My home 'Cornish Cross' eggs...

[greyfields]

Settin'_Pretty :

Did they have a good size to them and how long did it take them to grow to butcher age?

They were probably 9-10 weeks. They were definitely lighter than the Freedom Rangers which I took in at the same time by 1-2 lbs. I don't think I could sell them, yet. They looked a little thinner and just a bit 'different' shaped to a store bought chicken. So, until I improve on it, I'm just using them for my own consumption. They certainly were beefier than any cockrel I've raised for meat.​

 

[greyfields]

Quote:
That guy still won't tell me how he's getting Cobb broiler eggs. There are no private breeders of industrial meat chickens in the US that I've aware of (the genetics from Cobb, Vantree, Avigen, etc are all closely guarded). I'm afraid he's just bred Cornish Crosses to themselves and thinks they're still "Cornish Crosses". Maybe this isn't the case, but since he won't explain where the eggs have come from I think you ought expect the worst.

 

[Buster]

I am definitely thinking of getting a cornish rooster to put on some of my speckled sussex and rocks to see how things go. I understand they won't be like the genetic freaks that the hatcheries carry, but they may be a decent bird.

 

[greyfields]

I hope you can see my problem. Three of four distinctive looking chicks stemming from 2 different crosses. Any experts venture to guess? The crosses are all a Dark Cornish sire on either a Freedom Ranger (Gourmet Black, which is barred with a light neck) and Black Sex Link.

 

[leokat75]

I wonder if you ended up with a sex link situation. It will be interesting if it turns out that most pullets look one way as chicks and cockerels the other color scheme. You may have to do only one batch/cross at a time to determine which is from which cross.

 

[silkiechicken]

Boy, that looks like a rainbow variety there! That black one sure looks like it has taken after it's black sexlink mom! Either that it's freedom ranger dad! Looks like a fun project there.

 

[greyfields]

Yeah, the two black look sex-linked with the white dots on their head... but the father is dark, not red which would produce a sex linked offspring. So I'm thinking they must be males from the BSL's. I don't know why I think this. I just do.

The Gourmet Black rangers almost certainly had a White Cornish as the terminal sire, put on a hybrid mother with a Barred Rock being one of the contributors. At least that is my guess based on their appearance.

And yes, I knew this would happen breeding hybrids. But, honestly, I had just as hard a time telling apart my Dark Cornish X Sussex and X Rock and those are purebreds with a predictable F1 crossing.

Anyway, it's all about how good they taste! If I come up with something good, though, I hope I'll be able to repeat it.

 

[AussieSharon]

Quote:
That guy still won't tell me how he's getting Cobb broiler eggs. There are no private breeders of industrial meat chickens in the US that I've aware of (the genetics from Cobb, Vantree, Avigen, etc are all closely guarded). I'm afraid he's just bred Cornish Crosses to themselves and thinks they're still "Cornish Crosses". Maybe this isn't the case, but since he won't explain where the eggs have come from I think you ought expect the worst.

I'll let you know how it goes. I had 9 to hatch and I can say one thing... they eat like crazy. LOL