Success of breeding White Rock Hen and Cornish Roo??

[boilerjoe_96]

To make my own Cornish Cross? Obviously will not be a professional strain but will enough of the characteristics come through? I like the idea of sustainable meat production. That is not having to buy chicks every so often. When meat isn't needed just collect the eggs as normal, when some more meat is needed, collect the eggs incubate and your off....

Anyone try to breed their own?

 

[silkiechicken]

This is a good question, I'd like to try that.

 

[greyfields]

I will be trying this as well. I am just waiting for my hens to come into lay, then will be trying:

cornish roo x white rock hen
cornish roo x barred rock hen
cornish roo x sussex hen
barred rock roo x cornish hen
sussex roo x cornish hen

Now, I will technically get "cornish crosses" out of the first three... but you are not going to get the same birds you get through the mail from McMurray. Over many, many years, they have selected birds who showed aptitude towards eating and being sedentary. They have their own 'strain', where my F1 strains will pale in comparison.

However, over the course of four+ generations, I may be able to come up with a good bird. Or it may take longer, who knows. It's a side project. All I can recommend is keep excellent records and weight he offspring often.

I've never been happy with the mortality rate on the cornish crosses through the mail, so even if I never match the weight gain & size, I'm hoping I make the money back with better foraging birds and a lower mortality rate.

 

[Dustin Biery]

Well techincally speaking they are all cornish crosses. I true "Broiler" is a white rock/cornish cross. The only thing with the colored varieties is the pigment in the skin due to colored feathers.

 

[boilerjoe_96]

GreyField,

What color cornish Roo are you trying. I have looked at the hatcheries and haven't found a white cornish bird. I have found dark, and red laced, and another color(currently escapes me), but not white?

 

[greyfields]

I did see white old english available somewhere. I chose dark, simply because I don't require entirely white plumage for dressing.

It can get a little confusing. My mother and wife are both English. In England, they have "Indian Games" which we call Cornishes. But, some people in the US seem to call an "Old English" what to me looks entirely like an Indian Game, which should also be a cornish. What I'm really after is an Indian Game!

Oh, if I didn't post this earlier, I have been conversing with these people and am keen to try their birds. These crosses/strains were developed in the UK for better foraging broilers with less mortality issues:

www.freedomrangers.net

 

[greyfields]

This is annoying. If any of you have websites and have a rooster crowing whenever someone visits the page, you should have your ears stabbed with sharpened q-tips!!

Here is white Old English:

http://www.cacklehatchery.com/oldenglishgamepage.html

Still looking.

 

[Blisschick]

Quote:
The last time I went to their website, that scared the crap outta me!

My husband comes out of the office asking me why he's hearing chickens crowing!

 

[RainbowRanchFrm]

It is a great idea to sustainably breed your own broilers. I am confident that the pure-breed White English Cornish (standard) has been made very difficult to find since the Industrialized and commercialized poultry producers have cornered the industry.

You can still find the Dark, Standard Cornish and the Bantam varieties.

The challenge is that you are going to require the White, English Standard Cornish to cross with a Rockwell.

Last I checked a breeding set from England, was about $3,500.00 for a set of three and that did not include shipping to the U.S.A.

If you find a breeder in the U.S.A. please post info, this is a common inquiry online.

 

[kfacres]

read my byc page