why are my Cornish X so healthy?

[workinman]

so the deal os ohis is my first time raising chickens I started with some egg layers and before they even started laying eggs jumped right into meat birds ( Cornish X) butcherd my first one yesterday (was very hard and took me all day) so I decided I'd better do more research that lead me to everyone talking about all these problems with this breed! Of which IvI' had none there relatively smart, very healthy , way bigger then the other ones I've seen and just in general had No problems at all they are 9 weeks now and I'm about ti finish the rest off ( if it will ever stop pouring rain) but now that I have seen all the threds about the "problems" they usually have I'm wounding if should try to keep 1 or 2 of them . can they lay eggs? Can they breed with eachother?
thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

 

[mixedbreeds]

You must be taking good care of them. I didn’t have any problems either I raised 30 lost 1 butchered most of them between 12 and 14 weeks they were around 9 10 pounds. I had another 5 hens I didn’t get around to till 20 week they were all laying eggs when I butchered them they were 12 to 16 pounds and very fat. One of them the biggest one wasn’t going to last much longer she was just to big each side of the boneless breast was 3 pounds of meat. That’s all I know haven’t raised them any longer. They are nice birds very very easy going. Good luck

 

[RUNuts]

Congratulations! We all strive for healthy birds. You did it the right way.

They are short lived due to genetics. Yes, people have kept them & bred them, but personal choice. In my mind, they serve their purpose. Other, longer lived birds, are better suited to lay eggs.

Best wishes with your decision.

 

[Ridgerunner]

At 9 weeks yours are still very young, they have a lot of growing to do. How you feed them has an effect on how fast they grow. Because something "usually" happens does not mean it will happen without any doubt 100% of each and every time. You may have been lucky so far. May you continue to be.

There are several threads on here where people do try to keep them for breeding or just to keep them as pets though I don't remember any lately. Most are disappointed with the results but some get a year or so out of the hens laying eggs. The more successful generally restrict feed to keep them from growing too big but some people just let them free range and forage. The males can get too big to breed so you may have to use artificial insemination to fertilize the eggs.

They are hybrids so they will not necessarily breed true, but the genetics are there for the chicks to be great meat birds. If you are successful in breeding them even the "runts" will be much better than any dual purpose bird. Some people use a dual purpose rooster over the CX hens to try to cut back the genetics for fast growth yet still get a really nice meat bird. There are all kinds of different ways you can approach this.

Some hens have to lay the eggs for the Cornish X to hatch and some roosters need to fertilize those eggs. Those parents have the generics to grow really big really fast, otherwise they could not give those genetics to their offspring. The commercial operations have that down to a science. They know how to house them and manipulate the lights for best effect. They not only know what to feed them but have techniques to defeat the feed bullies so all of them eat enough to remain healthy enough to produce good hatching eggs yet don't overeat and grow too big.

What you are talking about doing is possible but many people that try it are greatly disappointed. Good luck!

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us

I know folks who have managed to keep them alive for as long as three years and used them in their breeding stock. Good food, restricted protein, good grass and lots of exercise helps them live longer.

Also as an aside, as they get older they get harder to process. Make sure you let them rest for at least 24 hours before freezing. They'll be the best tasting chicken you've ever eaten. If you want help with processing I can point you to a few videos.

As for the health of the birds, mine have always been very healthy. But I start mine on 18% protein and keep them on it for 8 weeks. I also regulate their feed so they only get what they can consume in 45 minutes, twice per day. I measure on Sunday and that's what they get all week. Mine also get fresh grass once or twice a day. Although it's anecdotal, it seems that adding a heritage chick in with them helps them forage better and be more active.

Best of luck and again welcome.

 

[Northern.Ontario]

so the deal os ohis is my first time raising chickens I started with some egg layers and before they even started laying eggs jumped right into meat birds ( Cornish X) butcherd my first one yesterday (was very hard and took me all day) so I decided I'd better do more research that lead me to everyone talking about all these problems with this breed! Of which IvI' had none there relatively smart, very healthy , way bigger then the other ones I've seen and just in general had No problems at all they are 9 weeks now and I'm about ti finish the rest off ( if it will ever stop pouring rain) but now that I have seen all the threds about the "problems" they usually have I'm wounding if should try to keep 1 or 2 of them . can they lay eggs? Can they breed with eachother?
thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

You practice good animal husbandry. Those who give the horror stories do not have good animal husbandry practices. I wouldn't keep any longer than 12 weeks. They will lay eggs but much, much slower than a production layer. You could breed them, but again, not worth it because the offspring wont have desirable characteristics of the parent.