Cochin Bantams and Frizzle Cochin Bantams!!

[County Boy]

he has interesting colouration. Which project are you growing him out for? I have had a couple of similar one from a millefleur roo and a blue hen. Not sure what the breeding was behind the roo though as he came from a pen with a variety of mottled as well as mf.

He is out of my Mille Fleur project. His father is my rooster Nigus, and his mother is my F3 Mf/ Mottled hen Tuba. I have some more photos of him I can share in a few minutes. I really like him as of right now and can't wait to see him in a few months.

 

[County Boy]

Not a great pic but you can see his front side here. He has white pin feathers coming in as well.


And here is his parents- (these photos are old because Tuba is broody now and Nigus looks horrible)





For the most part my Mille Fleur hatching is done for the spring as every hen has gone broody. I'm hoping to get some keepers out of the chicks they hatch. All I have still laying are my MF frizzle hens, and my Buff Barred project girls.

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Any of you Bantam Cochin/Cochin Frizzle experts able to help me out with a feather issue ? I have one frizzle hen and one smooth BC hen; the frizzle is suffering some major feather loss around her hind end. No mite issue and the rooster really isn't treading her enough to cause all that feather loss. The smooth BC is losing some of her feathers too but not nearly to the extent of the frizzle. I'm not sure if there is a feather picker in the crowd or not but I need suggestions on how to get those feathers to grow back and how to stop a possible feather picker. Any info will be appreciated !

 

[jajeanpierre]

Any of you Bantam Cochin/Cochin Frizzle experts able to help me out with a feather issue ? I have one frizzle hen and one smooth BC hen; the frizzle is suffering some major feather loss around her hind end. No mite issue and the rooster really isn't treading her enough to cause all that feather loss. The smooth BC is losing some of her feathers too but not nearly to the extent of the frizzle. I'm not sure if there is a feather picker in the crowd or not but I need suggestions on how to get those feathers to grow back and how to stop a possible feather picker. Any info will be appreciated !

Did you buy her from a hatchery? Is it possible she is a double-copy frizzle?

 

[Puddin Fluff]

Any of you Bantam Cochin/Cochin Frizzle experts able to help me out with a feather issue ? I have one frizzle hen and one smooth BC hen; the frizzle is suffering some major feather loss around her hind end. No mite issue and the rooster really isn't treading her enough to cause all that feather loss. The smooth BC is losing some of her feathers too but not nearly to the extent of the frizzle. I'm not sure if there is a feather picker in the crowd or not but I need suggestions on how to get those feathers to grow back and how to stop a possible feather picker. Any info will be appreciated !

We have had some luck putting Vicks Salve on the area being picked. The birds don't like the taste so they will leave it alone. However, we had one hen who became feather adicted and I simply could not keep up eith her picking so she got a new home. Good luck.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Any of you Bantam Cochin/Cochin Frizzle experts able to help me out with a feather issue ? I have one frizzle hen and one smooth BC hen; the frizzle is suffering some major feather loss around her hind end. No mite issue and the rooster really isn't treading her enough to cause all that feather loss. The smooth BC is losing some of her feathers too but not nearly to the extent of the frizzle. I'm not sure if there is a feather picker in the crowd or not but I need suggestions on how to get those feathers to grow back and how to stop a possible feather picker. Any info will be appreciated !

I forgot to add, get her a saddle to protect her from the rooster. If it is really bad, you might have to remove her from the rooster until she molts out all those broken feathers.

If she is a double-copy frizzle, she should not be kept with rooster because her feathers will not ever protect her from his claws and spurs even with a saddle. Did you see the picture of my "Kitchen Chicken" that I posted recently? She's a double-copy frizzle that was with a rooster for a very short period of time and was wearing a saddle. Does your frizzle's feathers seem to be broken off the shaft like mine, leaving what looks like wires, possibly with a little tuft of feather at the end?

If she is a double-copy frizzle, separate her from the rooster. It is just cruel to allow them to try to breed such a fragile animal. I thought a saddle was enough protection but I was wrong.

