Can anyone tell me which two breeds of chickens I would cross to produce these great meat birds? I have a small flock of hens for eggs and would like to start raising a second flock for meat. I want to order the two breeds of chicks I need and keep the best for breeding and then incubate 10 or 12 eggs at a time to raise for meat. I'm sure it would be easier to just order the meat birds in the first place but brooding space is limited. My coops and sheds are not heated and have no electricity so I brood all chicks in my spare bathroom. What type of incubator would be best for 10 or 12 eggs? Any information or advise would be very helpfull. Has anyone else tried this with any success?

Spike: The cross that you are talking about is a cross using White Cornish roosters on White Rock hens. You can order them from Murray McMurray Hatchery in Webster City, Iowa and probably many others. Good luck..

Mr. anonymous, would the strain be any different if the genders were reversed,[ White Rock Rooster on White Cornish hens] Just thinking out loud. Val

Val: Theoretically you would have Rock/Cornish as the males are always named first in the cross. Try it if you have them. They should be the same if not very similar. Good luck.

They would be close but will not be the same as the cornish cross produced in the correct order. However it does not hurt to try what you have. Just remember, the parents MUST be purebred birds. "Farm-yard" stock may not work the same way. Also, if you buy them from a hatchery, don't keep some over as breeders because they will not breed true to the cross that you want. They will revert back to one of the two parent breeds in type.

Maybe you can help me since you know about cornish rock crosses. I found a big white chicken on the freeway. She is very heavy (heavier than my plym rocks) I think she fell off a meat truck on her way to be slaughtered. Anyway I have chickens as pets and pest control and manure for my garden (and eggs of course!)so I decided to keep her. The problem is, I'm not sure what she is. She has a wide chest, short comb and wattles, thick yellow legs set far apart. She does not walk well and I had assumed it was because she was scraped up and slightly injured. Now I wonder if it is because she is a cornish rock cross meant only for meat production and has outgrown her legs. I read they only live about a year due to health problems. Is there anything I can do identify her breed and make her live longer? Should she be on a diet and made to exercise? Or will she just die soon no matter what? Any advice would be really appreciated. Cheryl

Hello Cheryl, I think, how you describe this hen, it is a cornish cross, raised for meat, they do have legs problems. I saw recently a group of thirty chickens, ten weeks old, ready to be butchered, all of them had a strange way to walk, they were so heavy ( I saw some beautiful white hens in this group, ho, it was hard for me to not come back with a few ). The best way I beleive to help this hen is to give her room, I mean if she can walk a bit during the day, it will help her. It seem that they can live a few years, they can lay eggs, and the eggs can be fertile... So, why not try and give her a normal chicken life. Good luck with your hen, Johanne

Hi,
I'd say just make sure she doesn't get to gorge on food and get extremely heavy. If she stays at a good weight she shouldn't have that bad of leg problems and should live longer.
Daniel

Cornish X are eating machines, so it would be best to isolate her and restrict her diet. Your other hens will need to have free access to feed in order to lay well, but free access to a mature Cornish X will result in obesity and death. They are hybrids, so saving eggs will only get you breakfast, and not a very efficient one, at that. Good luck. This would have to fall under the category of "luckiest chicken on earth," would it not?