Last year we decided to try Dark Cornish chickens. We got 50 in June and put most of the roosters in the freezer in November – they could have been done in September but we didn’t get around to it! The rest lived in the garden/field until spring. Our hopes were that they would breed on their own and boy did they! They are very large birds, their closely packed feathers make them look smaller than they are. One friend called them walking drumsticks. 
I got at least 4 large broods of chicks this year – they all live in the brush and refuse to use the shelters – they prefer sleeping in the trees. So when it’s time to harvest we go out after dark to the chicken trees.
Here is one of two dominant roosters that have divided the flock between them:
And here is one batch of new roast chicken on the hoof.
Hi!
How well are your dark cornish laying? I presently have a flock of 6 hens/6 roosters and am wondering how many to put in the freezer, and how many to preserve for next spring. Everything I’ve read on the web suggests that Cornish lay really poorly and that artificial insemination may be necessary. Is that really true? Is it fairly easy to maintain a flock?
You may be thinking of white cornish because the Dark COrnish have been very prolific and very good mothers. I had one hen hatch out 16 chicks in September and she still has all of them with her! It’s been cold and raining, I don’t even know how she kept that many warm at night but she managed somehow.
I am getting some eggs even now without a light in they are laying eggs in the coop I have in their area on a regular basis. I plan to try adding a few of them to my Buff Orpington laying flock at the other end of the farm to see how they do.
Debbie
I’m wondering how heavy your dark cornish were? After a year of “frankenchickens’ we tried a mixture of barred rocks and rhode island reds this year. We free ranged them for about 5 months a just put them in the freezer this weekend. They taste great but we were disappointed by the small size (maybe 4 pounds?) and tiny breasts. We want to try something else next year but are reluctant to go back to the yukky white X. I’ve heard the dark cornish described as “full-breasted”. Would you agree with that? How would you compare the size to the white cornish?
Thanks!
Hi Sheri,
Sorry, it’s been a busy fall! But these dark cornish don’t get as huge as the cornish cross but they are much heavier than any of the meat/egg producers. I would estimate the hens to get about 6-7 pounds and the roosters up to 10 pounds. It’s a good enough compromise for us.
Debbie
Greetings! I’ve been checking out your block from time to time because we raise Dark Cornish, too (we’re in Wisconsin). I’m sorry to hear about your job loss and wondering if you’ve had any luck. My husband and I are homesteading/farming and can appreciate how much work you’ve put into your place and your animals. I wish you the best and hope you are/have been able to stay at your homestead and continue.
Thank you for the kind words!
Actually I did find a new job – with my former manager since she was laid off also! The only difference is that she is in SW Virginia! So Deberosa is now on the market – you can see a flier at http://www.sellingmasoncounty.com/12
I found a new homestead that we hope to buy in SW VIrginia – it is very secluded yet close to my new job and on 20 acres! I will know for sure soon about that since I hope to close April 1.
I begin the trek across country March 20th – just two days away. It will be a year full of challenges but hopefully Deberosa II will be even more productive and fun.
Thank you for your concern and best wished to you.
Debbie
Hi Toby – thank you for the well wishes. I hope my search for a new place will be over soon. The first place fell through, but I think we found one even better. Thank you for the compliments!
Hi I’m Ethan from Maine im only twelve, but i’ve had chickens for the last two years and only thought of my chickens for eggs but this year i was over a freind/cousins andher freind brought over a chicken(butchered) over and said that he had a job for me and i went over his house later. He has all kinds of birds and rabbits and we killed, plucked, and butchered seven chickens. I got a chicken from it but when i coocked it yesterday in the crockpot it was tender but very stringey. It was flavorful but i’ve heared that there not very good tasting and tough,are the dark cornish like that? And how long do they take to get to a fairly large butchering size?
Hi Ethan,
It’s great you are learning to process chickens! I learned from my grandmother when I was your age and never forgot it.
How long did you cook the chicken in the crockpot? What did you put in with it? I have found if I use too much water or cook them for too long they lose flavor. I also put fresh herbs such as rosemary and thyme from the garden along with an onion and only a few cups of water. Actually using some kind of fruit juice makes it really good also. I have a chicken I got from a neighboring farmer cooking right now and the whole house smells wonderful!
The dark cornish are not your frying kind of chicken – you would want to stew or bake them but the have a great flavor. I am not one to do fried chicken so I don’t know how they would turn out and also did not try to BBQ them.
They were a very decent size for butchering at 10 weeks old. Since they were free range we left them out there for a bit longer and while they don’t look very big, they are a very heavy bird. The tight feathers make them look much smaller than they are. They were not tough though.
Hope that helps!
Debbie
Hi again,
all my chickens are gone now do to egg eatting(but we didnt kill them we just past the problem onto someone else
. Next spring im goin to have some dark cornish, along with my favorite the buff orpington, and the other’s, like the brahma and silver laced wyandotte, and the leghorns. im gonna raise probably 15 chickens and im gonna keep three roosters, but i’ve already figured out the rooster to hen ratio problem im gonna have 3 different chicken tractors and my already built pen.
I’ll take the big coop and turn it into a breeding/broody hen coop and keep the others in the chicken tractors butwhen winter comes i’ll just take some of the older and croos bred hens and roosters and butcher them and turn them into sausage and im gonna use a beautiful pen that was made by one of my cousins who lived at my usedd to be great grandmother’s but now my aunts house the door fell off but it has a light, roost and nest boxes and im just gonna put extensions on for the hens and rooster. thank u. im absuolutely in luv with chickens i just spent 84.64 on 1 pig a organic farming and 2 chicken books but i love them so.
Hi Ethan,
Glad you have a plan with your chickens. I would have to advise against selling off problem animals unless you are honest about their problems… Word gets around and could affect how you can sell animals in the future in your area.
I think you will like the dark cornish. We may get some more this next year, not sure. As for breeds of chickens, now we have red sex links that are producing well and I am really liking the Rhode Island Reds that we have, including one very large Rooster! I’ll post pictures soon.