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

Any of you Bantam Cochin/Cochin Frizzle experts able to help me out with a feather issue ? I have one frizzle hen and one smooth BC hen; the frizzle is suffering some major feather loss around her hind end. No mite issue and the rooster really isn't treading her enough to cause all that feather loss. The smooth BC is losing some of her feathers too but not nearly to the extent of the frizzle. I'm not sure if there is a feather picker in the crowd or not but I need suggestions on how to get those feathers to grow back and how to stop a possible feather picker. Any info will be appreciated !

I find most of my pecking problems happen when I have a pen overcrowded. Once the habit is learned they seem to keep pecking. When I find a feather picker it immediately is removed from my flock and never reintroduced into the flock. Only way to get feathers to grow back is time. Sorry I don;t have a cure but if you eliminate the problem bird things get better quickly.

 

[NosiphoChooks]

Not a great pic but you can see his front side here. He has white pin feathers coming in as well. And here is his parents- (these photos are old because Tuba is broody now and Nigus looks horrible) For the most part my Mille Fleur hatching is done for the spring as every hen has gone broody. I'm hoping to get some keepers out of the chicks they hatch. All I have still laying are my MF frizzle hens, and my Buff Barred project girls.

I love nigus he is a stunner. And tuba is pretty special too great type. I have a similar chick which is a frizzle I am going to grow out.

 

[Windy Bay Farm]

Did you buy her from a hatchery? Is it possible she is a double-copy frizzle?

We have had some luck putting Vicks Salve on the area being picked. The birds don't like the taste so they will leave it alone. However, we had one hen who became feather adicted and I simply could not keep up eith her picking so she got a new home. Good luck.

I forgot to add, get her a saddle to protect her from the rooster. If it is really bad, you might have to remove her from the rooster until she molts out all those broken feathers. If she is a double-copy frizzle, she should not be kept with rooster because her feathers will not ever protect her from his claws and spurs even with a saddle. Did you see the picture of my "Kitchen Chicken" that I posted recently? She's a double-copy frizzle that was with a rooster for a very short period of time and was wearing a saddle. Does your frizzle's feathers seem to be broken off the shaft like mine, leaving what looks like wires, possibly with a little tuft of feather at the end? If she is a double-copy frizzle, separate her from the rooster. It is just cruel to allow them to try to breed such a fragile animal. I thought a saddle was enough protection but I was wrong.

I find most of my pecking problems happen when I have a pen overcrowded. Once the habit is learned they seem to keep pecking. When I find a feather picker it immediately is removed from my flock and never reintroduced into the flock. Only way to get feathers to grow back is time. Sorry I don;t have a cure but if you eliminate the problem bird things get better quickly.

Thank you all for your help and info, I'll definitely have to make some changes. I'm not sure how I can tell if she is a frazzle or not. She is not from a hatchery so maybe the only way to find out is to contact the person I got her from.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thank you all for your help and info, I'll definitely have to make some changes. I'm not sure how I can tell if she is a frazzle or not. She is not from a hatchery so maybe the only way to find out is to contact the person I got her from.

When I bought my frazzles from a hatchery, they advertised that I should expect half frizzle, half smooth. That ratio is correct for a normal frizzle paired with smooth. There should never be a double-copy frizzle from that breeding pen, but I got three double-copy frizzles (frazzles) and only one normal frizzle. No smooths. Obviously they were breeding frizzle to frizzle, possibly even frazzle to frizzle. This year, the same hatchery advertises a ratio of 75% frizzles and 25% smooth, which is the ratio for breeding frizzle to frizzle.

It is unlikely that whomever you speak to at the hatchery--if it is a commercial one--has any idea of what is in the breeding pens. Some big hatcheries get their chicks from other suppliers, so will have no knowledge of the pen make up at all.

Do you have a good picture of the damaged feathers of your hen? Do your birds feathers look dull, stringy, almost oily or are they vibrant and wide? New feathers on a frazzle are okay, but as the feathers age they just look dead. When you handle the birds, do you end up with broken bits of feathers or feathers that fall out or break? Put one of your birds on a table and examine the feathers--roll them between your fingers. I don't think a normal feathered bird, even a normal frizzle, will ever have a wirey feather where all that is left is the shaft of the feather. It is pretty distinctive on a frazzle and really can't be mistaken for just a damaged feather.