Learn about the history of the Cornish Cross chicken and how this breed became the broiler bird.
Written by Ann Gordon
Cornish cross broiler has taken a rap in recent years. There are tons of articles, forums, and blog posts on the Internet that deride these poor creatures as “dirty chickens” with a “disgusting” appearance, or as genetically modified “Frankenches” with deformities and health problems, who live in appalling commercial conditions. We certainly know that commercial conditions can be horrific for these and other poultry. However, the broiler industry has gone a long way in addressing these issues through producer education and contract requirements.
My experience as a small flock owner is that these are clean birds that have been selectively bred specifically as highly productive meat birds – it’s all in their management. To understand the Cornish Cross breed, let’s take a look at how broilers evolved as part of America’s rich agricultural history and how biodiversity has played a key role in sustaining Cornish Cross breeds.
Broiler pioneer Celia Steele has an idea
It all began nearly a hundred years ago with Celia Steele of Sussex County, Delaware, who is cited as a pioneer in the commercial broiler industry. While her husband, Wilbur, was serving in the US Coast Guard, Celia took on a business breeding meat birds that she could sell at local markets to raise a little extra money. Her project had grown by 1923 to a modest flock of 500 “meat birds”.
The first broiler house
By 1926, its massive success necessitated the construction of the first 10,000-bird chicken house that exists today on the U.S. Park Historic Sites Register. Its pioneering efforts led to “Chicken of Tomorrow” contests sponsored by A&P grocery stores and officially supported by the USDA. What was supposed to be a marketing campaign quickly revolutionized the poultry industry in America.
State and regional competitions culminated in the national competition, which was held at the University of Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station in 1948. Breeders were encouraged to produce and submit 60 dozen “meatbird” eggs to the central hatcheries where they were hatched, raised, and judged. 18 parameters, including growth rate, feed conversion efficiency, and the amount of meat on the breasts and thighs when processed. Forty breeders from 25 states entered heritage-bred hybrids, competing for a $5,000 prize—that’s $53,141 today. Developing the “meatbird” was serious business.
Competition winners and the birth of the Cornish Cross
Henry Saglio, owner of Arbor Acres Farm in Glastonbury, Connecticut (later known as the “father” of the poultry industry) bred the 1948 winner from a purebred batch of White Plymouth Rocks – a muscular, meaty bird. Saglio beat a red Cornish cross bird from the Ventress Hatcher in both the 1948 and again in the 1951 competition. The two crosses eventually emerged as the dominant sources of the genetic stock of Cornish cross chickens throughout the United States
Over the years, broiler chicken has become big business. Although breeders come and go and their breeding programs are bought, sold and standardized, their bloodlines live on. Today’s broilers grow twice as fast, twice the size, on half the feed” as broilers were growing some 70 years ago.
before it became a Cornish cross the Commercial broilers, a long history of research and development that has gone into the birds we see in supermarkets today, as well as the birds raised by owners of small flocks. Most of the research has focused on breeding birds with improved breast meat growth and an emphasis on high feed-to-body-weight conversions, so that they can be on the market in 6 to 8 weeks.
How did the Ross and Kobe dynasties evolve?
During the 1950s, after the “Chicken of Tomorrow” competitions, thousands of breeders emerged across the United States. With price competition becoming a factor along with many breeders struggling, some breeds are lost to history.
Aviagen and Cobb-Vantress are the largest broiler breeders in operation today. Their stock comes from breeders (such as Saglio and Vantress) who have participated in “Chicken of Tomorrow” competitions.
1923 Frank Saglio founded Arbor Acres with the White Rock bloodlines.
1951 Arbor Acres White Rocks win the Thoroughbred category in the “Chicken of Tomorrow” competition.
Arbor Acres White Rocks were crossed in the 1950s with Vantress Hatchery Red Cornish to become Cornish Cross chickens, a breed owned by Arbor Acres.
IBEC acquired Arbor Acres in 1960 and also acquired Ross.
2000 Arbor Acres and Ross become part of the Aviagen Group which continues to develop and market the Ross 308, 308AP and 708 strains.Cobb (founded 1916) sold all of its White Rock bloodlines to Upjohn.
In 1974, Cobb (founded in 1916) sold all of its commercial and research divisions to both Upjohn and Tyson simultaneously. Tyson bought Vantress (and their descendants) that same year.
