Contents
The breed owes its appearance to fighting chickens imported from Asia. It arose just at the time when interest in cockfighting began to fall under public pressure. They were considered too cruel. But at the same time, the demand for chicken meat began to grow, and Asian fighting chickens were distinguished by a decent live weight. As a result of crossing the fighters already brought to England, the Cornish appeared – a breed of chickens for meat.
Initially, these chickens were called differently in the world. In the US, the original name was “Indian Fighting”. Due to confusion with the actual fighting breeds, it has been proposed that the English Meat Chickens be renamed Cornish Fighting Chickens. In the end, only the word Cornish was left in the name. In Australia, it is still called the Indian Fighter. In Our Country, there are two names: the correct translation is “Cornish” and the accustomed tracing paper from the English “Cornish”.
At first, the Cornish chicken breed was not popular due to serious shortcomings: low egg production, thin egg shells, effeminacy, slow growth and relatively low slaughter yield of meat in carcasses. The large weight of the roosters created problems during fertilization. As a result of purposeful work on the breed, it acquired positive traits and was able to interest chicken meat producers. Cornish began to gain weight quickly with proper feeding and care.
Today the Cornish is preserved as genetic material for breeding broiler breeds. In industrial poultry farms, only the Cornish of white color is bred as pure as a meat breed of chickens.
Description
Cornish chickens are bred in Cornwall. Breeding began in 1820. It is not known when this breed was recognized in its homeland, but in the United States it was officially registered in 1893. In the USSR, Cornish chickens were imported from 1959 to 1973. The supplier countries were different: Japan, USA, Holland, Canada. By the time the Union collapsed, there were 54 Cornish chickens in the country. The vast majority of livestock was concentrated in Belarus. A very small part, only 4200 chickens, remained in the Federation.
Standard
According to the description, Cornish chickens are powerful birds with strong legs. They retained the signs of fighting breeds, but the paws of the Cornish are much shorter, because, according to the idea of Sir Walter Gilbert, this breed was no longer supposed to fight. So, they don’t need long limbs.
The head of the Cornish is large, with a broad skull. The beak is powerful, short, brown-yellow. With a dark color, there is more dark color on the beak. Eyes of yellow or orange color are set under well-developed superciliary ridges, which give the Cornish head a predatory look. Even the chicken’s expression “face” seems ferocious. The crest is red, pink. Developed poorly. Earrings are small, red. The face and lobes are red.
The neck is strong, of medium length. Set high on broad, powerful shoulders. The back is short, flat, wide. The body even in chickens is slightly raised in front. In the photo of a young rooster of the Cornish chicken breed, “fighting heredity” is clearly visible. Its body is located more vertically than that of chickens. Seasoned roosters become heavier and “fall” down.
Shoulders are broad and powerful. Wings of medium size, strong, tightly pressed to the body. Chest well muscled, protruding forward. The belly of the roosters is lean, the belly of the hens is well developed, full. The tail is long, set low. Grows almost horizontally. There are few feathers in the tail, the pigtails of the roosters are poorly developed.
The legs are powerful, with a wide set. The thighs and lower legs are well developed. Metacarpus with thick bone. Pasterns unfeathered, with yellow skin. Sometimes a white-pink color of the metacarpus may come across.
Colors
The color of the Cornish can be:
- white;
- black
- red and white;
- black and red;
- wheat.
Body lines differ. The former are more massive and have dark plumage. The second ones are lightweight and with a light feather. Festive Cornish have a wheat color.
The white and black color of Cornish chickens do not need a description. Colors are more complex. The dark black-red color is well defined in laying hens, on the body of which each feather has a brown color, ending with a black stripe.
Roosters are “easier”. Their main color is black. On the wings, the flight feathers of the first order are brown.
Chickens of red and white color repeat the pattern of dark Cornish, but with the replacement of black pigment with its complete absence.
The wheat color of the festive Cornish is very similar to red and white. In this variety of color, the signs of color in a rooster are clearly distinguishable. In the photo, a rooster of the Cornish chicken breed.
The main color of the rooster is white with red shoulders and a small amount of red feather on the front of the chest, head and saddle. The main color of the chicken is white with a thin red stripe. On the body are red feathers, each with two white stripes.
Productivity
For the meat breed, the Cornish is not very heavy. But they quickly gain weight and by two months already weigh more than 1 kg.
| Cock | 3.86 kg |
| laying hen | 2.57 kg |
| Young cockerel | >1 kg |
| Molodka | >1 kg |
| Bentamki | |
| Cock | 2.0 kg |
| Chicken | 1.5 kg |
In the video, 2-month-old Cornish chickens of the large version.
The egg characteristics of Cornish chickens are low. They lay 160-180 medium-sized (55 g) brown eggs per year. In some foreign sources, you can find information about the level of egg production of 1 egg per week. This is compensated by the well-developed maternal instinct of hens.
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of the breed are in good weight gain and the calm nature of adult birds. Then there are some shortcomings.
The fertility of the eggs is low. The output of chickens is about 80%. Chickens are very aggressive towards each other, although they are easy to care for. Adults require more space to walk than other breeds of chickens. The Cornish chicken is a very active bird. This can create difficulties in a small personal plot.
Due to the large weight with a lack of movement, roosters have problems with their legs. Chickens, due to increased physical activity, are not very good hens, although they are excellent cows that actively protect their chickens.
Chickens are not resistant to cold and are demanding on feed. Worst of all, they are prone to disease.
Content
In the description of the Cornish chicken breed, their sensitivity to frost is not just emphasized. Chickens can withstand average winter temperatures of 10-15 degrees Celsius well, but are not able to live in a cold chicken coop if it is below 0 outside. Cornish chickens need a warm chicken coop, sometimes with a heater. The floor should be warm, with thick bedding. With a large weight, the Cornish are poor flyers and prefer to spend the night below. These birds can be equipped with perches 30-40 cm high. If it is not possible to arrange a perch, just deep litter will be enough.
Since the breed was originally planned as an industrial breed, it gives low weight gain on ordinary homemade feeds. As the live weight table above shows.
When feeding Cornish according to the rules of industrial cultivation, their weight in 2 months is 1,5-2 kg.
With obesity, Cornish hens experience problems with oviposition, and roosters with fertilization of females.
Breeding
The Cornish hen is able to hatch the chicks herself, but in case of alarm, flying from the nest, she can accidentally crack the shell. Therefore, Cornish eggs are often placed under other chickens.
Due to the instability to cold in the first days of the life of chickens, the temperature in the room should be 27-30 ° C. To maintain the desired temperature, the chicken coop or brooder must be equipped with infrared lamps. At lower air temperatures, chickens gather together and trample weaker brethren in close quarters.
Demanding little chickens and feed. It should be rich in protein, vitamins and trace elements. The Cornish is a long-feathered breed and lack of nutrients during feather growth results in poor feathering. The lack of feathers leads to hypothermia and the death of chickens.
Reviews
Conclusion
The Cornish is hardly suitable for the role of a bird for small business. It has a lot of shortcomings that increase the cost of chicken meat production. If in the West the meat of slow-growing birds is gaining popularity, then in Our Country this issue has not yet been considered. Cornish chickens are well suited for the role of decorative chickens.