Most pastured poultry producers in North America raise Cornish-Rock crosses that are conventionally bred for fast growth in confinement. However, these birds often have health issues when raised on pasture. The document discusses alternative genetic options that may be better suited for pasture, including slower-growing breeds. It provides information on breeders that offer these alternatives and notes the limited availability in North America currently.

1. Poultry Genetics
ATTRA for Pastured Production
A Publication of ATTRA, the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service • 1-800-346-9140 • www.attra.ncat.org
By Anne Fanatico,
NCAT Agriculture
While most pastured poultry producers in North America raise the same fast-growing Cornish-and-
Specialist
White-Rock-cross broilers used in conventional confined production, many producers are interested in
and Skip Polson
alternative genetic types that may be more suitable for outdoor production or for niche markets. This
Updated 2005
publication provides information on the Cornish Rock crosses in outdoor production, discusses several
by Holly Born,
slower-growing breeds, and provides information on hatcheries that offer these alternative breeds.
NCAT Agriculture
Specialist
© NCAT 2005
M
Contents ost pastured poultry producers in and confinement-rearing became the domi-
North America raise the same Cor- nant form of production for the U.S. poultry
nish-and-White-Rock-cross broil- industry. A 1950s contest, sponsored by the
ers used in conventional poultry produc- Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, called “The
tion. These are the standard meat birds Chicken of Tomorrow” encouraged the devel-
The Conventional of the industry, and essentially all broilers opment of meatier birds. Cornish crosses
Industry Dominates
the Scene........................... 2
produced commercially in North America became the birds of choice at that time.
Producer
are Cornish crosses. Since then the conventional poultry industry
Preferences ....................... 3 has genetically refined them for rapid growth,
This has been true since meat became a pri-
The Importance of efficient feed conversion, broad-breastedness,
mary focus for chicken genetics in the 1940s,
Access ................................. 3 limited feathering (for ease of plucking), and
Other Decision other traits considered desirable for rearing
Factors ................................ 4 very large numbers of birds in confinement.
Beyond Cornish Because of their rapid growth, they reach a
Crosses ............................... 4
market weight of five pounds (live weight) in
six to seven weeks.
However, most pastured poultry producers
today use the Cornish crosses because they
are readily available, not because they are
ideally suited to rearing on pasture. Many
of the characteristics that make the Cornish-
cross broiler strains good for industrial con-
finement production are not well-suited for
alternative production systems. Many pas-
tured poultry producers see the Cornish
crosses as having weak legs, excessive rates
ATTRA is the national sustain- of heart attacks, a high incidence of conges-
able agriculture information tive heart failure (ascites), poor foraging abil-
service operated by the National
Center for Appropriate Technol- ity, poor heat tolerance, and other liabilities
ogy, through a grant from the when raised on pasture. While most pro-
Rural Business-Cooperative Ser-
vice, U.S. Department of Agricul- ducers value their rapid growth, others find
ture. These organizations do not it unnaturally fast. In most pasture-based
recommend or endorse prod-
ucts, companies, or individu- production systems, Cornish crosses usually
als. NCAT has offices produce a five-pound bird in eight weeks.
in Fayetteville, Arkansas,
Butte, Montana, and Photo by Keith Weller©ARS Keeping the birds longer than eight weeks
Davis, California. ���� and allowing them to get larger can contrib-

2. ute to even greater leg that is widely available in North America pro-
Breeding Companies problems. duces as much meat as economically as the
Cornish crosses. This economic fact makes it
Many pastured poultry
Aviagen very difficult for producers to consider other
producers would like to
www.aviagen.com breeds, even though there is abundant vari-
raise birds that are bet-
Arbor Acres ety in the poultry world. Color photos and
ter suited to range pro-
www.aaf.com (includes downloadable duction than the Cornish descriptions of many poultry breeds can be
management guides) crosses. Therefore, the seen at www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRK-
purpose of this publi- PoultryPage.html#Chickens.
