The Cornish Cross chicken breed has been called the “ultimate meat bird” for good reason. Known for fast growth rate, large size, and delicious meat flavor, choosing Cornish Cross chickens for meat production on your homestead is a great place to start.
The Cornish Cross chicken has been a popular meat chicken breed for quite some time. It was the bird species that we chose for our own homestead chicken meat production, too. But what is it about these birds that makes them the ultimate meat bird? Let’s talk about the Cornish Cross chickens.
Table of Contents
- What is the best chicken to raise for meat?
- What two birds make a Cornish Cross?
- Why do Cornish Cross chickens grow so fast?
- Are Cornish Cross chickens genetically modified?
- At what age do you slaughter Cornish Cross chickens?
- How much meat can you expect to get from a Cornish Cross?
- Are Cornish Cross chickens healthy?
- Top Things to Remember When Raising Cornish Cross Chickens
- Final Thoughts: A Great Beginner Bird
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What is the best chicken to raise for meat?
The Cornish Cross chicken breed is one of the most popular and one of the best chicken breeds for meat production. It is used for meat production by many homesteaders around the world, including some well known names like Justin Rhodes and Joel Salatin. Let’s dive into what a Cornish Cross chicken is and what makes it such an excellent choice for home meat production.
What two birds make a Cornish Cross?
A Cornish Cross bird is created when a Cornish chicken is crossed with a Plymouth Rock chicken. The Cornish breed was chosen because of its large size; a full sized Cornish chicken can weigh in at around 9 pounds, which is very large for a chicken. Growing at a fast rate to maturity is the reason for the Plymouth Rock’s genetics. Together, the large sized genes and fast growing genes were combined to create the Cornish Cross chickens that we know today.
Why do Cornish Cross chickens grow so fast?
The Cornish Cross genetics, as mentioned before, are a combination of the Cornish chicken and Plymouth Rock chicken. Plymouth Rock chickens are a naturally faster maturing bird. Combined with years of breeding for specific traits, the fast growth rate of the Cornish Cross is the result.
Are Cornish Cross chickens genetically modified?
According to the WHO, genetically modified organisms occur when specific genetic material are altered in a way that doesn’t occur or grow naturally. In the case of the Cornish Cross, this is not the case. A Cornish hen could very easily mate with a Plymouth Rock rooster naturally. However, even so, if you were to breed these two breeds together you would not get the Cornish Cross chicken we see today.
What has happened for the Cornish Cross is similar to what we see in the dairy industry. Certain characteristics and traits are continued by breeding cows with those traits to bulls who carry genes for the desired trait. This is why we see cows that produce more milk than they actually need to feed their babies. Farmers also breed their cows for desirable traits such as small teats (for machine milking), good hooves, and temperament. Consistently and particularly breeding for such specific traits has led us to the dairy cows that we see today.
The same is true for the Cornish Cross breed. Over years, scientists have worked to breed chickens who hold the most desirable traits, which has produced the meat birds we see today. Simply breeding two random Cornish and Plymouth Rock chickens together will not be equivalent to the many years of specific breeding that has been done to create today’s Cornish Cross.
At what age do you slaughter Cornish Cross chickens?
The Cornish Cross chicken is bred to grow and mature quickly into a broiler bird to harvest. On average, you should plan to slaughter your Cornish Cross chickens at around 8-10 weeks old. It is best to stick to the earlier side of this than the later, as they do develop health problems the older that they get. I know it seems crazy to think that the little yellow fluffball you get as a chick will be butchering size in just about 2 months, but it is absolutely true.
How much meat can you expect to get from a Cornish Cross?
We harvested our Cornish Cross chickens at around 8 weeks old. Each bird weighed in at about 4-6 pounds each after processing. That is a nice sized chicken! One bird easily feeds our family of five for up to three meals.
How to use a whole chicken
To get the most out of the chicken, we usually cook it the first time slowly in the crockpot all day. I then shred the chicken and disperse it into thirds. The carcass then is returned to the crockpot, along with enough water to almost cover the carcass. It is then cooked again overnight, creating a beautiful and delicious chicken bone broth. The shredded chicken and broth are both great meal starters and provide our family with nourishment multiple meals.
Are Cornish Cross chickens healthy?
Here’s the thing about the Cornish Cross chickens. They grow at an incredibly fast speed. They have reached a butchering size by 2 months old. As they grow from chick to broiler, they are healthy. The Cornish Cross chickens enjoy eating grass and bugs, and they scratch and peck just like any other chickens. However, there are some things about Cornish Cross chickens that make them different than your typical egg layers.
Top Things to Remember When Raising Cornish Cross Chickens
There are some really important key details to remember when raising this hybrid bird. They have been genetically bred for certain characteristics, which means that they may lack in other characteristics. This is important to keep in mind.
Some things you need to know about raising Cornish Cross chickens include:
- Cornish Cross chickens are obsessed with food. Their entire life and whole reason for living is eating. These chickens love to eat their food, and they can be downright mean when it comes to getting their food. Because of their innate desire to eat, they need to be fed only at 12 hour intervals, or you risk compromising their health.
- Cornish Cross chickens can have health problems. Because of their rapid growth, Cornish Cross chickens can experience heart failure, leading to early death. Their rapid rate of growth can also be too much to support on their legs, causing lameness and broken legs. Leaving chickens to live longer than the recommended 8-10 weeks can increase the likelihood of these problems.
- Cornish Cross chickens are not active birds. They should not be left to free range, but instead do better in a fenced in chicken tractor or pastured area. They are not fast moving birds, and thus, are easy prey for predators.
Final Thoughts: A Great Beginner Bird
If you’ve been hesitant to begin raising animals for meat production, this is a great animal to start with. The Cornish Cross chicken is easy to raise and produces a nice and delicious product in just a matter of weeks. One of the things that I think make them a really great bird for the first time meat producer is the fact that they need to be slaughtered at 8-10 weeks or they will die on their own. Knowing that the bird can have a purpose and use by killing it humanely and harvesting the meat is a much more comforting thought than allowing the bird to die naturally of heart failure, broken legs, or another health problem just a couple of weeks later. This bird is truly bred and designed to feed families.
Have you raised Cornish Cross chickens on your homestead? Are you considering adding them this year? Let us know in the comments below!
Was this helpful? Pin it!
For even more posts on raising animals, check out these posts:
- Can I Make a Profit Owning Chickens?
- Number of Chickens You’ll Need for Your Family Homestead
- What is the Best Milk Cow for a Family Homestead?
- Should You Free Range Chickens on Your Homestead?
- Top 5 Chicken Breeds for Egg Production
- Contemplating a Family Milk Cow? Your Questions Answered!
- More on raising animals
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