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

[Totalcolour]

From what I've seen of mine so far, the breeder sourced, show quality, DCs very well fill the bill as a self-sustaining meatbird. While almost any DP breed will appear to be outgrowing them, picking them up will quickly tell you that quality Cornish are carrying far more meat than the DPs at almost any age. I also think your statement about poor meat-to-bone ratio is most probably dead wrong, though I have yet to processs any of my breeder sourced Cornish. I have, however, slow cooked many other breeds and seperated the bones from the meat; the amount of meat left was disappointing. It's true the Cornish have thicker bones, especially the leg shanks [necessary to support the bulky bodies], but poultry bones don't weigh much. I suspiscion the Cornish will actually surpass anything other than a CX in a meat-to-bone comparison.

I was surprised too at how big my birds were at slaughter (These were hatchery birds). They didn't look that big, but I guess it's the hard feathering that makes them look smaller than the big fluffy-puffies.

The Cornish cockerels I cooked had quite a bit of meat on them compared with the others.

The new Breeder (Murray McMurray ) birds I just got are huge compared to other birds of the same or greater age. They are dark Cornish and although hatchery stock, I really am in love with them; to the point I am getting rid of a bunch of other birds I previously thought were nice. Just goes to show how fickle I am =D

(Keeping the Ameraucanas, definitely)

 

[janchilds]

use of that DC I gave you over the WLR pullets you bought from me. Care to explain?

Steve:
I want some!

Please, please, please, please!

 

[kfacres]

Why breed the DC to the WLR?? Didn't have a WLR? Wouldn't you want to keep the varieties separate? (Not judging... just asking?)

I really like the 1st picture too! Those are some beautiful birds!!

I have half of the WLR pullets under the DC cockeral, but they are not really WLR Cornish... but they are half Dark Cornish already. They have terrible lacing, and as they mature are getting quite a bit of peppering on their feathers. Most Cornish people would frown at them- but I do not care, they will serve my purpose quite well-- to tinker around with making a large meaty bird- as I've already said it, I could care less about color. I also have WLR pullets under the two Blue Laced Red cockerals- I'm hoping to make more BLR birds from them. I think the BLR color is really awesome-- my favorite... Now if I can get the build and meat of the Dark cockeral, into some birds of the BLR color pattern... I'd have the perfect bird for me, I think...

I'd also like to be able to generate some white bodied birds from these crosses. It is my understanding the WLR pattern, is a dominate white- and my two BLR cockerals have a high likelyhood of carring recessive white (66% chance). I'm hoping with enough chicks and generations; I can create some solid, or mostly white feathered Cornish... The white color is extremely hard to get ahold of, unless you have plenty of cash to spend- and like Steve will tell you- even then the birds will have faults.

 

[SteveH]

Steve:
I want some!

Please, please, please, please!

I only have 6, high quality DC females [though two more have great bodies, they have poor lacing, and are under the WC roo]. I have none laying now, and once they start I intend to incubate the bulk for my own flock; but after that I will auction any I get here at BYC.

 

[janchilds]

So are the WLR a cross between the DC and WC?

I have a dozen DC eggs in the bator now. Can't wait to see them. We've always had cornish crosses. Fingers crossed for a good hatch!! I'd love to get some WLRs too!

 

[kfacres]

So are the WLR a cross between the DC and WC?

I have a dozen DC eggs in the bator now. Can't wait to see them. We've always had cornish crosses. Fingers crossed for a good hatch!! I'd love to get some WLRs too!

It is my understanding they are not, but i guess they could have been several years ago. The white cornish is actually a dark cornish, masked over by white, and as a result mating of the two, would just yield dark cornish.

The WLR color, is, from the way I understand it, some of the harder to breed colors of Cornish- due to a lack of quality birds- and a tough time with the lacing; several strains of them have double lacing, or jubillee as it is called-- mine do- so do Steve's-- although like I already said, they are not pure WLR Cornish, but half DC.

 

[janchilds]

So white are actually a sport of DC?? There is no way to breed white other than to find a white, right? But if you find a good white with worthy traits breeding to DC will give you more whites, correct? (I understood white to be dominant.) So does that mean when breeding whites, it is possible to get the occasional DC?

Sorry for all the questions. I greatly appreciate the help though!

 

[kfacres]

So white are actually a sport of DC?? There is no way to breed white other than to find a white, right? But if you find a good white with worthy traits breeding to DC will give you more whites, correct? (I understood white to be dominant.) So does that mean when breeding whites, it is possible to get the occasional DC?

Sorry for all the questions. I greatly appreciate the help though!

no you are backwards I'm sure.. the white is recessive to the dark-- but genetically they are the same. If you mate a dark to a white, you get darks. The white is also recessive to any other color. The only way to have white, is pure chance, or starting with white. white is a color that masks all other colors- about this is the way with all white chickens.

Now, the WLR is dominate white- completely different genes than the Dark, or white. If you breed a WLR to a dark, you get WLR birds-- as are Steve's and mine- but they all show dark leakage. I doubt anyone has ever bred WLR to whites- whites are too rare.

The BLR reds that you see floating around, were all a creation of big medicine on here. The F1 generation- is recessive white due to their true white Cornish mothers. The BLR that Steve and I both have, are F2's-- Steve has some (2) whites which were crop out F2s. My birds and the rest of Steve's have a 2:1 chance of carrying the white gene recessively; since obviously they are not white according to basic punnet squares.

 

[SteveH]

So white are actually a sport of DC?? There is no way to breed white other than to find a white, right? But if you find a good white with worthy traits breeding to DC will give you more whites, correct? (I understood white to be dominant.) So does that mean when breeding whites, it is possible to get the occasional DC?

Sorry for all the questions. I greatly appreciate the help though!

WC are recessive white, and a result of introducing it through a recessive white Asil bred to Dark Cornish many years ago. Since it takes two copies of the gene to be expressed, crossing WC to DC produces all DC F1s. When you mate these F1s to each other 1/4 of the F2s are white, 1/4 are pure DCs, and 1/2 are DC carrying one copy of recessive white........................ but there's no way of determining [by their visible color] which DCs are pure and which carry white. Pure WLRCs carry two copies of dominate white, but patterning genes restrict the white to the band of "lace" on the end of each feather. Impure WLRs that carry only one copy of dominate white may have black "bleed" showing in the white areas because those areas are actually black covered by dominate white.

ETA: DCs are double laced, WLRs are single laced, and a red and white double laced is Jubilee [but not a rrecognized color in the large fowl Cornish].

 

[janchilds]

Thanks for all the great info.

I was trying to post before running into a meeting, I meant recessive for the white color. Sorry about that.