Meat bird egg production

[Mosey2003]

Cornish Rock is a Cornish X. That's what the cross stands for, Cornish X Rock.

Cornish, the original, proper breed used way back, come in a few colors. White, Dark, and Red Laced are the ones I know of. White are very hard to find, from breeders. As with everything, you can order them from hatcheries, but they won't be the same.

 

[CoturnixComplex]

Cornish Rock is a Cornish X. That's what the cross stands for, Cornish X Rock.

Cornish, the original, proper breed used way back, come in a few colors. White, Dark, and Red Laced are the ones I know of. White are very hard to find, from breeders. As with everything, you can order them from hatcheries, but they won't be the same.

What they said!

 

[Mosey2003]

 

[archeryrob]

So if I buy a barred rock, delaware or cornish from Hoovers they could be small?

Hoovers has Barred Plymouth Rocks that say "WT: MALE 9.5 LBS. FEMALE 7.5 LBS" But I can't figure the weight at 12weeks when you might butcher them.
https://www.hoovershatchery.com/BarredRock.html

 

[CoturnixComplex]

So if I buy a barred rock, delaware or cornish from Hoovers they could be small?

Hoovers has Barred Plymouth Rocks that say "WT: MALE 9.5 LBS. FEMALE 7.5 LBS" But I can't figure the weight at 12weeks when you might butcher them.
https://www.hoovershatchery.com/BarredRock.html

I think the issue is generally not so much that they are small so much as the sizes and other traits vary wildly bird to bird and batch to batch with most hatcheries. You might just have to order a LOT more than you want to keep and cull aggressively for the best breeders. You might get 5/5 beefy, typey birds. Never can seem to predict.

I might start a post in the breed or hatchery sections seeking experiences with the specific breed(s) and hatchery! That'll probably tell you the most.

 

[Mosey2003]

So if I buy a barred rock, delaware or cornish from Hoovers they could be small?

Hoovers has Barred Plymouth Rocks that say "WT: MALE 9.5 LBS. FEMALE 7.5 LBS" But I can't figure the weight at 12weeks when you might butcher them.
https://www.hoovershatchery.com/BarredRock.html

Those are the weights listed in the Standard of Perfection for a Barred Rock.

I would be *shocked* if a hatchery bird actually attained those weights. Looking at the picture Hoover specifically is showing, it looks like they've mixed some Heritage/Standard bred rocks into their lines, but I'd still be surprised if they got that heavy.

If you wanted to try to weed through hatchery birds to pick out the meatiest ones to breed on, I'd order 100 or more straight run chicks. 200 would be better.

A separate thread asking specifically about the sizes of specific hatchery's specific breeds would indeed be a good idea. I could be mistaken and hatchery birds have gotten bigger and typier, but I wouldn't bank on it.

 

[Molpet]

@R2elk got some white laced red cornish at stromberg's he was happy with a few years ago
https://www.strombergschickens.com/product/White-Laced-Red-Cornish-Chicks/Meat-Producing-Chickens

 

[archeryrob]

If I wanted to get some "Heritage", as in good large stock, Barred Rocks where would anyone recommend be buying some to breed? I'd probably only get 4 -5 hens and 1 rooster to start off for filling the incubator. Or would is just be best to buy 30 unsexed from hoovers and pick the best rooster and 5 hens?

 

[Mosey2003]

If I wanted to get some "Heritage", as in good large stock, Barred Rocks where would anyone recommend be buying some to breed? I'd probably only get 4 -5 hens and 1 rooster to start off for filling the incubator. Or would is just be best to buy 30 unsexed from hoovers and pick the best rooster and 5 hens?

You can do either. They'd probably cost similar, honestly. I just bought a male from Kraig Shafer in Ohio that I'm really thrilled with so far. Do you have Facebook? There is a Plymouth Rock Fanciers group that has everybody in it. Jamie Duckworth is in NC I think and has excellent birds, I'd probably start with him, he's on FB too. If you really want to, I could find you his email address from the Rock Club.
Or I could try to ship you some eggs after I get my first sets in. I've never done it, but I know how it's supposed to be done.

 

[Mosey2003]

You know what? If you really think you'd like Barred Rocks, and you know what you're doing incubating shipped eggs and want to see the difference between heritage and hatchery in person, go ahead and order some chicks and I'll send you a couple dozen eggs in April for a bit more than shipping cost.

@archeryrob I'm gonna send you a private message. Since I'm the one pushing you to try heritage, I'll try to help ya out with it