Random chicken question

[canesisters]

I've just had one of my odd 🤔 "What would happen if" questions occur.

Everyone agrees that you can't keep Cornish cross from season to season and let them breed.
Not breeding true. Health issues as they age. Etc.

So my question is;
Could you keep a young rooster Cornish cross with a flock of mixed laying hens & end up with mutts that grow faster & put on weight better than the usual results of letting my laying hens hatch out a brood of all bone & little meat boys?

 

[Mini Horses]

Doubtful. First, just keeping it alive after a couple months is difficult. They're sooo cross bred to grow & die within 2-3 months. Frankenchickens. 🥴

 

[farmerjan]

You would be better off keeping a cornish x female... using your own rooster on and keeping the resulting chicks.. The problem with a cornish x male is they get sooo heavy... oversized breasts, they often cannot even balance to breed the females... that is the biggest problem with the broad breasted turkeys... the males cannot tread the hens to breed.
Plus as @Mini Horses said, they are what we call a terminal breed. They are bred to grow and get big fast and then die.... You could get a purebred cornish male to use from a poultry show... a cull for color or type, from someone showing... and use on your assorted layers.. Even getting a plymouth rock male would add in some more meatiness...
I kept a BB white turkey hen and got some fertile eggs from her by the Royal Palm tom... she didn't lay many, and then one day was just dead... their hearts cannot take it when they get so big... leg muscles also go out... But hey, if you have one... what could hurt to try it?

 

[Tony O]

Only if you have large hens. That heavy rooter can hurt the medium or smaller hens.