Cochin Bantams and Frizzle Cochin Bantams!!

[TeaChick]

The inside of our garage burned last night along with my chicks too young to be out with my other chickens but too old to be in the guest bathroom in our house anymore.My hubby told me to get some more and I am desperately hoping someone can help. If anyone has calico, mottled, splashed, partridge, or unusually colored bantam cochin hatching eggs please let me know who and how much they want for them. I had some fairly nice chicks as I was just starting with the Cochins. I only have 1 now from chicks I got from the farm supply here as a pet. She was in my bantam pen outside with my d'uccles. I am not asking people to just hand me things, and I do want nicer than hatchery quality like I lost and colors that cannot be purchased from hatcheries. I don't show and never will, so expensive eggs from show birds I just can't do money-wise with all of the loss and damage we have here. We have insurance for the fire but not yet not sure how much they will cover but certainly not my chicks.
Thanks to anyone that can help!

I'm so sorry, Hon!

Wish I could help; I have a white frizzle bantam cochin "hen" who hasn't started laying yet.

 

[TeaChick]

I wasn't worried about the actual pens--I'll use two parrot aviaries or some 4' x 8' portable tractors for pens with little coops for each pen. I'm going to convert a pre-fab big dog house into a little coop for them. I was more wanting information on how you would set up a pen with a couple of pullets you want to get chicks from if I am not using an incubator. The first breeding I will do will be obvious whose chicks are from which pullet. I'll be breeding a black double-copy frizzle cockerel to a smooth splash and a smooth mottled bird. I believe the mottled is recessive and black is a proper color to breed to. If I understand correctly, all the mottled hen's chicks will be black, and the splash's chicks will be blue, and everyone will be frizzled.

I will also have a blue smooth cockerel and a blue pullet, which will probably be bred together if everybody is old enough.

I still need to look into the genetics of the mottled birds.

I was mainly interested in information on how to manage them for the best chance of success of having the hens set and hatch their own eggs. I have lots of Silkies as back ups.

Thanks for any advice.

You can set them up a brooder. I have one that's on legs, so it's about 4 feet tall (to the top), and the inside is about 3 feet long, about 2 feet front-to-back, and about 1 foot high. if I had to, I could put two LF broodies in there just for setting; I would move them someplace larger (a small chicken tractor maybe) when they "lock down" around day 18, so that each one would have space to raise her brood.
Cochins are so friendly (usually) that you might be able to brood them together in a small brooding cage and then move them to a middlin' sized chicken tractor for their lock down; as long as there's enough space just in case all the broodies you have in there hatch out all their eggs.
That's rare, of course, but it's better to give them more space than they need than it is to give only just enough space for a 90% hatch rate and then have 99% or 100% (better to give space for 100% and only end up with 75% KWIM).

I don't know enough about the genetics to comment there; logistics and design are my areas of talent.

If you have a pen with one roo and two pullets (hens, by then, I assume), then you're all set. Cochins almost always do go broody; if I understand correctly, sitting on eggs is something that kind of goes such that if one hen sees another sitting (and if she's a broody), then she'll figure it's what the cool kids are doing and probably go ahead and sit on a clutch of her own.
If you want to collect eggs and wait until they start sitting and then give them eggs, then I would suggest the following course of action:
- collect eggs daily, put them in an egg carton at room temp pointy end down
- put wooden eggs (or golf balls, etc) in the two favorite nesting spots, leave them there all the time (if they're painted to look like eggs, you might want to mark them; I would use any kind of jibberish that will look to a chicken to be similar to the way I mark the eggs I collect for hatching)
- when one of the hens decides to sit, she'll sit on the pile of wooden eggs (or whatever) you've been leaving in the nest
- when she's asleep the first night, remove all the wooden eggs from under her, and set out the eggs you want her to hatch for you around her; theoretically, she should push the eggs under her (from her perspective, how'd they get out there to begin with, silly eggs lol) and hatch you some baby chicks.

Does that answer your questions? This is not from my experience, this is from what I've read and it's what I would do if (plan to do when) I have a Bantam Cochin breeding program.

 

[TeaChick]

Sounds like you have it figured out! You may have to do some trial breedings to see what might be lurking in the gentics of your birds. It is all part of the journey! Have fun, and enjoy your chickens, is what it is all about. Hens going broody happens all on it own, you can;t force it, and some hens are harder to break once they go broody. Once a hen goes broody, she knows what to do. You will want to allow her the space and safety to raise her chicks.

This is wise! I wish I'd thought of it!!!
I suggest an incubator for these hatchings, just what I would do.