Ross Breeders
cation is to identify the The primary breeding companies for broilers
www.rossbreeders.com (includes
genetic options available in the U.S. are Aviagen (which includes the
technical manuals)
to producers who do not formerly separate companies of Arbor-Acres,
Nicholas Turkeys want to use the conven- Ross Breeders, and Nicholas Turkeys), Cobb-
www.nicholas-turkey.com tional confinement-pro- Vantress (which now includes Avian Farms
duction model. and is owned by Tyson Foods), Hubbard-Isa,
Cobb-Vantress
www.cobb-vantress.com This publication was and Hybro. Most of these companies are
originally compiled for multi-national enterprises, and they domi-
Peterson Farms nate the world market for conventional broiler
Heifer Project Interna-
www.petersonfarms.com production, as shown in the table below.
tional’s North America
Program. Partial finan- These companies work constantly to pro-
cial assistance for its duce genetic improvements in their breed-
preparation was provided through a grant to ing stock. They typically use a system of
Heifer Project International from the USDA’s four-way crossing to produce the parents of
Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture, the birds that are raised as broilers. They
Research and Education (SARE) program select and develop certain strains to use as
(project number LS 99-105). their male line, with emphasis on growth per-
formance and body conformation, while at
The Conventional the same time developing different female
Industry Dominates the lines, with emphasis on reproductive perfor-
mance. This cross-breeding system protects
Scene each company’s genetic research, because
Many pastured poultry producers would like the genetics of the original grandparents can-
to raise birds that are better suited to range not be reproduced from their offspring.
production than the Cornish crosses, but
their alternatives at this time are extremely Most of the primary breeding companies pro-
limited. There are several different strains of duce more than one strain of Cornish cross.
Cornish crosses, but there is very little differ- They try to meet the needs of their custom-
ence among them. No other type of chicken ers by producing a heavier-breasted bird for
producers focused on white meat, a thriftier
bird that has a slightly better feed conver-
World broiler production is estimated to be 32 to 42 billion sion ratio, or a heavier strain for the roaster
birds per year. market. Some also offer slower and faster
Estimated global market shares for the different broiler growing strains of Cornish-cross birds. The
breeder companies (SOURCE: WATT Poultry USA) slower-growing strains may be of interest to
Company Percent pastured poultry producers, because they
Aviagen 35-45 may have fewer heart and leg problems.
Cobb 30-40 The different strains of birds that the breed-
Hubbard 10-20 ing companies offer are described at their
Hybro 5-10 Web sites. Some of these sites also include
technical manuals and guides for raising
Other 10-20
their birds.
Page 2 ATTRA Poultry Genetics for Pastured Production

3. The breeding companies sell crossbred par- ria when deciding which birds to raise and
ent stock to vertically-integrated poultry pro- where to get their day-old chicks. Many have
ducers, independent hatcheries, and others concluded that a hatchery’s customer ser-
who produce the hatching eggs that will ulti- vices and location are more important than
mately become the broilers we eat. Most the precise strain of broiler chicks available.
independent hatcheries do not keep their own They have learned to get their birds from the
flocks to produce hatching eggs. Instead, most reliable hatchery, one that can get the
they buy their hatching eggs from a few very chicks to the farm with the least shipping
large suppliers (such as the Keith Smith com- stress. Usually this means the hatchery that
pany in Arkansas, www.keith-smith.com, or has the shortest delivery time. Death losses
CWT Farms in Georgia, www.cwtfarms. and slower rates of growth that result from
com). Therefore, all the chicks available shipping stress are often more significant
from hatcheries throughout North America than the performance differences between
are mostly the same strains, and they are the strains. The liability of shipping stress is
same strains being used by the vast majority also confirmed by the practices of the major
of the conventional industry. conventional industrial producers. They use
their own employees and vehicles to deliver
Producer Preferences chicks directly to their contract growers; they
try to control the chicks’ shipping conditions
Even though the differences in the Cornish- as much as possible and minimize their ship-
cross strains are small, some pastured poul- ping stress. This is an argument for having
try producers do have preferences. Over the more (rather than fewer) hatcheries, and hav-
years they may see that one strain performs ing them located as near as possible to the
better for them than others. These differ- producers who will raise the chicks.