1994, Tyson buys Cobb from Upjohn, and begins marketing Cobb-Vantress chicken breeds: Cobb500, 700, and MVMale.80 years after Frank Saglio and the Vantress brothers started their business, their bloodline lives on. Now Cornish Cross breeds are owned by two dominant companies: Aviagen and Tyson.
Truth strain
The truth is, not all modern commercial broiler breeds are alike—they’re very similar, but they have distinct growth characteristics. Some produce larger breasts (white meat), some larger legs and thighs (dark meat), and others produce balanced breast and leg/thigh meat. Many breeds focus on rapid growth and gaining flesh from hatching, while others focus on slow growth with an emphasis on skeletal development (leg bones and heart muscle). These growth traits are important to commercial farmers who want to produce meat for their specific market goals. There are significant differences that are worth understanding.
Ross 308 and Kopp 500
The Cobb 500 and Ross 308 (often referred to as the Jumbo Cornish Cross) have yellow legs and skin with white plumage. Sometimes a Cobb 500’s plumage has black spots inside it. Cobb 500 and Ross 308 show steady, rapid growth from start to finish with an emphasis on big, massive breasts. The easily “rounded” and compact butterball body distinguishes the Cobb 500 from the less rounded Ross 308 body.
Ross 308 (often referred to as the Cornish rock) also has yellow legs and skin with white plumage, though without black spots. Their early growth tends to be slower than the Cobb 500 and Ross 308, which means more weight later, giving their frame more time to develop and then compensating for the weight gain in weeks 4 to 8. The body of the Ross 708 is slightly longer than the Cobb 500 and Ross 308, with a well-distributed More even meat between the breasts, legs and thighs. If you would like to learn more about the differences between the breeds, there is plenty of research available.
Choose your breed
Small flocks of Cornish crosses
Hatcheries that sell to small herd owners buy their offspring from subsidiaries of these larger companies. For example, Meyer Hatchery offers the Ross 308 and Cobb 500 strains, Cackle Hatchery offers the Ross 308 strain and Welp Hatchery offers the Ross 708 strain. If you are a small flock owner looking to get Cornish Cross chickens, you will need to find out which hatcheries carry the breeds best suited to you. .
All things being equal, your choice may also include your consumption patterns. All Cornish Cross breeds are great at roasting, rotisserie, and smoking as well as making succulent roasted breasts. But if you find that you also like a little more decadent sandwiches or dishes like Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, then the Cobb 500 or Ross 308 with their huge breasts might be your first choice. But if you’re like me and prepare meals with shredded pieces, enjoy air-fried drumsticks, or use juicy thigh meat for soups, casseroles, and the occasional roast or rotisserie, Ross 708 might be at the top of your list.
You may also want to hike both ladders and get the best of both worlds – depending on the weather.
full circle
So it seems we’ve come full circle with the winners of the 1948 Chicken of Tomorrow contest – Henry Saglio’s Arbor Acres breed and the Vantress brothers’ bred. After all those years of breeding and selection experiments, we’re eating the results of improved genes from these 1948 Chicken of Tomorrow winners. Through retail hatcheries, we’re fortunate to have access to the most reliable, best-producing strains these breeders produce for commercial growers. You will have easy access to Cornish Cross chicks carrying some of the original breeders’ bloodlines.
Through diligent breeding of Cornish Cross broilers and improving the efficiency of chicken production over the past 100 years, Celia Steele’s efforts have resulted in the production of high quality, low-fat animal protein affordable to all but the poorest individuals around the world. This is a great legacy.
Ann Gordon He is a backyard chicken owner with a humble chicken operation that includes laying hens and Cornish cross broilers. And like many of you, she doesn’t sell eggs or meat — all produce is for her own personal consumption. She is a longtime poultry farmer and writes from her personal experience as a city girl who moved to the suburbs to raise a few chickens and now lives in a rural area. I’ve had a lot of experience with chickens over the years and learned a lot along the way – some the hard way. She’s had to think outside the box in some situations, but stick to tried-and-true traditions in others. Ann lives on Mount Cumberland in Tennessee with two English Springers, Jack and Lucy. Look out for Anne’s upcoming blog: Life Around the Coop.