Content
The breed owes its appearance to fighting chickens imported from Asia. It arose just at a time when interest in cockfighting began to decline 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 their decent live weight. As a result of crossing fighters already brought to England, the Cornish appeared - a breed of chicken for meat production.
Initially, these chickens were called differently around the world. In the USA, the original name was “Indian fighting”. Due to confusion with true fighting breeds, it has been proposed that English beef 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 Fighting Dog. In Russia, there are two names: the correct translation “Cornish” and the established translation from English “Cornish”.
At first, the Cornish chicken breed was not popular due to serious shortcomings: low egg production, thin egg shells, delicacy, slow growth and a relatively low slaughter yield of meat in carcasses. The large weight of the roosters created problems during fertilization. As a result of targeted work on the breed, it acquired positive traits and was able to interest chicken producers. The Cornish cats began to quickly gain weight with proper feeding and care.
Today Cornishes are preserved as genetic material for breeding broiler crosses. In industrial poultry farms, only white Cornish chickens are bred as pure meat breeds.
Description
Cornish chickens were bred in Cornwall. Breeding of the breed began in 1820. It is unknown when this breed was recognized in its homeland, but it was officially registered in the United States in 1893. Cornish chickens were imported to the USSR from 1959 to 1973. The supplying countries were different: Japan, USA, Holland, Canada. By the time the Union collapsed, there were 54 thousand Cornish hens in the country. The vast majority of the livestock was concentrated in Belarus. A very small part, only 4,200 chickens, remained in the Russian Federation.
Standard
According to the description, Cornish chickens are powerful birds with strong legs. They have retained the characteristics of fighting breeds, but the Cornish's paws are much shorter, because according to Sir Walter Gilbert's idea, this breed was no longer supposed to fight. This means they don’t need long limbs.
The Cornish head is large, with a wide skull. The beak is powerful, short, brownish-yellow in color. With a dark color, there is more dark color on the beak. The eyes are yellow or orange and set under well-developed brow ridges, which give the Cornish head a predatory appearance. Even the chicken's "face" looks fierce. The comb is red, rose-shaped. Poorly developed. The earrings are small and red. The face and earlobes are red.
The neck is strong and of medium length. Set high on broad powerful shoulders. The back is short, level, wide. Even in chickens, the body is slightly raised in front. In the photo of a young rooster of the Cornish chicken breed, the “fighting heredity” is clearly visible. Its body is positioned more vertically than that of chickens.Seasoned roosters become heavier and “sink” down.
Shoulders are broad and powerful. The wings are medium in size, strong, tightly pressed to the body. The chest is well muscled, protruding forward. The belly of roosters is lean, while that of chickens is well developed and full. The tail is long and carried low. Grows almost horizontally. There are few feathers in the tail, and the braids of roosters are poorly developed.
The legs are powerful, with a wide set. The thighs and legs are well developed. Metacarpus with thick bone. Pasterns unfeathered, with yellow skin. Sometimes there may be a white-pink color of the metacarpus.
Colors
The color of the Cornish can be:
- white;
- black;
- red and white;
- black and red;
- wheat.
The lines differ in body type. The first ones are more massive and have dark plumage. The second ones are lightweight and have a light feather. Festive Corniches have a wheat color.
The white and black colors of Cornish chickens do not need description. Colored colors are more complex. The dark black and red color is well expressed in laying hens, on the body of which each feather has a brown color ending in a black stripe.
Roosters are “simpler”. 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 black pigment replaced by its complete absence.
The wheat color of the festive Cornish is very similar to red and white. In this color variety, the characteristics of the rooster's color are clearly visible. The photo shows a rooster of the Cornish chicken breed.
The rooster's main color is white with red shoulders and some red feathers on the front of the chest, head and saddle. The main color of the chicken is white with a thin red stripe.The body has red feathers, each with two white stripes.
Productivity
For a meat breed, Cornishes are not very heavy. But they quickly gain weight and by two months they already weigh more than 1 kg.
| Rooster | 3.86 kg |
| laying hen | 2.57 kg |
| Young cockerel | >1 kg |
| Pullets | >1 kg |
| Bantams | |
| Rooster | 2.0 kg |
| Chicken | 1.5 kg |
The video shows 2-month-old Cornish chickens of the large version.
The egg characteristics of Cornish hens 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 good weight gain and the calm nature of adult birds. Then there are only shortcomings.
The fertilization rate of eggs is low. Chick hatching rate is about 80%. The chickens are very aggressive towards each other, although they are easy to care for. Adults require more space for walking than other breeds of chickens. The Cornish hen is a very active bird. This can create difficulties on a small plot.
Due to the heavy weight and lack of exercise, roosters have problems with their legs. Due to their increased physical activity, chickens are not very good hens, although they are excellent hens that actively protect their chicks.
Chickens are not resistant to cold and are picky about feed. The worst thing is that they are predisposed to diseases.
Content
The description of the Cornish chicken breed emphasizes their sensitivity to frost for a reason.Chickens can withstand an average winter temperature of 10-15 degrees Celsius, but are not able to live in a cold chicken coop if the temperature outside is below 0. Cornish chickens need an insulated chicken coop, sometimes with a heater. The floor should be warm, with thick bedding. With their large weight, Cornishes 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 bedding will be enough.
Since the breed was originally planned as an industrial breed, it gives low weight gain on regular homemade feed. This is what the live weight table above shows.
When feeding Cornishes according to the rules of industrial rearing, their weight at 2 months is 1.5-2 kg.
If Cornish hens are obese, they experience problems with egg laying, and roosters with fertilizing females.
Breeding
The Cornish hen is able to hatch chicks on her own, but in case of alarm, flying away from the nest, she can accidentally crack the shell. Therefore, Cornish eggs are often placed under other chickens.
Due to instability to cold in the first days of life of chickens, the room temperature 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, in close quarters, trample weaker brothers.
Small chickens are also demanding when it comes to food. It should be rich in protein, vitamins and microelements. Cornishes are a long-feathered breed, and a lack of nutrients during the period of feather growth leads to poor feathering.Lack of feathers leads to hypothermia and death of chickens.
Reviews
Conclusion
Cornish is hardly suitable for the role of a bird for small business. It has many disadvantages that increase the cost of chicken production. While meat from slow-growing birds is gaining popularity in the West, this issue has not yet been considered in Russia. Cornish chickens are well suited for the role of ornamental chickens.
