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I wasn't talking about trying to recreate the modern Cornish Cross, but instead about trying to breed birds that are good meat producers and capable of self-reproducing. I don't think it, like any breeding project, would be easy. What I was trying to say is that, based on what I've read here and elsewhere, I'm not sure that 'just like a Cornish X, but can reproduce' is really a workable goal, given the problems that those birds have. It seems to me that if you're going to be trying to breed birds anyway, that it would be simpler to get a good dual purpose bird and breed for meat production.
I did not mean to discourage you or to sound negative. A couple of years ago, I bought some Delaware hatching eggs thinking that since they were once used as broilers, I'd be able to do the same. Not so. Since then, I have done quite a bit of reading about the subject and come across many others who though that there would be a simple process to follow. I have come to a few conclusions:
1) Although many would like to be able to reproduce the fast growth of the Cornish Crosses, no backyard breeder has done it (or is bragging about it if they have). Even a more modest goal of butchering big birds at 12-16 weeks hasn't really been accomplished.
2) Traditional dual purpose breeds have been bred for generations without much regard for meat qualities. Since Cornish Crosses now dominate the meat market, any selective breeding of the tradition dual purpose breeds tends towards egg production, especially where hatcheries are concerned. If you read that the APA Standard for a bird includes an 8 pound weight for cockerels, you should not expect birds from a hatchery to come close to that weight.
3) Many people are raising dual purpose breeds that they butcher around six months (Buckeye and Brahma come to mind). I am told that these can be slow roasted and will be tender and flavorful, but that you probably wouldn't want to use a quick cooking method like frying.
4) Six months is very different from the 2 (Cornish Crosses) to 3 (Rangers) months required for the hybrid meat birds. It also takes more feed to produce a pound of meat on the slower growers. This can be offset some by pasturing the slow growers, but you will not come close to matching the feed conversion rate of the Cornish Crosses.
5) In order to produce a fast growing bird (something that will be harvested in the 12-16 week range), multiple lines will have to be kept for crossing (to take advantage of hybrid vigor). Keeping multiple lines is inefficient for the lone farmer (who hopes only to feed his own family). Even a selective breeding program for a single breed will require the production of many more chickens that a single family will have use for -- that is, you'd need a plan for selling your unwanted birds.
There are a variety of goals and objectives out there. Some people would simply like to be able to hatch their own meat birds for personal consumption without having to purchase chicks or eggs from a hatchery, the goal is along the lines of self-sufficiency. Some would like to be able to economically raise an alternative to the Cornish Cross for sale, whether it be out of interest in more "natural" birds than the commercial crosses (and the environment they and their breeder lines are kept in) or out of a desire not to be dependent. (Or, somewhere in between). There's something of a Catch-22 in that the lone farmer doesn't have a big enough operation to achieve the goals and if he expands to be big enough to achieve the goals he may have crossed the line into the commercial market that he had hoped to distance himself from.
I suspect the answer to the dilemma is a community based approach -- multiple small farmers working together towards a goal.
I wasn't talking about trying to recreate the modern Cornish Cross, but instead about trying to breed birds that are good meat producers and capable of self-reproducing. I don't think it, like any breeding project, would be easy. What I was trying to say is that, based on what I've read here and elsewhere, I'm not sure that 'just like a Cornish X, but can reproduce' is really a workable goal, given the problems that those birds have. It seems to me that if you're going to be trying to breed birds anyway, that it would be simpler to get a good dual purpose bird and breed for meat production.
I did not mean to discourage you or to sound negative. A couple of years ago, I bought some Delaware hatching eggs thinking that since they were once used as broilers, I'd be able to do the same. Not so. Since then, I have done quite a bit of reading about the subject and come across many others who though that there would be a simple process to follow. I have come to a few conclusions:
1) Although many would like to be able to reproduce the fast growth of the Cornish Crosses, no backyard breeder has done it (or is bragging about it if they have). Even a more modest goal of butchering big birds at 12-16 weeks hasn't really been accomplished.
2) Traditional dual purpose breeds have been bred for generations without much regard for meat qualities. Since Cornish Crosses now dominate the meat market, any selective breeding of the tradition dual purpose breeds tends towards egg production, especially where hatcheries are concerned. If you read that the APA Standard for a bird includes an 8 pound weight for cockerels, you should not expect birds from a hatchery to come close to that weight.
3) Many people are raising dual purpose breeds that they butcher around six months (Buckeye and Brahma come to mind). I am told that these can be slow roasted and will be tender and flavorful, but that you probably wouldn't want to use a quick cooking method like frying.
4) Six months is very different from the 2 (Cornish Crosses) to 3 (Rangers) months required for the hybrid meat birds. It also takes more feed to produce a pound of meat on the slower growers. This can be offset some by pasturing the slow growers, but you will not come close to matching the feed conversion rate of the Cornish Crosses.
5) In order to produce a fast growing bird (something that will be harvested in the 12-16 week range), multiple lines will have to be kept for crossing (to take advantage of hybrid vigor). Keeping multiple lines is inefficient for the lone farmer (who hopes only to feed his own family). Even a selective breeding program for a single breed will require the production of many more chickens that a single family will have use for -- that is, you'd need a plan for selling your unwanted birds.
There are a variety of goals and objectives out there. Some people would simply like to be able to hatch their own meat birds for personal consumption without having to purchase chicks or eggs from a hatchery, the goal is along the lines of self-sufficiency. Some would like to be able to economically raise an alternative to the Cornish Cross for sale, whether it be out of interest in more "natural" birds than the commercial crosses (and the environment they and their breeder lines are kept in) or out of a desire not to be dependent. (Or, somewhere in between). There's something of a Catch-22 in that the lone farmer doesn't have a big enough operation to achieve the goals and if he expands to be big enough to achieve the goals he may have crossed the line into the commercial market that he had hoped to distance himself from.
I suspect the answer to the dilemma is a community based approach -- multiple small farmers working together towards a goal.
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