Barred Cochin Bantum Sex. Too early still?

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have 5 Cochin roosters running with my large breed flock because I can't butcher any of them, so the extras get moved out with the standard breeds. They have no troubles breeding. In my opinion they are a perfect rooster for a flock of standard breed hens. My large roosters Chase them occasionally but mostly they are left alone by them.

 

[orchardflock]

Okay, bantam newbie's mind spinning here. We just got a second flock of assorted breed straight bantams for my kids to use for 4H. I was assuming I had to either eat the roosters or keep them separate. Can I really just put bantam roosters in with my big hens (and big rooster)? They won't kill each other? We just separated out the chicks that were normal sized breeds from the bantams.

Sorry to distract from the original question. One of my two cochins (5 weeks old) looks just like your black non-frizzled one and I'm guessing roo. My frizzle cochin is hopefully a female.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Okay, bantam newbie's mind spinning here. We just got a second flock of assorted breed straight bantams for my kids to use for 4H. I was assuming I had to either eat the roosters or keep them separate. Can I really just put bantam roosters in with my big hens (and big rooster)? They won't kill each other? We just separated out the chicks that were normal sized breeds from the bantams.

Sorry to distract from the original question. One of my two cochins (5 weeks old) looks just like your black non-frizzled one and I'm guessing roo. My frizzle cochin is hopefully a female.

It's a bit more complicated. I move adolescent bantam roosters over to my big shed and put them in a pen. It can take a month or months before they are accepted. My birds aren't confined, except the young roosters, and I have plenty of places for everyone to get away from each other.

Some roosters that grew up together can be penned together without fighting, others are troubles. I manage my growing roosters. Penning or removing them as necessary, and butchering any extreme troublemakers.

It's better to have either one rooster, or more than two to displace any fighting.

 

[Mavabird]

It's a bit more complicated. I move adolescent bantam roosters over to my big shed and put them in a pen. It can take a month or months before they are accepted. My birds aren't confined, except the young roosters, and I have plenty of places for everyone to get away from each other.

Some roosters that grew up together can be penned together without fighting, others are troubles. I manage my growing roosters. Penning or removing them as necessary, and butchering any extreme troublemakers.

It's better to have either one rooster, or more than two to displace any fighting.

This is my first time with bantams, so I'm learning. We got the three bantam Cochin chicks at the same time as three Marans and two EEs, and they're all getting along fine at the moment. So if they continue to get along, I can keep Ichiro with Chibiko and the five regular gals so he won't mate Chibiko bald. I don't have any other roosters, and my other pen has four two-year-old hens. I inherited two Leghorn babies that I'm hoping to move in with the older ladies.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

This is my first time with bantams, so I'm learning. We got the three bantam Cochin chicks at the same time as three Marans and two EEs, and they're all getting along fine at the moment. So if they continue to get along, I can keep Ichiro with Chibiko and the five regular gals so he won't mate Chibiko bald. I don't have any other roosters, and my other pen has four two-year-old hens. I inherited two Leghorn babies that I'm hoping to move in with the older ladies.

That's What I would do too.

 

[orchardflock]

That makes sense, thank you. We've got the ability to house the roosters separately and watch carefully, I just hadn't even realized that putting them with the big hens was even a possibility.

I also hadn't thought about a bantam rooster damaging my frizzle cochin's feathers. We'll definitely watch carefully for that.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It's almost inevitable for there to be some feather wearing from mating over the coarse of the year on a frizzle hen. Hopefully she doesn't end up his favorite because she will probably be more meek than the rest.

Bantam cochins are bigger bantams than some other breeds, so they do well with bigger breeds.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I found a photo of two of my bantam cochin roosters amongst some of the hens for size comparison.

 

[Mavabird]

I found a photo of two of my bantam cochin roosters amongst some of the hens for size comparison.

Thank you for that. I'll just have to see how it does with keeping a rooster. They're just so stinkin' cute!