ences may be things such as fewer leg prob-
lems, slightly faster (or slower) growth, or Here are the Web sites of sev-
lower mortality. Therefore, while most pas- eral hatcheries. These are Samples of hatchery Web sites
tured poultry producers do not know exactly not given as recommenda-
which strains they are raising from batch to tions, but simply as examples www.belthatchery.com
batch, a few producers always try to purchase of what independent hatcher- 559-264-2090
a particular strain of chick. ies have to offer and how they www.esteshatchery.com
present themselves. A more 800-345-1420
Yet even those producers who express a pref- complete listing of hatcher-
erence for one strain may have had their ies throughout the U.S. can www.mcmurrayhatchery.com
opinions unduly influenced by factors that be found at www.aphis.usda. 800-456-3280
are not related to the genetics of the birds gov/vs/npip/ and at www.poul-
they have raised. For example, the age of the www.moyerschicks.com
tryconnection.com/hatchery. 215-536-3155
breeder flock influences the size of the hatch- html.
ing eggs and the chicks that result. Young www.mthealthy.com/index.html
breeder flocks produce smaller hatching Shipping constraints beyond 800-451-5603
eggs and smaller chicks than mature flocks. the control of the hatcher-
Older flocks nearing the end of their produc- ies can be an important fac- www.privetthatchery.com
tive lives also produce chicks with greater tor, as well. During the early 877-774-8388
inconsistencies in their size and vigor than a and mid-1900s, the practice www.townlinehatchery.
flock at the prime of its life. Therefore, some of sending day-old poultry by com/chicks.html
producer preferences may not be objectively mail from hatcheries to cus- 616-772-6514
justifiable. tomers all over the country
became very popular and
The Importance of Access commonplace. In recent years, however,
the number of airlines willing to carry day-
Because the differences between modern old poultry as U.S. mail has declined, even
Cornish-cross strains are so small, most to the point that the chicks-by-mail service
pastured poultry producers use other crite- appeared to be in jeopardy. Then in 2001
www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 3

4. and 2002, the U.S. Postal Service and sev- producers have customers who want very
eral airlines modified their mail-carrying large roasters and are willing to pay a pre-
contracts and the regulations governing the mium price for them. Uniformity certainly
shipment of live animals through the mail. can become more important, however, as
These new arrangements have apparently sta- producers move beyond on-farm processing
bilized the situation, and the chicks-by-mail and direct marketing. A spread-out harvest
service continues. The latest information on that is advantageous on a small scale may
the postal regulations governing the shipping become a distinct problem at larger scales
of live animals as mail can be found by visit- of production.
ing the Web site of the U.S. Postal Service,
Some customers prefer colored birds (red or
www.usps.com, or www.birdshippers.com.
black) over white-feathered ones. This kind
of preference also influences producer deci-
Other Decision Factors sions about which birds to raise.
Some pastured poultry producers also make
decisions about which chicks to raise based Beyond Cornish Crosses
on other non-strain factors. For example,
North American producers of range poultry
some producers choose to raise all females,
who want options other than those offered by
because that eliminates the problem of cock-
the conventional Cornish crosses do not have
erels harassing the pullets as they mature,
very much to choose from at present. Their
resulting in a more tranquil flock and pre-
options may be increasing, however.
sumably better feed conversion. Or they will
raise all males because their customers want The Noll family is working to make medium-
large birds, and producers want greater uni- growing genetics more widely available in
formity in their product. North America. Henry Noll offers a Silver
Cross that grows to five pounds live weight
Uniformity is tremendously important for
in nine weeks.
