Red Laced Cornish X and project talk (pics p. 8)

[Arielle]

Quote: How did you happen to use a silkie crossed with the cornish?

 

[kfacres]

I have two blue silkie hens for incubators, and ended up hatching a couple of their eggs last year. Mainly, I put them with my BLR cornish cock to test and see if he carried white, as I believe that blues do carry white in silkie deal.

Whether it worked or not- I did hatch a solid white chick from that test cross, and I also kept a black cross. I figure a half silkie, half cornish should be one mean, egg setting machine. which I have found to be true.

I have some 3/4 cornish, 1/4 silkie chicks hatched this spring that I think could be pretty dang good for egg setting fools with a little meat on their bones.

 

[Arielle]

AHh I see now-- the ultimate broodie machine.

 

[kfacres]

AHh I see now-- the ultimate broodie machine.

embarassing part is that my cornish put shame to the silkies for being broody on a more consistent basis. they plop down sooner, and usually go twice a year.

I'm about ready to get rid of the silkies.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Maybe it is the line of silkies? My impression is that they like to stay broodie . . . guess that is not always true. Twice a year makes for a good number of chicks.

 

[kfacres]

Maybe it is the line of silkies? My impression is that they like to stay broodie . . . guess that is not always true. Twice a year makes for a good number of chicks.

My silkies are just plain ole Cackle hatchery birds- nothing special- didn't feel a need to have anything good. Other than the 4- and two Ameraucana/ Cornish EE hens- there isn't any other non- cornish chicken on the place.

Last year was excellent- each silkie hatched out 3 batches during the year, and so did the two half silkies. For the most part, I used their eggs as fillers in either the 'bator or under a hen. There are times when I have 10 hens setting on eggs at once- and so from time to time I needed a filler egg or two.

This year- another story-- took forever to get the first one down, and each has only done once thus far. The 4th one is just now about half way through her batch. Shoot by this time last year, we were well into our 2nd round with the silkies, as the last round hatched out towards the end of Aug.

Maybe it's age, but you would think that after one really good year- they'd be even better as they mature. I know the egg laying will decrease with time- but you would think the motherhood would increase. Maybe they are mad at me after last year I only let them raise the babies for 2 weeks- and back into production they went!

 

[Arielle]

You were kinder than I was. I take the chicks as they hatch and give the hen more eggs. I kep feed and water 4 feet away or less, to encourage eating. I was having trouble hatching this year, so I have given the eggs to the broody hens. Only marans, muscovy and ameraucnas have gone broody-- all non hatchery stock. I do think hatcheries decrease the inclination to be broody. Afterall a broody hen does not get to keep adding to the gene pool, so the % broodiess is likely to decrease.

Maybe it is the weather. IDK.

I was looking at the cornish X today, the 10 week olds. Overall I'm not liking them. Too many have died. 3/ 15 died that I could not use. THat is costly.However I am thinking about crossing the 2 hens to something. But anything I have is nearly useless as a meat bird. As most are hatchery stock the frame is rather small; my marans are not particularly large either. the biggest birds are my crosses: black sexlink on a hatchery EE. Oddly she is larger than other EE I bought from a different source and her eggs are much bigger. ANd pink. THe roosters are barred rock x rir x EE and rather wide and stocky.

How long does a pure cornish take to get to good size?? I know they are slower growing, but do you keep numbers on the age when you like to butcher them for the most meat, when they have filled out?

 

[kfacres]

You were kinder than I was. I take the chicks as they hatch and give the hen more eggs. I kep feed and water 4 feet away or less, to encourage eating. I was having trouble hatching this year, so I have given the eggs to the broody hens. Only marans, muscovy and ameraucnas have gone broody-- all non hatchery stock. I do think hatcheries decrease the inclination to be broody. Afterall a broody hen does not get to keep adding to the gene pool, so the % broodiess is likely to decrease.

Maybe it is the weather. IDK.

