Jumbo Cornish Cross Chicken

The Jumbo Cornish Cross, or Cornish Rock Cross took over the commercial chicken meat industry within the last fifty years and is an extensively developed cross between Cornish and White Rock Chickens. The Cornish Cross Boilers are so successful and popular because of their outstanding speed of growth and quality of meat. Males can reach up to 4.5 pounds after just 6 weeks and up to 9.5 after 11 weeks.

The hens are typically marketed as Cornish Game Hens and can reach up to 2.5 pounds around 5 weeks. It's recommended to harvest the hens around 3 pounds for the most tender broiler meat.

The Broiler Chickens, as they are also commonly referred to, have white feathers and yellow skin. They are also preferred for broiler birds because they lack the hair on the skin that is typical to many other breeds. This breed of chicken is bred specifically for its meat and due to its exceptionally fast growth its legs will not be able to healthily support its body after a certain point. It is also not recommended to breed this bird because keeping the bird healthy long enough to fully mature and breed properly is difficult, and the offspring of this breed will not create as successful of offspring.

The Jumbo Cornish Cross Chicken or Broiler Chicken is the most widespread commercially produced meat chicken in the United States. Before the Cornish Rock Cross was developed to the breed we know it as today, chicken eggs were much more affordable to consumers than chicken meat. The slow growth of standard commercial breeds led to only using young males for broiler production.

Once the breed was finally developed into the fast growing bird it is today, the Cornish Cross can be butchered to weigh 4 to 5 pounds when dressed after an astounding 6 weeks. The downside of this breed is that many birds are thought to be unhealthy due to their fast grown.