the conventional poultry industry. Birds are
managed as a unit instead of as individuals, Noll’s Poultry Farm
and birds that are not nearly identical to Kleinfeltersville, PA 17039
the others are problems. For example, pul- 717-949-3560
lets are brought into lay at the same time, 717-949-3722 FAX
so they all need to achieve the appropriate
Joe Cebe, Sr. offers a Cebe Red and Cebe
body weight at the same time. For broilers,
Black meat variety that grows to 5 pounds
much of the conventional industry’s process-
live weight in 9 to 10 weeks.
ing equipment is automated, and odd-sized
birds may not process well because they are Cebe Farms
not the size the equipment is designed to P.O. Box 1404
handle. Variations in carcass size cause real Ramona, CA 92065
problems for automated equipment. 760-789-8221
Most pastured poultry producers do not seek Matt John of Shady Lane Poultry Farm, Inc.
this much uniformity, however, because their is currently developing a new hatchery and
market does not require it. Using straight- plans to introduce several alternative broiler
run chicks gives a range of carcass sizes at lines during the next several years.
butchering time because the cockerels grow
Shady Lane Poultry Farm, Inc.
faster. Most pastured poultry producers are
520 Agawam Road
glad to have some variance in size, because
Winchester, KY 40391
some of their customers prefer smaller birds
859-737-2636
and some prefer larger birds. Some will
even choose to produce Cornish Game Hens Please send further information on other
(which are the same Cornish cross birds, just breeding flocks of commercial meat birds
butchered younger and smaller), while other to Anne Fanatico at annef@ncat.org.
Page 4 ATTRA Poultry Genetics for Pastured Production

5. There are genetic options in other countries. In Europe the slow-growing strains are
In France, in particular, there are lines that mainly supplied by the breeding companies
are bred for France’s range production sys- SASSO (www.sasso.fr) and Hubbard-ISA
tems. These lines have been developed dur- (www.hubbard-isa.com). They do not sell the
ing the past 30 years for pasture rearing, and actual broiler chicks, but only the parents;
they deserve side-by-side comparison trials however, many pastured poultry producers
in this country. have hatching capabilities. SASSO’s typi-
cal Label Rouge cross is a T44N male and
These distinctive lines are used primarily a SA51 female. (Using a different male—
by producers who are raising birds to be the T44NI—results in white under-feathers
marketed under the quality-labeling program in the offspring.) A typical Hubbard-ISA
known in France as Label Rouge (Red Label). cross is a S77N male and a JA57 female.
Food products carrying the Label Rouge logo Broilers from both of these crosses will have
are highly valued by French consumers. red feathers, yellow shanks, thin skin, and a
The Label Rouge program focuses on high- naked neck. Other parents are available for
quality products, mainly meats, with poul- broilers with white feathers and skin, black
try as the flagship product. The program feathers, barred feathers, feathered neck, or
emphasizes quality attributes such as taste, faster growth. These color combinations are
food safety, and free-range production. The possible because the female parents are red,
average consumer can easily tell the differ- but this is recessive. Therefore, depending
ence in taste between Label Rouge poultry on the male used, you can choose the color
and conventional poultry—in fact, regular of the feathers (red or black), skin (yellow or
taste-testing is a certification requirement to white), shanks (yellow or white), and naked
prove that these products are “vividly distin- neck or not. The ability to choose these
guishable” from conventional poultry. characteristics is important to French poultry
farmers, because their customers have per-
The main reason for the superior taste is the sonal preferences about these things.
use of slow-growing birds harvested close to
sexual maturity, instead of the fast-growing Some of the proven European genetics are
birds used in the conventional U.S. indus- available from B & B Agriculture, a small
try. The meat is flavorful and firm, but not year-round hatchery recently established
tough. in Canada. The hatchery offers medium-
and slow-growing birds that are adapted for
Slow-growing birds are the key to Label outdoor production and a gourmet market.