 

[jajeanpierre]

.My frazzled chicks will be euthanized. don't have a problem with that, I feel it is more humane. Yes... I would never breed so as to get frazzled chicks. I don't want frazzled chicks. BUT...finding chicks from a reputable breeder is easier said than done! I looked everywhere for some and Ideal is the only place I could find them. I advertised for them to no avail. Buying from reputable breeders is generally too expensive for people ho just want pets. That is why I plan to raise better than hatchery chicks. I never expect what I have to be show quality. I don't and won't show. I will find a very good roo to improve what I have, of a color that I can use. You can't buy just 1 roo chick. Buying one roo and having it shipped is generally toooo expensive for a backyard person. So...I have plans to buy eggs from someone that raises nice bantam Cochins and hopefully hatch a roo. That will also be a guess..you never know what you will get. If I could buy a few nice chicks, I would. IF I could find someone to sell them to me, and due to state laws they must come from a NPIP certified flock.
OK...so I have found someone...I am waiting for costs. Like I have said, we lost so much and have so much interior damage to our garage to the fire this past week...paying $30.00 + shipping for 6 eggs is not what is reasonable for me. I have spent most of today looking online for lamps for a new brooder. I have to fix a new brooder NOW as I have 2 hatchling bantam blue salmon Faverolles chicks that need a place other than my incubator that still has eggs incubating for 2 other types of chickens in it.
Sorry, I am not b****g, I am upset at our losses inc my chicks, and just to say that buying from other than hatcheries for pet birds just isn't feasible for most people for different reasons.
BTW check your insurance...under our policy you cannot file a claim for animals lost in a fire!

I was given the name of two respected breeders by someone from the FaceBook page, Exhibition Frizzle Breeders. I wanted smooth (to breed to my frazzle). Shipping two pullets hatched in June. 2013, was about $55, plus the cost of the birds. One top breeder offered me a pullet for $30. It can't have been that horrible a bird because she still had it. You might think of going that route. Cochins International has a list of breeders that is accessible to members. (I've just joined, so don't yet have access to them.) Cochins International also has a FaceBook page that you are expected to be a member of the breed club to join, although many don't join the Club. You might look to buy an older male that a breeder wants to replace, or he isn't thrilled with how he is working with his stock. There are lots of these birds around and they can get shipped to you. Cockerels should be easy to get compared to pullets. A top breeder's culls are better than most people's best stock.

No, I have nothing for sale. I'm just starting in this game.

Sorry about your garage.

 

[jajeanpierre]

You can set them up a brooder. I have one that's on legs, so it's about 4 feet tall (to the top), and the inside is about 3 feet long, about 2 feet front-to-back, and about 1 foot high. if I had to, I could put two LF broodies in there just for setting; I would move them someplace larger (a small chicken tractor maybe) when they "lock down" around day 18, so that each one would have space to raise her brood.
Cochins are so friendly (usually) that you might be able to brood them together in a small brooding cage and then move them to a middlin' sized chicken tractor for their lock down; as long as there's enough space just in case all the broodies you have in there hatch out all their eggs.
That's rare, of course, but it's better to give them more space than they need than it is to give only just enough space for a 90% hatch rate and then have 99% or 100% (better to give space for 100% and only end up with 75% KWIM).

I don't know enough about the genetics to comment there; logistics and design are my areas of talent.

If you have a pen with one roo and two pullets (hens, by then, I assume), then you're all set. Cochins almost always do go broody; if I understand correctly, sitting on eggs is something that kind of goes such that if one hen sees another sitting (and if she's a broody), then she'll figure it's what the cool kids are doing and probably go ahead and sit on a clutch of her own.
If you want to collect eggs and wait until they start sitting and then give them eggs, then I would suggest the following course of action:
- collect eggs daily, put them in an egg carton at room temp pointy end down
- put wooden eggs (or golf balls, etc) in the two favorite nesting spots, leave them there all the time (if they're painted to look like eggs, you might want to mark them; I would use any kind of jibberish that will look to a chicken to be similar to the way I mark the eggs I collect for hatching)
- when one of the hens decides to sit, she'll sit on the pile of wooden eggs (or whatever) you've been leaving in the nest
- when she's asleep the first night, remove all the wooden eggs from under her, and set out the eggs you want her to hatch for you around her; theoretically, she should push the eggs under her (from her perspective, how'd they get out there to begin with, silly eggs lol) and hatch you some baby chicks.

Does that answer your questions? This is not from my experience, this is from what I've read and it's what I would do if (plan to do when) I have a Bantam Cochin breeding program.

That was helpful, yes, thank you.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had two mommies on chicks before the chicks would just go to who ever was closest.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I had two mommies on chicks before the chicks would just go to who ever was closest.

Someone else said the same sort of thing--that Silkies sort of co-parent. I was hoping to have a trio of two hens and a rooster and let them hatch their own eggs, leaving everyone together as a family group. I'm just not sure how it all works out.

I'm a bit worried about keeping eggs at room temperature. Probably by the end of April, my house will be kept at 78F, maybe higher. I don't know how that would work with hatching eggs. I'll have to read up on it.

I was planning to have a little coop with two nest boxes on the side inside one of my parrot aviaries. That will allow two hens to hatch eggs and raise babies in a big, safe area. That's the plan.

 

[Frizzled Pink]

@ESofVA I have spent most of today looking online for lamps for a new brooder.

i dont use heat lamps i use a brinsea eco glow, my personal opinion is less of a fire hazard, but just wanted to throw that out there in case you wanted to research that

 

[eggorthechicken]

I had 5 hens who co-parented 13 chicks. They just took turns sitting and they all stayed together with the chicks in the yard. It was cute to watch.

 

[ESofVA]

Quote:
Make sure that you can keep parrots and chickens together. Some birds carry disease that don't bother them but can be passed on to different kinds of other birds. I can't remember if that holds true for chickens/parrots or not but worth a check.

I had several bantam chicks of different breeds, Sebrights, Faverolles, Cochins...that were about 6-8 weeks old and they would sleep under
my Silkie roo's wings at night and in his fluff!