Introduction
I started with a pair of MF Cochin Bantams about 2 years ago (2019). The parents of that pair were very bad type and color. The hen was way better in color.
(Photo from Corbitt Farms, not mine. Mom had good base coloring and Dad’s was all over the place. Cushion is way too small on both birds.)
However, the chicks from the two turned out as good starts. We got a trio as pets, right after beginning our chicken journey.
In 2020, I realized that the chickens we got could go far if bred correctly. So I selected the best hen of the two, still light, yet not too light in color, and bred to the rooster.
(Chase was just beginning to get fuller in feathers and type when he passed away. His flowering was looking amazing the days leading up to his death. But I won’t post pics of that, because he was deathly ill. We tried to save him, but we couldn’t. He was a bit long, needed a fuller cushion, and his comb was no good. He also had “weak wings” I assume.)
(Chloe never got the fullness she was supposed to get, but Chase was obviously better in type. Her color was a bit light, too. Part of her comb got pulled off and hung down the rest of her life. Type wise her tail is too small, breast isn’t full enough, she doesn’t have enough width, her head is carried not very well, but she carried her wings perfectly. In color, she could’ve been better, but she was a good start.)
That’s where I am currently. We set between 8 and 10 eggs, all of which were fertile, but, due to a power outage in hatch day, only 7 chicks made it. With them, we grew them out. We had five roosters and two pullets. Of the pullets, one was almost perfect in flowering, but her base was too light. She was very promising, yet she recently passed away. If the five roosters, two have good type compared with the others. They are wider, bigger, and better than the others. However, their cushions and tails are way too small. They are only 9.5 months old, so I assume they will fill out *some* in the next year. But they won’t be too great of quality. I think I will wait a little bit longer to see for sure who is the best to breed. One has more flowering, and I am currently trying to breed him with one of the hens. I’ve tried to avoid sibling x sibling breeding, but the 3 chickens we have now are the only ones left.
(Casey has much to like about her. Her color is finally to my liking, her eyes are huge, she has better type than her mate. Thing is, her cushion is still a bit small, she could be a tad shorter, she has an extra point in her uneven comb, she has a few stringy feathers, I think. Also, she isn’t too wide, her wings are a bit low in the photos, probably having to do with the heat in Florida already. Her flowering isn’t much, and she needs way more. However, again, it’ll keep developing.)
After getting a good number of chicks from them, I hope to do line breeding. I am no good at genetics now (at all, trust me), so feel free to correct anything I say. I will explain, to the best of my ability, these main points:
-Color/Flowering/Base
-Type
-My Future Breeding Wishes
(Photo from Corbitt Farms, not mine. Mom had good base coloring and Dad’s was all over the place. Cushion is way too small on both birds.)
However, the chicks from the two turned out as good starts. We got a trio as pets, right after beginning our chicken journey.
In 2020, I realized that the chickens we got could go far if bred correctly. So I selected the best hen of the two, still light, yet not too light in color, and bred to the rooster.
(Chase was just beginning to get fuller in feathers and type when he passed away. His flowering was looking amazing the days leading up to his death. But I won’t post pics of that, because he was deathly ill. We tried to save him, but we couldn’t. He was a bit long, needed a fuller cushion, and his comb was no good. He also had “weak wings” I assume.)
(Chloe never got the fullness she was supposed to get, but Chase was obviously better in type. Her color was a bit light, too. Part of her comb got pulled off and hung down the rest of her life. Type wise her tail is too small, breast isn’t full enough, she doesn’t have enough width, her head is carried not very well, but she carried her wings perfectly. In color, she could’ve been better, but she was a good start.)
That’s where I am currently. We set between 8 and 10 eggs, all of which were fertile, but, due to a power outage in hatch day, only 7 chicks made it. With them, we grew them out. We had five roosters and two pullets. Of the pullets, one was almost perfect in flowering, but her base was too light. She was very promising, yet she recently passed away. If the five roosters, two have good type compared with the others. They are wider, bigger, and better than the others. However, their cushions and tails are way too small. They are only 9.5 months old, so I assume they will fill out *some* in the next year. But they won’t be too great of quality. I think I will wait a little bit longer to see for sure who is the best to breed. One has more flowering, and I am currently trying to breed him with one of the hens. I’ve tried to avoid sibling x sibling breeding, but the 3 chickens we have now are the only ones left.
(I purposely used photos that wouldn’t lie about Cashew’s type—it’s pretty bad. But he still has a year to keep growing. He is missing a point on his comb, his wings hang low, his tail is tiny, he’s way too long, the usual. However, he is developing okay flowering— we have the white and some black— though we could always use more. His color—like his father’s—is pretty spot on. Flowering is the only thing to wait on. Usually around 3 years old, this color should be good on judging amount of flowering. That’s the end of adding flowers of this breed, as far as I know.)
(Casey has much to like about her. Her color is finally to my liking, her eyes are huge, she has better type than her mate. Thing is, her cushion is still a bit small, she could be a tad shorter, she has an extra point in her uneven comb, she has a few stringy feathers, I think. Also, she isn’t too wide, her wings are a bit low in the photos, probably having to do with the heat in Florida already. Her flowering isn’t much, and she needs way more. However, again, it’ll keep developing.)
After getting a good number of chicks from them, I hope to do line breeding. I am no good at genetics now (at all, trust me), so feel free to correct anything I say. I will explain, to the best of my ability, these main points:
-Color/Flowering/Base
-Type
-My Future Breeding Wishes
- Next page: The Perfect Bird
