Not really. My backyard is full dirt and rocks and my 8 LF Cochin's have free run of it. (I have 4 Gold Laced, 2 Silver Laced, and 2 Splash.) When it rains they are good about getting back to their pen out of it but as soon as the rain stops they are out again. I have a Splash hen that's favorite pass time on drizzly days is to trudge through EVERY puddle she can find and get all soggy... -_- . Her feet will be dirt muck brown all day but by the next day when she is all dry again she has cleaned all the muck off herself and looks normal again. The weather and dirt can make the foot feathers a tad on the stiff side and make them break so if you want them to have those good long feathers its good to have them on a soft area like grass.
This is Cotton Ball, my Splash hen.
The picture of her in the house was a drizzly day and there was a big puddle outside. My husband was trying to fix my computer for me and I opened the back door and walked away for just a second cuz I was going out there and when I turned around the hens were climbing all over him. (They think they are house chickens.) Cotton Ball got his shirt all wet. For whatever reason they will NOT go roost at night, they insist on having a dog pile and sleep right at the back door. But ya you can see from that last pic how soppy a white one can get and that's kinda mild for how she normally looks on rainy days. She usually gets the muck clear up her chest and on her face too. Only other thing I can think of with their foot feathers is you DO have to be careful if you live in a cold area! If their feet feathers get wet in the winter they can get sick and or frostbite on their feet and legs so just make sure they don't have puddle days then.
This is Cry Baby, my Splash Roo. (He posed for that it was kinda funny.) Behind him is the gist of my whole backyard. Rocks, Dirt, Weeds, and Bugs.
(<-- Carrot Top, my Gold Laced roo. His nickname is Boss Man. He runs the backyard.)
Just cuz, this is my favorite hen. Her name is Nibblet (Gold Laced) but we call her House Chicken because she looks for EVERY opportunity she can to get in the house and just wander around. (She is also the Gold Laced on my husbands arm in the above pic.) Sometimes I will let her sit with me on my chair while I'm on my computer when she gets really insistent and just sits at the back door pecking the glass...
(<-- Dirt bath party!)
Overall Cochins are great pet chickens. VERY friendly and love to just be with you. Mine will just sit on your lap like a cat and just let you pet them. Some people say they are not good layers and I guess it would all depend on your personal birds but I have 6 hens and get 4-5 eggs a day. Very winter hardy but if you live in hot area's these birds have a lot of extra fluff so they would <3 you forever if you take them out some ice packs. Only other down thing I can think of is they do go broody often. Most the time if you just toss them off the nest they will snap out of it. I did just have one hen that INSISTED she was having chicks. Tried to get her to stop being broody for over a week before I finally threw in the towel....
This is Foxy (Gold Laced) with her 2 new chicks. One on her back is Apollo (Gold Laced) and Artemis (I think its a Blue?) They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow. Not sure if its normal for a mama, but she lets me do whatever with her chicks. If they are under her and I want them she will stand up on her nest and let me fish them out. Has never been aggressive or upset if I play with them and will actually leave the chicks with me if another hen gets close and chase her across the yard before she comes back lol. By day 2 the chicks were already super friendly and would start peeping excitedly when I went out to check on them and would poke their heads out from under Foxy to see me.
OK I'm going to be quiet now! I REALLY like my birds...
Thanks for explaining about their leg feathers. You have some beautiful birds and I liked your stories!