Rouge production—birds grow to 5 pounds Some of these breeds grow out in 12 weeks
live weight in 12 weeks. In comparison, the and qualify for the Label Rouge program.
fast-growing broilers (Cornish cross) of the B & B Agriculture has extensive experience
conventional industry reach five pounds in with these specialty breeds, having raised
six to seven weeks. The slow growth allows birds in the U.K., and also offers workshops
the organs, muscles, and bones to grow in and housing options on free-range produc-
harmony. The carcass is generally more tion.
elongated, with a smaller breast and larger
legs than conventional carcasses. B & B Agriculture
Box 30, Station Main
Using slow-growing genetics and the low- RR2 Brandon
density Label Rouge production system also Manitoba
offers distinct health advantages—ascites, leg Canada
problems, and sudden death are minimal, R7A 5Y2
and birds have good immunity. Mortality for 204-729-8868
conventional broilers in France is 6% during 204-729-8779 FAX
the 6-week grow-out; it is half that for Label baaron@mts.net
Rouge production (3%), even during a much www.bandbagriculture.com
longer grow-out (12 weeks). Contact: Barbara or Brian Aarons
www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 5

6. In the U.S., the S & G Poultry Company (for- 919-545-0022 FAX
merly Rainbow Breeder Company) is devel- www.albc-usa.org
oping similar genetics and offers Free Range
Turkeys are native to the Americas, and there
(FR) Broiler parents. FR Broiler offspring
are several slow-growing breeds available.
(day-old chicks) are also available. Male
These are naturally-mating turkeys and do
chicks are regularly available; female chicks
not require artificial insemination. Some
are available only occasionally, since they
have ties to the regions in which they were
are used more in breeding (females grow at
developed (e.g., the Bourbon Red is from
85% the rate of the males).
Kentucky, and the Narragansett is from Mas-
S & G Poultry sachusetts). Walters Hatchery offers eight
P.O. Box 2363 heirloom turkey breeds, some of which have
Clanton, AL 35046 been selected for commercial production.
205-280-3771
Walters Hatchery
dceiland@hiwaay.net
Rt. 3, Box 1490
Contact: Danny Eiland
Stilwell, OK 74960
Redbro is a Hubbard-ISA Shaver product 918-778-3535
that is currently available in the U.S. via a turkeylink@intellex.com
Canadian company that imports parents from www.historicalturkeys.com
France. It is not slow-growing but rather a
Developing more poultry breeds with geo-
medium-growing broiler—it grows out in 9 to
graphical ties could be an opportunity for
10 weeks. Jerry Srednicki at a Connecticut
small North American poultry breeders.
hatchery ships day-old chicks.
For more information on poultry genetics,
Yankee Chicks, Inc/Hall Brothers Hatchery
contact Anne Fanatico.
P.O. Box 1026
Norwich, CT 06360 Anne Fanatico
860-886-2421 or 860-608-1389 Poultry Program Specialist
860-889-6351 FAX National Center for
Contact: Jerry Srednicki Appropriate Technology
P.O. Box 3657
Importing live birds and hatching eggs from
Fayetteville, AR 72702
other countries is not a simple task, but those
479-442-9824
who are interested in pursuing this approach
479-442-9842 FAX
can learn more by visiting the Web site of the
www.attra.ncat.org
USDA Import and Export Center, www.aphis.
usda.gov/vs/ncie/.
There is also some interest in standard Amer-
ican heirloom chicken breeds for gourmet
poultry production. In general, however,
heirloom breeds have not yet been selected
for commercial production, and the carcass
will be very small at 12 weeks. Contact the
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
(ALBC) for more information about the
American heirloom breeds.
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
(ALBC)
P.O. Box 477
Pittsboro, NC 27312
919-542-5704
Page 6 ATTRA Poultry Genetics for Pastured Production

7. Notes:
www.attra.ncat.org ATTRA Page 7

8. Notes:
Poultry Genetics for Pastured Production
By Anne Fanatico, NCAT Agriculture Specialist
and Skip Polson
Updated 2005 by Holly Born, NCAT Agriculture
Specialist
©NCAT 2005
Edited by Paul Williams
Formatted by Cynthia Arnold
IP256
Slot# 257
Version 033105
The electronic version of Poultry Genetics for Pastured
Production is located at:
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