Cochin breeding, genetics, and showing

[cochinman2005]

Quote:
I'd like to make certain that I know exactly what shafting is, it refers to the center shaft being a LIGHTER? color than the rest of the feather, or is it darker? I know that the feedback that I have received on my Birchen roo is that he has shafting. He's on page 4.

Nancy, in all the pics of shafting, and in my own birds, I don't think I've ever seen any where the shaft is darker. I would be interested to know what causes shafting, and what is the proper way to breed away from it. I'm assuming shafting is the result of lack of pigment in the shaft, and not a result of poor feather quality causing the shaft to be more visible?

Shafting is indeed where the shaft of the feather is lighter. In a bird like a Brown Red, showing light shafting it's a lack of that good dark pigment all the way up the shaft of the feather. To breed away from it, you have to select against it, which isn't always easy to do. Most Brown Reds I see are overmarked, meaning that the males and females carry the lacing way too far down their fronts usually all the way between their legs. One thing that you could do is cross to Blacks. You'll get much less pattern in the first generation and they should have much improved shaft color. You could then work that back into your Brown Reds. The Brown Red male and the Lemon Blues in the most recent photos all display shafting so some good examples of what to look for that you need to breed away from.

 

[Candiss]

Cochinman2005,

Thank you for your constructive input, I do have younger roosters that are showing promise, if that does not work out I will indeed use some black cochins in my breeding of brown reds. Thank you again.

 

[cochinman2005]

Some other things to watch for with the Brown Reds. The males have a tendency to show white in the base of the cushion feathers, which I believe lends to increased shafting. Select males with nice dark undercolor (if you can) to use for breeding. the females don't show the white undercolor in the base of the cushion, but that doesn't mean they aren't carrying it genetically, so from an overall perspective the male will dictate your color. Use a female with well defined hackle markings and nice crisp breast lacing if you can. Ultimately, you want the lacing to stop about half way down the front of the chest.

 

[Candiss]

He does have some white cushion feathering (as you can see in picture below). So he does have a pigment issue, would you put him with black hens or a balck roo over brown red hens?

 

[cochinman2005]

Quote:
I would put that male (nice type on both him and the hen in the photo) over a couple Black hens, and then take the best male or two back to your pure Brown Red females and see what that does for you.

 

[Honeysucklefeathers]

Candiss, will you be having any eggs from your lemon blues for sale anytime soon?

 

[Reyvaughn]

This is my only large Cochin.
Sterling:

He's from show winning parents, so I sure hope he's show worthy, too.
ETA: Sterling is about 10wks old, but his breeder is wondering he's really a he. I'm pretty sure, but a pullet would be nice so I decided to get outside opinions. His wattles were quite red at 5wks, but he didn't develop a comb until about 6/7wks.


I also have two black mottled bantam cockerels and a trio of project Mille Fleur bantams (they are more of a calico).

Milton, Mildred and Millie:

Mildred's tail is being squished and pushed by Millie. It is actually quite nice and round.

And my two mottled cockerels:

They are 9wks old but the pictures are from about two weeks ago. They are finally just about feathered in; except for their tails. I just turned the heat lamp off on them. I thought they were going to always look like feather legged ostriches.
Their feathers finally smoothed out, too. I think I stressed them when I removed the divider of the brooder and combined the 25 Wyandottes and Delawares with them. One of the boys tries to peck my hand, so my hand pecks back if he gets me. Unless his attitude changes or he's an amazing type, he won't be staying long. Oh, and at 9wks, they are starting to crow. Oh jeez...

 

[Cakela]

I have a question about frizzles.

If I bred my blue frizzle roo with a white cochin what would I get? More frizzles or a chance of frizzle with regular feathers in there as well?

What if I bred black with blue, or blue and blue?

Just got my first cochin and he's a blue frizzle, want to get him some girls next spring, need to know what to get for pretty babies!

Genetics sort of.. boggles my mind, so if someone could take the time to explain it in easy terms I'd really, really appreciate it, and I'm sure my frizzle boy would too!

 

[jrobertson]

You would probably get black and blue offspring and about half would be frizzled. It's rather hard to say because the white could be hiding almost anything. But you will usually get half frizzled and half smooth when only using one frizzled parent. Two frizzled parents is not recommended because some birds will hatch with double frizzling gene which wil make them look terribly bald. If you want blue, black, and splash frizzles, breed blue to blue. If all you want is blue and black, breed to black.

 

[lilcrow]

Quote:
Cakela, very nice to have you on board, welcome.

I'm sorry to say there is no such thing as a simple explanation for chicken color genetics. It is terribly complex and difficult, that is the reason this thread was started.......for serious folks who want to breed excellent birds to standard or also folks who are working on projects (this means developing a new color in Cochins). We have a very vibrant, experienced and dedicated group of folks who are engaged in this thread and it will be VERY informative for you if you decide to stick around. I feel a need to caution you that it might be possible for you to feel ignored or discounted at times, simply because folks are so involved in the current discussions at hand and don't want to break the rhythm by stopping to explain something that is for them.....at a beginners level or not pertinent to what is going on at the time. I sincerely hope that you will develop a "tough hide," and hang in here. You will be amazed at what you will gain from it. There is nothing wrong with asking questions, but if you don't get answered, my suggestion would be to do a search on your topic here on BYC or generally just Google it. There is a world of information out here and many kind people who will share with you. There is also the "Cochin Thread" here on BYC, and it is at a slightly simpler level. They are wonderful people, you could drop in there. I'm sure you will get some great answers from them. Please just stick with it, it's worth it.
About your question, you are dealing with what is called the Andalusian gene; that's the color, the Frizzle is a different gene. If you do a search on here there will definitely be a LOT of helpful information about what this entails, and how to work with it. Color, both solid and patterned is the same no matter what breed you are working with. Some of the very best examples of color can be found in the Old English Game breed. I'm sure you could find some excellent info on breeding by those breeders.
I hope I've help you just a little bit, and if anybody can think of anything to add, please do.