Looking for the best meat birds

[Nats Chickens]

Because if they don’t breed pure, you don’t have the species you chose at the beginning of this process. Why waste time trying to get a Cornish X to grow old enough to produce offspring (not easy) if the offspring is not a Cornish X? A different (much less meaty, albeit) breed will at least be the same From generation to generation and you can make more of them not having to buy a new flock every time you eat your birds.

ohhh...

 

[Doc7]

Here’s an internet photo of a Cornish cross vs another commonly available meat breed at the same age. So... there are cons to avoiding the genetic freak chicken.

 

[Kessel23]

@JiminyChristmas the reason you have had success breeding her is because she is a young CC hen bred to a actual breed. Try breeding her to another CC rooster, they are usually way to obese at that age to even mount a hen. Also, having a breeding flock of Cornish Cross is a ridiculous idea, the lifespan of a CC is extremely short and more than 50% will not make it to their first birth day unless given a restricted and well monitored diet. And I never said that CC hens don't lay, I said they rarely lay, they do rarely lay because most of them are dead before they are old enough to lay. I also never said that fertile eggs would not hatch I just said it is rare for them to be fertile and this is because the roosters are rarely able to mount the hens, you cheat out of that by using a different breed of rooster like you did, and we are talking about ONE breed here. All in all breeding a flock of Cornish cross is a ridiculous idea that is still out of the question, not only would they only be around for about a year but the majority of eggs would not be fertile and the offspring would have completely different qualities each generation.

 

[Kessel23]

Here’s an internet photo of a Cornish cross vs another commonly available meat breed at the same age. So... there are cons to avoiding the genetic freak chicken.

I already mentioned this con above. Also, it is not a fair comparison, the "genetic freak" is a broad breasted breed that grows faster than all other breeds.

 

[ChickenRelatedUserName]

Because if they don’t breed pure, you don’t have the species you chose at the beginning of this process. Why waste time trying to get a Cornish X to grow old enough to produce offspring (not easy) if the offspring is not a Cornish X? A different (much less meaty, albeit) breed will at least be the same From generation to generation and you can make more of them not having to buy a new flock every time you eat your birds.

This would have been my guess, but I wasn't sure. I'm sure all this info is out there, but I'll ask while the topic is hot.

Is the allure of a Cornish X that they grow quickly and produce eggs to breed more meat birds?

 

[Doc7]

This would have been my guess, but I wasn't sure. I'm sure all this info is out there, but I'll ask while the topic is hot.

Is the allure of a Cornish X that they grow quickly and produce eggs to breed more meat birds?

No. There is pretty much zero allure of a Cornish cross regarding eggs. The allure of a Cornish cross is that they are a massive amount of meat in as little as 9 weeks. The Cornish cross is a terminal breed , the result of breeding other breeds in generations above it, you can’t breed a Cornish X and make more Cornish X. Just like you can’t breed a Red Sexlink chicken to make baby Sexlink chicks, they will just be mutt breed chicks at that point.

 

[Doc7]

No. There is pretty much zero allure of a Cornish cross regarding eggs. The allure of a Cornish cross is that they are a massive amount of meat in as little as 9 weeks. The Cornish cross is a terminal breed , the result of breeding other breeds in generations above it, you can’t breed a Cornish X and make more Cornish X. Just like you can’t breed a Red Sexlink chicken to make baby Sexlink chicks, they will just be mutt breed chicks at that point.

This is the allure of a Cornish cross:

 

[Kessel23]

Cornish cross eggs are not used to produce more Cornish cross, as the name implies, they are a cross between different breeds. You get more Cornish cross by crossing the parent breeds not by breeding the Cornish cross. Cornish cross do not breed true and will never produce birds equal to them.

 

[ChickenRelatedUserName]

Hmm, I'll have to deep dive into this later when I have more time. Sorry for derailing the thread, carry on.

 

[JiminyChristmas]

Kessel, you're debating topics that I haven't crossed. You said the CX rarely live to a year and rarely lay eggs. That is false. The only point I have conveyed. Outcrossing is not sustainable but there are obvious reasons to persue. If for no other reason, it can produce meatier, faster growing birds that can hang with, and be just as active as any other member of the flock. Yet still produce much more meat in a shorter amount of time.