Minnesota!

Funny!

But seriously, why can't you call them a CX cross. That is what they are. That is the breed of the chicken, isn't it?


The argument from the person against calling them Cornish crosses was two fold I think. One it was semantics and the fact the Cornish crosses are a 'patented" cross of certain breeds to make what we buy called Cornish crosses.

The second is a little weirder in my opinion. The Cornish Cross parent stock are a mixture of several breeds bred in such a way to bring out recessive genes. I remember he talked extensively about the gene for dwarfism. If you look at a Cornish cross you can see the dwarfism in their short stubby legs and squat bodies. His contention was if I breed a Cornish cross to another Cornish cross I will not necessarily get the same recessive genes to manifest themselves. This could very well be true. If you put the recessive and dominant genes on a Punnett square you will get a different meshing of genes.

I understand this, however, in a very generic way they are still Cornish crosses in my mind. After both parents have the genetics of a Cornish cross, They can only pass on the genes they have, they cannot pass on say the genes of a Chanticleer or Rhode Island red. SO I say you can call them Cornish crosses, but to stop a ridiculous argument over the name of a mutt chick, I decided to call them frogs.....

Yes, I tried to take the higher road for once in my life, it happens so seldom I even impressed myself.
 
I kept them to see if I could breed them and get little CX's, I was told by someone on BYC that I am not allowed to call any chicks I might get CX's because that was a copyrighted name or breed or something. Oh, and they were not CX's. I never understood that. I mean if a Swede/German marries a Swede/German and has a kid it is of Swede/German heritage and not Russian. If the CX's have chicks I am sure not going to call them Rhode Island Reds.

Anyways to placate him, I decided to call any potential chicks Frogs. I am patiently awaiting Frog eggs as we speak.

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Ralphie: I have such a coop. I have 5 nesting boxes that are reachable by lifting a lid. Picture below shows the lid right below the window there on the right. It's big and heavy. If I had to do it over again the nest boxes would be inside under the window and a flap flat to the wall for access and cleaning out. This is a pain in the ....arse. Haha.... I collect eggs 2-3 times a day (down to the coop 3 times a day) 15-40 below I have cracked eggs.



Here's what I do if there's enough snow to combat the cold.


Aside from the nesting box problem you mentioned, I think you have a beautiful, true Minnesota coop! Thank you for your feedback on the open-floor/hardware cloth floor idea. That's the thing that keeps sitting in my mind is that it'd be really tough on the feet.
 
The argument from the person against calling them Cornish crosses was two fold I think. One it was semantics and the fact the Cornish crosses are a 'patented" cross of certain breeds to make what we buy called Cornish crosses.

The second is a little weirder in my opinion. The Cornish Cross parent stock are a mixture of several breeds bred in such a way to bring out recessive genes. I remember he talked extensively about the gene for dwarfism. If you look at a Cornish cross you can see the dwarfism in their short stubby legs and squat bodies. His contention was if I breed a Cornish cross to another Cornish cross I will not necessarily get the same recessive genes to manifest themselves. This could very well be true. If you put the recessive and dominant genes on a Punnett square you will get a different meshing of genes.

I understand this, however, in a very generic way they are still Cornish crosses in my mind. After both parents have the genetics of a Cornish cross, They can only pass on the genes they have, they cannot pass on say the genes of a Chanticleer or Rhode Island red. SO I say you can call them Cornish crosses, but to stop a ridiculous argument over the name of a mutt chick, I decided to call them frogs.....

Yes, I tried to take the higher road for once in my life, it happens so seldom I even impressed myself.
Sounds like another interweb expert.
The Cornish Rocks we receive from hatcheries ARE NOT a breed, they are a hybridized amalgamation of White Rocks and White Cornish that have been bred very selectively for decades. There is NOTHING about dwarfism in this mix. That is simply moronic. Come look at my LF Cornish, nothing dwarf about them, it is selective breeding for the shorter and stockier legs in them, and that is where the CRX get that trait from. It is my understanding that mating what you have, Ralph, will not produce the same as what you have there as parents. It is possible they will not naturally breed. I won't be definitive about that, because where there is a will there is often a way. The parent stock used by the hatcheries is their 'secret recipe'. As for the name of them, Meat Chickens is good enough for me. ;) I like the taste of them, I raise them, I have no qualms about doing so. I don't want to reproduce them personally, but if you want to do all that, go for it. I think it is cheaper to order what I need each year from Stromberg's. I have those Cornish that I do put some culls in my freezer, but their texture is definitely different, but the flavor does knock the CRX out of the park.
Frankenchicken, I don't think is trademarked or copyrighted, so that is another possibility of what to call them.
 
