Cochin Thread!!!

[suncatcher]

I love this picture. It's like she's saying "we'll aren't you a big hunk of burning love!"

Try entering it here on BYC caption thread! It is a great picture! I think she is telling him..... "Really, you kissed her by accident?"

 

[3BirdGirlz]

Hahahaha! I will do that

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I posted here about 2 weeks ago, about breeding mottleds. I thought maybe the thread was dead or something, because I never got a notice on my subscrpitions that anyone ever posted again. Somehow it unsubscribied! Anyways thanks for the help.

 

[joanie_maine]

I posted here about 2 weeks ago, about breeding mottleds. I thought maybe the thread was dead or something, because I never got a notice on my subscrpitions that anyone ever posted again. Somehow it unsubscribied! Anyways thanks for the help.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/punnett-squares

 

[CuteChick369]

I have a Cochin Frizzle question. I hatched 6 bantam cochins on Oct 10th. My Buff Orpington raised them, but recently she's quit! They are all feathered out and doing great, except for one of the frizzles, who I think might be a frazzle (I bought the eggs off ebay, so I don't know if there is a chance a frizzle matted with a frizzle). Her feathers are terrible! They are not at all soft like the other frizzle's or like the smooth feathers. They are like quills or sticks. I think it might hurt her a little when we pet her or pick her up, because she protests. It's been in the teens and 20's here (VERY unusual for our area of North Carolina) and all my other chickens seem to be doing ok, but I can tell she gets really cold. A lot of her skin shows, especially if she's in the wind. So, I've been bringing her in the house a lot. The six babies still sleep in a nest together in our uninsulated but draft free coop, and last night it got into the low teens. All the other babies seemed ok, and she did too, but her feet were cold when ever I checked on her, and this morning she was shivering. So I brought her in again.

Does anyone else have a "frazzled" cochin? Is there anything I can do to help feather growth? It almost seems like she still has the sheaths on her feathers, but I've tried pulling on them and nothing comes off. She does preen herself, so I would think she's taking care of her feathers properly.

What about chicken sweaters? Do they really work? I always wondered if they would hurt the chicken's natural ability to hold in heat, by not allowing the chicken to fluff up. But, she's got nothing to fluff so maybe it would help? Anyone have experience with this?

Here is her picture (sorry it has my computer in it - I was showing my co-workers yesterday who was working with me on my project!). She looks much softer than she really is - those feathers are all pretty prickly and some are not even feathers - just a very hard plasticy type thing stuck to her! Poor thing - she is so sweet and does great to about 40 degrees.

Thanks!!

 

[mibirder]

The "bad news" is that "frazzles" are not suited for colder climates. Until all of this Arctic air stays up north (even north of here in Michigan) I'd be leary of leaving her outside. Normal frizzles have enough fluff that they'll be ok, but frazzles (double frizzles) just cant hold body heat enough to survive the cold. There isn't anything you can do in terms of feather growth so your best bet will be to provide a place for her inside until it warms up.

I have one accidental frazzle (don't breed for that ever) and she gets to spend the winter indoors as a house chicken. Otherwise she would make it.

Dave

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/punnett-squares

Thank you but I already got my answers

 

[CuteChick369]

Thank you, mibirder! Good to hear from experience. I'm in NC so our winters are generally mild, but this frigid cold is rough! I've been bringing her in when she looks cold, but tomorrow the high is only 20 so I'll keep her in all day. My aunt is making her a sweater - I'll give it a try though it's been rainy so a sweater would be worse than nothing in the rain!

She's so cute, but I feel so bad for her feathers. I think it even hurts her to be held or petted, so we don't handle her unless needed.

Thanks again!

 

[Scifisarah]

Thank you, mibirder! Good to hear from experience. I'm in NC so our winters are generally mild, but this frigid cold is rough! I've been bringing her in when she looks cold, but tomorrow the high is only 20 so I'll keep her in all day. My aunt is making her a sweater - I'll give it a try though it's been rainy so a sweater would be worse than nothing in the rain!

She's so cute, but I feel so bad for her feathers. I think it even hurts her to be held or petted, so we don't handle her unless needed.

Thanks again!

I'd try to go with some kind of wool for the sweater, so it helps to conserve her heat well. Good luck!

 

[AndyCap]

Hi all, been away, lots going on, lots to catch up on.

Here are two of my partridge cockerels from my last breeding, one for my mottled line and one from a standard partridge line.

Before


and now