I am obsessed with these tiny, succulent, perfectly cooked, juicy hens that come out of their coops on a daily basis. I love how they look, the way they taste, and the way they feel on your fingers.
I love my cornish hens. I love the way they smell, the way they taste, and the way they feel on your fingers.
Cornish hens are one of those birds that are the lifeblood of the poultry industry. They are the most common bird in America, but not in the least because they’re so delicious and, while they’re not a common bird in Europe, they are almost always eaten.
The problem is that cornish hens are actually one of the most endangered species in the world. Because of a number of different factors, including changes in how the world cooks and prepares poultry, cornish hens are on the verge of extinction.
In 2006 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service released a list of the country’s top 10 bird species. That list was for commercial poultry, not backyard chickens. After a few years of culling, the poultry industry has stopped using cornish hens. But they aren’t the only endangered bird. In 1997 in the United Kingdom, the number of birds fell from over 700,000 to just under 100,000.
It was a big change. The last time the US actually took action to protect the birds was during the 1990s, when the USDA and other government agencies took action to stop the use of polystyrene foam pellets in chicken feed. That action was a big win for the birds. The fact that they could be free of the plastic material that has killed and injured so many birds around the world makes them all the more effective.