![]() Although roosters can put up a fight, they will have a hard time escaping a motivated land predator.Ĭornish chickens may fare better against aerial predators simply due to their large size. They are slow-moving and totally unable to fly. They require a large amount of calories and cannot forage enough of their own food.Ĭornish chickens don’t fare particularly well against most land predators. These massive birds with their massive appetites will become obese if not given the space and opportunity for exercise.Ĭornish chickens love to free range, but you need to always provide them with supplemental feed. Enthusiasts at the time felt that the reference to “Game” was both a misnomer and causing the breed to be less popular.Ĭornish chickens: Free range or confinement?Ĭornish chickens do well in confinement, but they do need a run that’s large enough for them to get exercise. However, the APA changed the name in 1905 to the Cornish Indian Game and White Indian Game (for the white variety).Īnd then the names were changed again in 1910 to just the Cornish chicken. ![]() At this time, it was still called the Indian Game chicken. The Cornish chicken was imported into America in 1877, but was not recognized (i.e., given the honor of being an “official” breed) by the American Poultry Association (APA) until 1893. About Devonshire and Cornwall, England, the ‘Indian Game’ found supporters and continued to be bred.” “The breed was developed to produce a superior fighting chicken and in that it was a failure-losing much of the ‘Game’ character of the parent breeds. Recognized as a breed in England in 1886, the bird was originally called the Indian Game chicken. The breed came about by the mixing of English Game chickens with Aseel or Malay chickens. As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.Ĭornish chickens, known as meat chickens today, were actually originally developed in England to be a cockfighting breed. ![]() This post contains affiliate links for my favorite products from Amazon. Other breeds you may want instead of Cornish chickens Space considerations for your Cornish chickens (how are they at foraging, predator evasion, and confinement?)Ĭornish temperament (are they right for you and your family?)Ĭornish health problems and life expectancyĬornish hybrid chickens (for those who want the ultimate meat bird) What Cornish chickens look like in their many different colors and patternsĮverything you ever wanted to know about Cornish egg layingĬornish broodiness (do these birds want to sit on their eggs or not?)Ĭornish meat (how much do they provide and what does it taste like?)Ĭlimate considerations for Cornish chickens (are they a good fit for your region?) If so, you’ll find everything you need to know about Cornish chickens here so you can decide if they are right for your flock and household. This is a bit of a niche bird, and those who love Cornish are after 1 of 3 things:Ī chicken purely for meat production for the homestead or small farmĪ chicken of an old, rare breed in need of preservationĪ hen who is calm, sweet, and delightful (she may look no-nonsense, but she’s a muscle-bound block of love)ĭo you fall into any of these categories? And the best part of all? They’ll be ready in under an hour.Poor layers, muscular, stocky, and slow, Cornish chickens don’t appeal to most backyard chicken keepers. Her advice is to ask your butcher to butterfly the hens, cutting the backbone out so they will lie flat this will allow them to get nice and crispy on the outside when you sear them in sage butter before baking. If you haven’t made them yourself yet, Sunny’s 5-star recipe is a great place to start. The Department of Agriculture classifies a Cornish game hen (or a Rock Cornish game hen) as an immature chicken that weighs 2 pounds or less and is younger than 5 weeks old. Plus, cornish hens are really just chickens. Just add a healthy side dish and you’ve got a winning weeknight dinner. Yes, there is something that feels extra special about everyone having their own Cornish hen, but they can be cooked quickly, which means they are doable on a weeknight. While a roast chicken is no stranger to the dinner table, Cornish hens might not be in your usual repertoire - but there’s really no reason to overlook these birds.
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