I was looking at the cornish X today, the 10 week olds. Overall I'm not liking them. Too many have died. 3/ 15 died that I could not use. THat is costly.However I am thinking about crossing the 2 hens to something. But anything I have is nearly useless as a meat bird. As most are hatchery stock the frame is rather small; my marans are not particularly large either. the biggest birds are my crosses: black sexlink on a hatchery EE. Oddly she is larger than other EE I bought from a different source and her eggs are much bigger. ANd pink. THe roosters are barred rock x rir x EE and rather wide and stocky.

How long does a pure cornish take to get to good size?? I know they are slower growing, but do you keep numbers on the age when you like to butcher them for the most meat, when they have filled out?

All of my broodies pretty much set on eggs for 4 weeks-- I give them some junk eggs for about a week to make sure they are going to stay down- and then move them to a good location- and then give them real eggs. I find that after a month, these birds are pretty thin and in rough shape- and so I yank them off their first set. I don't know how thin they'll be after another batch of eggs.

My incubators have worked as good as anything this year- for some reason- my broodies can't hatch much. I've pretty much had about every hen on the place plop down this spring. I don't think broodiness is a problem this year.

I bought 10 CX chicks this spring- for the first time in many years. Wanted to compare them side by side with some cornish. I lost 2 of the 10 to various problems, but I think one was because we were gone.

I don't usually keep track of ages, just hatch months. I end up with everything in one pen pretty much, and from there sort what looks good enough to keep and kill the rest or sell them. I typically butcher, when I'm tired of feeding and looking at them. Last year we butchered June/ July/ Aug hatches in Dec; the cornish were just right, the cornish crossed onto something else were point of getting fat, and my parent's hatchery Farm king bag of bones were way too fat.

 

[Arielle]

"Last year we butchered June/ July/ Aug hatches in Dec; the cornish were just right, the cornish crossed onto something else were point of getting fat, and my parent's hatchery Farm king bag of bones were way too fat. "



Meaning, the bag of bones are useless; and the cornish crosed on to something else should be butchered sooner??? And the corninsh just keep putting on muscle at this age, and not fattening up yet. ( meaning a nice lean carcass)

DId I get it right??


I have noticed that the grocery store carcasses are TOOO fat and that is wasteful as even I cannot eat that much fat. I ate a lean turkey some months ago and that still had plenty of fat to it. I do like some fat, like marbling, in my meats.

 

[kfacres]

"Last year we butchered June/ July/ Aug hatches in Dec; the cornish were just right, the cornish crossed onto something else were point of getting fat, and my parent's hatchery Farm king bag of bones were way too fat. "



Meaning, the bag of bones are useless; and the cornish crosed on to something else should be butchered sooner??? And the corninsh just keep putting on muscle at this age, and not fattening up yet. ( meaning a nice lean carcass)

DId I get it right??


I have noticed that the grocery store carcasses are TOOO fat and that is wasteful as even I cannot eat that much fat. I ate a lean turkey some months ago and that still had plenty of fat to it. I do like some fat, like marbling, in my meats.

I would say you are correct.

I wouldn't say that DP Farm King deals were useless, even though they are in my eyes (I suppose they still have a little bit of meat (more than a quail) on their bones. But when you compare meat yield to fat and then to feed: gain-- they fall pretty short on the correct side of profit. No matter how you look at raising your own meat- it needs to be profitable. Profitable to some is nutrition, but profitable to me- is can I do without it, or must I have it. Chicken is something I can do without- so therefore it needs to be profitable for me to produce.

The Cornish crossed onto something else could have been butchered a little bit sooner- but in my mind they were just about right. They had some yellow fat on them, but not in excess.

Now the cornish- they were yet to lay any fat- and were still deveoping muscle. Matter of fact, I butchered a 2 year old rooster this summer that I found floating in a watertank-- and he didn't have much fat on him at all. Now, I'm sure he's still not 'growing' like the youngsters were-- but just goes to show that they are a muscular, lean breed of chicken.