What is a Cornish x?

[Kessel23]

I was wondering what a Cornish cross is, I know they are chickens but what makes them and why are they so different from other breeds? Why do they grow so unnaturally fast? I know the original cross was the Cornish and White Rock, or so I have been told, but that cross definitely does not create these birds. I was wondering this because I ordered 50 meat birds, 25 red rangers and 25 Cornish Roasters, the hatchery ran out of red rangers so they just sent me 50 white birds which I assume are some sort of Cornish cross.

My sister is a vegetarian and she wont eat commercially farmed meat but will eat the birds that I raise that are not Cornish crosses, she doesn't like how unnatural the Cornish crosses are and says there is no humane way to raise a bird that is doomed to suffer all its life, she also thinks that they are GMO. I got the cornish mainly for dog food but also my other family members will eat them, I wanted to get the red rangers so my sister could eat some but they ran out. I still do have lots of extra roosters that I hatched this year that will turn into food that my sister will eat and I hatched 17 bantams a few days ago, I am sure some of those are doomed to be roosters, and roosters means meat. I was just wondering what is up with the Cornish cross and why they are so weird, I will still raise them because they are good meat birds but I just never thought to ask about why they are so different from other chickens.

 

[Beer can]

Nothing wrong with Cornish X, they are not a gmo lol. They yes are a cross of Cornish and white rocks, but there is more to the equation than just the single cross. As a low cost feed to meat ratio they are the cheapest.
I don't particularly like them myself, so I raise other breeds and spend $$ for what I get out of them.

 

[Kessel23]

As a low cost feed to meat ratio they are the cheapest.

That is why they make good dog food.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Cornish X are supposedly a 4 way cross but I doubt anyone can tell you much about them.
Hatcheries are very secretive about them. You'll easier find out KFCs 11 herbs and spices or McDonald's recipe for their secret sauce then find the truth behind Cornish Xs.
The other mystery is how is your sister a vegetarian but eats chicken?
How's that work?

 

[Kessel23]

She only eats meat that is farmed humanely, so no commercially farmed animals. This is the first time I have raised meat birds in a few years or hatched chicks and butchered the roosters. In the past she was willing to eat the chickens that I raised and butchered because they got to run around and be happy for a few months before we ate them of something... She is also gluten free and lactose intolerant... It must suck to be forced not to eat gluten or dairy, I am not sure why she became a vegetarian on top of it, at least she did not become vegan. Well anyways she will eat chicken that I farm or friends farm, she also eats seafood and animals we hunt from the wild, so not really vegetarian, she just wont eat something unless she knows it had a good life, she has not eaten any meat for a year so far but that is gonna change this year because I have my "humanely" raised chickens. Something that I could never do because I like food and I am not about to eliminate half of my diet lol. I am not sure what you would call someone who will only eat happy dead meat, not sure if there's even a word for it. Her diet right now is pretty much just fruits, a small amount of vegetables, and then chicken and duck eggs and occasionally seafood but seafood just means salmon and shrimp to her.

I always assumed that there is something behind the fast growth rate, it was hard for me to believe that a few dual purpose breeds could cross to make these monster chickens, even if there was years of selective breeding.

 

[sylviethecochin]

I always assumed that there is something behind the fast growth rate, it was hard for me to believe that a few dual purpose breeds could cross to make these monster chickens, even if there was years of selective breeding.

All you need is one weird mutation; take a look at Belgian Blue cattle sometime.

 

[Kessel23]

Alright I will have to check it out

 

[BreanneRN]

Like commercial turkeys, the cornish cross have been selectively bred for very rapid growth/development and meat (muscle) production. And it works! But produces a bird that long term is not very viable, prone to health problems, and would never survive as a species long term. But, if you are going to market a bird by 12 weeks old, who really cares? Certainly not KFC, Popeyes, or Churchs or Costco... As a society, we want the "mostest for the leastest" and that is what they are. Long term, though, not as healthy for us as the way your sister is eating... But, not technically as bad as all that feedlot produced red meat. I guess I'll go google Belgian Blue Cattle, never heard of those...

 

[jeepgirl13]

All you need is one weird mutation; take a look at Belgian Blue cattle sometime.

Holy freaking frackers!!! Now I need to do reading and not just picture looking....