![]() But these Cornish Crosses were the laziest chicks I’ve ever seen. I almost always raise heavy breeds like Buff Orpingtons and Barred Rocks – dual-purpose breeds that lay lots of eggs and put on a lot of meat. My Experience So Far with Cornish CrossesĮven in the brooder, I could tell that these birds were different than the heritage breeds I was used to. They’re not bred to have a long and happy life. These animals are bred to gain weight fast and then be butchered. If you don’t keep them on restricted feed and enforce an exercise regimen, and if you let them live too much past 8-10 weeks, some can get so heavy that their legs will break. While this generally develops around 6-8 weeks of age (right at butcher time), it can develop as early as three weeks if they’re not kept on a diet and exercise regimen. It’s not uncommon for Cornish Crosses to develop a condition called water belly, a common symptom of pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure). They don’t forage well and have to be taught (and forced!) to eat grass and bugs and other chicken-y things.īecause they put on so much weight so fast, they develop health problems. These birds are bred to eat, poop, and gain weight. They can’t run from predators, so pastured systems almost always rely on chicken tractors for predator protection. ![]() While they do well in confinement, they don’t do well in a free range system, as they’re slow and bulky. And they don’t mind being confined in chicken houses.įor the homesteader or the backyard chickener, they have their flaws. As they don’t live as long, the farmer can save on food costs. Since they grow fast, a chicken farmer can run about 7 flocks each year in the same space, as opposed to only 2-3 batches of heritage breeds. If you buy chicken at the grocery store or eat it at a restaurant, it’s almost certainly a Cornish Cross they make up almost all of the chicken used by large-scale industrial poultry companies.įor the poultry industry, they’re a blessing. Having worked with heritage-breed birds and Cornish Cross birds, I can barely get my hand inside the abdominal cavity of a heritage bird (and I have small girly hands), whereas there’s plenty of room inside a Cornish Cross, so their bone structure is very different.Ĭornish Crosses will also grow to “butcher weight” (about 5-7 pounds live weight) within about 6-8 weeks, whereas heritage birds take 4-8 months (depending on the breed). This makes a bird that produces a lot more breast meat than your standard heritage breed. ![]() The legs are spread further apart, and the hipbones are wider. First, the breasts on this bird are HUGE – way bigger than you’ll see on a standard heritage-breed bird. You can notice a few things just by looking at this bird. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |