What would you breed a Cornish x hen too?

[ShaylaFox]

Eeeeeh, from previous posts about Cornish X (can't remember from who, but I'm sure a search would be quick) it's not recommended to breed them. It's hard to get them to breeding age even with a slower growth rate gained by foraging and limited feed. If they do get to a breedable age it can be difficult for them to mate due to their oversized breasts. I remember reading a homesteading blog where someone got ONE Cornish X hen to live to be ten months via the methods you're planning and bred her to a standard breed, but most her eggs weren't viable and they only had a few hatch.

If you do give it the good ol' college try I would recommend breeding back to either the parent stock (white rock or white cornish) or maybe Delaware.

Good luck!

I do realize it’s going to be prettyhard!! This is more of a fun “experimen” see what happens kinda thing.
They have low hatching rates, often break eggs, experience heart attacks, and not to mention all the other difficulties you mentioned. I will definitely consider the breeds you mentioned.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Please keep us in the loop - I'm butchering my boys as soon as I have freezer space, but have two hens who have made it to 21 weeks (tomorrow) with decent legs on a partially restricted diet who free range (if somewhat grumpy about it) with the rest of the flock.

Due to COVID, I couldn't be real picky about the birds I started my flock with this Spring. Since we are talking Barnyard mixes anyways, it will be a Hoover Hatchery "Rainbow" who mostly resembles a poorly marked NH Red over my cX, to see if I can get anything useful out of it - and if not, they will joins the boys in the freezer. The current weight disparities are "significant". Any insights you publish here would be most helpful.

 

[speedy2020]

Any large white feather breed will do. If you something grow slower, go with Freedom Ranger.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Curious, what are their current weights?

 

[Jennc-123]

I'm thinking about 4 lbs, the rest that we butchered already barely made 6lbs. Our flock from spring hit around 8-9 at 8 weeks

 

[Jennc-123]

For a successful breeding project one should only use their best stock, male and females, what big companies do is feed ad libitum for 4 weeks, select the best stock for weight gain and then feed restrict them so they can attain breeding weight at 22 weeks of age. If you select Runts for breeding females you will not get the best genetics.

Mine is definitely an accidental situation. I don't care for their quick growth and will just be sticking to my dual purpose birds. There was something very odd about this entire group of Cornish, I believe from the excessive heat. They actually managed to waste an entire bag of food and I have no idea how as it was in a feeder to reduce waste . It was almost like the heat reduced their desire to eat, which is bizarre because they are pretty much just stomachs.

 

[ShaylaFox]

I don't have any experience with Cornish X but I'll offer some thoughts.

What do you mean by "improve leg quality"? More thigh and drumstick meat compared to breast meat or maybe that the legs don't break down as easily? In my opinion, the medical problems with legs breaking down are not due to any specific weakness in the body but is due to growth rate. Their skeleton's growth can't keep up with weight gain. The parent stock for the Cornish X have to live long enough to breed and lay eggs. That's mainly accomplished by restricting feed. Any genetic weakness in the skeleton that increases mortality in them would not be a good thing. I'd think about any dual purpose cross will be OK as far as skeletal strength.

As for foraging, several people on here report success in getting CX to forage. Some don't. I think that is more a matter of technique than breeding. Reading through different threads in this section you can find different techniques people use ti increase CX foraging. Some of those are how you feed or house them. One person likes to raise some dual purpose with them to show them how to forage.

I don't have any recommendations as to which breeds might increase the ratio of leg meat to breast meat. I just don't know enough. But if your goals are stronger legs and foraging, I think those are more technique than breeding. Any Dual Purpose breed would probably be OK for those goals.

Are you planning on butchering this cross or create your own line by breeding the offspring of the cross? That would influence my decision. People that do this say they have problems keeping the hens alive for more than one laying season. Even one laying season is a challenge but they do it. They don't lay tremendously well either, compared to most dual purpose breeds, maybe 150 eggs compared to over 200. If you are making this cross to eat you may be rising CX every year for breeding stock. Again, I'd think abut any dual purpose rooster would work. If you are going to try to breed offspring egg laying may be a criteria.

Do you skin or pluck? A white or buff colored bird gives you a prettier carcass if you pluck. A darker bird shows pin feathers much more and can be a pain to pluck, especially if you butcher them while going through a juvenile molt. If you skin that doesn't matter. I'd expect the first generation of this cross to be white, not an issue. There are people on here that can correct me in this if I'm wrong on this or anything else. But if you breed offspring the other colors and patterns will start to show up in the second generation. Should feather color be one of your criteria?

We all have our own different goals and criteria. We all have our personal preferences. They are often different. The people on this forum that have crossed CX are no different. Most or them are pretty good at telling you why they like the breeds they chose. Your choices should be based on your goals and preferences, not mine or anyone else's. I think you are in a good place to get some good information. Pay attention to how they manage them too. I think your chances of success depend more on how you manage them that what breed you choose.


Good luck!

I’m looking to improve leg structure by creating a slightly slower growing and bodied bird. Cornish x have a difficult time getting around even at a young age. I am considering an Orpington, they mature at a slower rate. I just don’t know if breeding them would result in smaller bodies.

I also hope to breed foraging instinct in them. I will definitely look into the threads on how people helped to encourage this more. Another goal is to make them more heat tolerant, which may just be wishful thinking and take too many generations.

I hope to create my own supply of meat birds. I could just eat my dual purpose breeds, but this will be an interesting challenge. I also feel like my RIR are worth more selling than eating.

I will skin them, feather color effect on the carcass won’t matter to me.

I do agree that managent will play the most critical role. If allowed, I have seen these birds lay in their poop rather than go through a run door and be outside. I will have to be hands on; it’s been reported by many it takes a while for them to learn to return to the coop: I also think being raised with foraging birds will encourage them.

 

[Compost King]

Any Rooster would do just fine

I would go with this. Take your best rooster and breed them. I have 2 CX Pullets (and one late blooming CX cockerel I misgendered at 3 and a half weeks) and I will be breeding them with a barred rock rooster before he goes to camp freezer. Behind him I have straight run Light Brahma chicks in the brooder and I will be crossing him with the CX. I recently got 2 Red Rangers from TSC (I was supposed to get 4 but the people there always grab the wrong chickens and being deaf its very hard for me to tell them they got the wrong bird, they just tell me something I can't hear and get mad at me and hand me the wrong the birds. But 2 of them are red rangers and if one is a male I am crossing that with the CX.

 

[nicalandia]

The way FCR and ADG are inherited it really does not matter the Rooster You are using, most dual purpose breeds can gain about 700-1000 grams live Weight at 8 weeks of age, compared to the 3000+ grams of cornishx. You can see That the Average Will be about 2000 grams that is about 4.5 pounds live Weight, but the F1s usually are harvested at 10 weeks and 6 pounds

 

[Ab1010]

I am going to purchase some Cornish x chicks for meat purposes. They will free range and be on a controlled diet. They won’t be permitted to gorge themselves on feed 24/7. I will keep a few hens for breeding purposes. If given the chance, what would you breed the hens to? I am considering a barred or rhode island rooster. Just here to hear others experiences and thoughts. My goal is to make them slight more efficient at foraging and to improve leg quality.

Deleware would be a good one to breed with. Theyer a great dual purpose breed and were once a very big part of amaerican meat production. Cornish cross just have such tiny heart for their big bodies. I know a lady that has two that lived but they have a really hard time even moving. Which I guess will make it easy for the roo lol