multi strain meat bird breeding mix

[alaskanchickens]

Here's a hen I have I got by crossing a Freedom Ranger with a CornishX.

So with this cross do you notice you have to withhold feed like you do with the CornishX? I am wanting to start my own sustainable meat flock, the roosters last year just didn't have the meat we were wanting and took 20+ weeks to get to the size they did (they had scrawny little carcasses and WONT be doing that again!) What's the growth rate on these birds?

 

[Paulyp]

Yesterday I hatched a Red Ranger and a couple Cornish Rock X Dark Cornish chicks to add to my project flock... CR X DC chicks just look like Cornish Rocks at same age.. I will be keeping track of growth rates. I'm hoping to have better growth that duel purpose birds but, less than CR.

 

[eatwhatyougrow]

i will be interested in following this, keep us updated, i plan to start my project in a couple weeks

 

[Paulyp]

i will be interested in following this, keep us updated, i plan to start my project in a couple weeks

I surely will. I have been watching this thread and chiming in whenever I can. I am glad to find people like myself just trying to find a happy medium between meat birds and self sustaining birds.

 

[ladycat]

So with this cross do you notice you have to withhold feed like you do with the CornishX? I am wanting to start my own sustainable meat flock, the roosters last year just didn't have the meat we were wanting and took 20+ weeks to get to the size they did (they had scrawny little carcasses and WONT be doing that again!) What's the growth rate on these birds?

She grew at the same rate as a cornishX. Yes I restrict the feed for the broilers (Freedom Ranger, CornishX and the hen in the picture).

I'm not going to continue keeping pure broilers for long. They die when you look at them wrong. I'm going to be crossing them with my Marans so I can get meaty birds that won't be prone to heart attacks and crippled legs, and will be able to take the Texas heat. They'll grow a bit slower, but they should be more sustainable.

 

[enel 1]

That is sweet now breed her to a DC

 

[LindaB220]

Here's a hen I have I got by crossing a Freedom Ranger with a CornishX.

Wow, I'm loving her.

 

[alaskanchickens]

We're staying away from the CornishX because they are too sensitive to the cold we get here. I have BCM's in the incubator now, my grandfather swears they're the best tasting chicken EVER! My husband and I have talked about crossing a BCM and a dark Cornish but I recently stumbled across some Buff Cornish and was curious if these really are comparable in size to the darks, unfortunately they're at a hatchery. Anyone know anything about that breed or this particular cross? Thoughts?

 

[enel 1]

Go back a couple pages and look at my comparison of hatcher type and breeder type cornish. If you start with hatchery birds it will take you a long time working on just the hatchery birds to get them to a good size, my hatchery type are many generations removed from the original hatchery stock. So if you go and get a couple of hatchery birds to make a meat cross you'll be disappointed, I'm not saying don't do it or you can't do it, I'm just saying unless you have an understanding of breeding and want to spend the time trying to improve the hatchery stock, you're setting yourself up for disapoinment.

 

[alaskanchickens]

I totally agree. I was saying it was too bad they were from a hatchery. I made the mistake a couple years ago with hatchery birds and don't want to go through that again. Just wondering if a Buff Cornish is their creation or if there are small breeders out there doing that also.