Of interest to CX breeding projects

[SteveH]

Here are links to a series of two videos of the breeding of commercial meaties . Not a great deal of detailed info , but I still found them both educating and entertaining . One thing I noted was the huge combs and wattles of the male line ; something I do not want on the chicks from my crosses .

 

[CoopCrazy]

Cool thanks for sharing

 

[jsmonasmith]

Thanks SteveH,Very interesting videos.

 

[chickensrfood]

Where do you think they get the large combs from? They look sort of like leghorn size.

 

[kooltex]

Well I'm confused. "They" say a cornish rock is a cross between Standard White Cornish and white rocks. Not a one of those breeder birds looked like pure breeds. Sure would like to know what they have bred there. Any ideas?

 

[Omniskies]

They aren't pure. These are two very specialized strains of birds that are crossed to make the Cornish-Cross. At this point the White Rocks and Cornish used may as well be their own separate breeds from what we traditionally think of.

 

[slc]

Quote:
At one time decades ago they began as a cross between a specialized cornish line and a specialized white rock line.

The cornishX we have now are the outcome of decades old scientifically designed four way hybrid cross. Highly secret and highly patented. Only three or four corporations monopolize the world's production of meat chickens. There were once more breeders but they have all combined and bought each other out and formed conglomerates so there are only 3 or 4 companies breeding the whole world supply now.

The main companies produce the grandparents (two male lines, two female lines). A hatchery company buys the next generation of birds "parent stock" (male line, female line). The hatchery produces the 3rd generation which are sold as chicks to folks like Tyson and us etc. The grandparents are secret to the hatchery so no hatchery can produce parent stock independently from the main company. Hatcheries sign contracts to keep the parent stock secret from the end user so we can't produce the same broilers independently either.

This system makes sure the patent holder gets a cut from every broiler produced (millions per year), and prevents anyone from being able to re-create the product at any stage.

The "terminal" generation is conveniently designed to live just long enough to reach slaughter weight . Raising to breeding age requires special care, namely starving them to control their growth, otherwise they will most likely become lame or die of heart or organ failure ie self destruct before they can be bred. They are meant to be a disposable animal so you have to keep going back to the hatchery and each time the main company gets paid again.

This system is also so very fragile and un-sustainable. Many places have moved away from the cornishX due to declining meat quality genetics and rising mortality rates as the 'breed' becomes more manipulated. France, for instance, has the Bresse and the Poulet Rouge heritage type broilers. While they are hybrids they are capable of being bred and are capable of thriving in conditions that cornishX just can't tolerate such as outdoor production. The cellular structure of the meat is also different. Said to be far superior to cornishX. One breed of Poulet Rouge broiler is named RedBRO which is also labeled as "Freedom Ranger" and available from JM Hatchery in the US. You will absolutely not find the Bresse outside of one small area of France, however, the California Bluefoot was created based on the Bresse and the closest thing you'll fund to it outside of France. The Redbro is considered medium growth and only requires one or two more weeks than the cornishx. You won't get as much consistency in later generations but you can keep behind some broilers and breed your own replacements if you want to be sustainable or free of the hatchery racket.

Some links to breeders of cornishX and others with their parent lines and combination choices.

http://www.hubbardbreeders.com/about/rand.php
http://www.sasso.fr/pastured-chickens.php?produit=certified-production&lg=en

 

[bunchmtnfarm]

hi the chickens in the videos are Cobb-Vantress breeds of chickens google the breed for more information

 

[slc]

Quote:
http://www.cobb-vantress.com/Products/Default.aspx

 

[SteveH]

Quote:
Nearly all of the strains of commercial meat birds here in the U.S. have been owned by Tyson Foods for some time now ; the same can be said of commercial hog strains . Tyson is world wide and there is very little difference between between the so-called hybrid meat strains developed for confinement feeding .