almost all big hatcheries. They don't breed themselves but buy hatching eggs from wholesale sources.

Here is the ATTRA publication if you want to know more than you need to know:

http://tinyurl.com/ypsvrn

 

[SweetLilRachy00]

I'm unable to view that file. My reader isn't working right.

So then if I mix a White Rock hen with a corning rooster from a hatchery, I won't have any luck?

 

[greyfields]

Update your PDF reader through Adobe.

Mixing a hatchery Cornish with a White Rock will give you a Cornish Cross, per se, in the most literal sense... it just won't be the same Cornish Cross you would get as a day old from a hatchery.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, they will be slightly larger but by no means like the production strains.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

You would have to do AI to get that breeding, cornish rock roos get too heavy and crippled to be able to breed by the time they are of age.

Greyfeilds I think you might be right, this place could ship in the eggs, but I know they have many barns and I have heard they do some themselves, or did years ago. Even still they may just ship in the breeding stock crosses. Anyway they are doing 10,000 a week right from egg to processed so huge place. All organic. Good to see it getting more common. I wonder if it's any better from the bird's point of view. Could still be crowded barns with no daylight.

 

[greyfields]

A Cornish Cross is not used in the creation of a Cornish Cross, being a hybrid. Your response there kind of implies that they do. A hybrid is not reb-bred as a hybrid to get the production strain.

My Cornish roo is pretty big but has no problems breeding in the slightest. These are chickens after all. They seem to live to @#$%.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

No, I know the hatcheries don't do it that way, the poster just asked if she could keep a cornish cross roo to breed her white rock hens.

A full cornish roo should have no problems, they are natural breeding heritage.

 

[skeeter]

Thanks Mr.G,
that was a great article thanks for posting the link,it explains alot

 

[user6895]

Is the cornish rooster you are talking about called white cornish bantam (cobs) and the hen is a white rock right?

Any Information would be great as it is time to order now.

Thanks Greg

 

[poultry3]

No.  Hybrids do not breed true.  You offspring will largely be random.


And, when we say a Cornish Rooster crossed with a White Rock Hen; realize those partent strains have been super selected for certain qualities... to the point that I imagine they look awfull different from a 'standard' cornish or plymouth rock.