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Yep, the name itself, Cornish crosses, says mutts.

I have no idea if I can get them to breed and what, if any chicks I will get.

I do not care, I enjoy raising my mutts, I have no plans to ever show them, I will eat them and their eggs.

I would never call them frankenchickens, I love them too much. My brother just calls them mutants, he does not love them Like I do, he likes his silkies.

I have no idea about the dwarfism, nor do I care, they could be lepers and I would like them. They have sweet personalities. I was just repeating the arguments that guy made. I tend to agree the parent stock was selectively bred for sort stubby legs.

I am not sure if Bert can inseminate the pullets, but I have seen him try.


For me mutts are fun, I can breed them as I see fit, for my own needs and desires. I readily admit I do not know much about what traits pass trough from which parents to the young. I will know more as each generation comes along.


I actually think their is a difference in taste and/or texture in the meat from my first batch to my second. My first were raised fast and butchered at 40 days. I had loses due to ascites and leg problems. I had birds that were lazy and dirty, not like this batch.

There is a guy on here that is actually a geneticist, retired. I have talked to him many times on the phone and here. He agrees with my calling the babies Cornish Crosses, he says what else would you call them.....

He laughs when I said I am calling them "frogs".

I would guess, if I get the CX's to cross with other chickens, I will have to call them "toads".

All I can be sure of is I like my CX's and am excited to try and get them to breed. I am hoping I can keep them alive 2 years, but I know that is pushing
it.
 
I kept them to see if I could breed them and get little CX's, I was told by someone on BYC that I am not allowed to call any chicks I might get CX's because that was a copyrighted name or breed or something. Oh, and they were not CX's. I never understood that. I mean if a Swede/German marries a Swede/German and has a kid it is of Swede/German heritage and not Russian. If the CX's have chicks I am sure not going to call them Rhode Island Reds.

Anyways to placate him, I decided to call any potential chicks Frogs. I am patiently awaiting Frog eggs as we speak.
That is the same with ISA Browns. Actually the parent company for the development of the ISA Brown, ISA White and other hybrids is in the Netherlands, so if a person is doing backyard breeding or any breeding program they can't call their chicks from lets say a crossing of Rhode Island Reds and Rhode Island Whites ISA Browns, but the term Red Sex-Link is OK to use. Hope you have a successful hatching of your chick frogs. I am still considering crossing my RC RIRs with RC RIWs and getting RC RSLs.
 
Ralphie, interesting discussion regarding the CornishX birds. In fact the original Cornish were used in the U.S. in the creation of other now named breeds. Brother Wilfred used a Dark Cornish cock as one of the original birds to initiate his project to create the Chantecler, and I believe it was one of the breeds used to produce the Buckeye as well.
It really is about finding the right gene combination to develop something that is worthwhile to the person creating it.
 
I did not know that!! Interesting.. So crossing my CX's with a Chantecler would be retro breeding!!!!



We are having Red sex link rooster for supper, for us an excellent bird, small breast in relationship to legs, fairly light colored pin feathers and tasty as it comes!
 
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I did not know that!! Interesting.. So crossing my CX's with a Chantecler would be retro breeding!!!!



We are having Red sex link rooster for supper, for us an excellent bird, small breast in relationship to legs, fairly light colored pin feathers and tasty as it comes!

Just processed some RSL and RIW cockerels. Had way too many. I was thinking about processing some of the RIR cockerels but got a message that someone wants to buy them because they have been doing so well at the shows. Two Heritage RIR cockerels and a Heritage RIR pullet all got Champions at the recent shows so I guess the Reds are safe for now..
 

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