Cochin butts

[karimw]

My giant Cochins do have to deal with a lot of mud so their legs can look a little rough when it rains, but it didn't stop me from getting more. They seem to take pretty good care of themselves.

Here's one of my newest - 6 weeks old yesterday!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Check out my website under standard Cochins and scroll to the bottom. You will see some Cochin butts of adult hens and can see how bad they get.
I do not think my bantam Cochin link works but my whites and other colors are sometimes on dirt and they are not bad at all. I do not trim vents or feet. I have great fertility and mine are heavily feathered.

Pullet that was in a dirt floored coop.......

And her father in a dirt floored coop and pen.............

 

[bock]

I have had two bantam cochins, and I have never had messy bum problems. They do tend to get gross leg feathers in winter though, so I trim them about this time of year (need to remember to do that). I must say though, that both of my cochins have been rather aggressive. My cochin rooster was a hateful little booger, he nearly took my sister's eye out! He didn't last too long.

My cochin hen I have now is not afraid to bite. She gets in fights with my dachshund, and whenever you pick her up, she will bite and twist the skin on my wrist. My friendliest hen is a hatchery RIR. Maybe everyone around here is just a little confused.

 

[Bunnylady]

Grubby feeties, yes. Dirty backsides? Not so much. Now, a soggy Silkie - that is one sorry sight!

Over the years, I have had some really sweet Bantam Cochins, and I have had some that were real snots! We have a couple of hens now that can be picked up and carried around (they will even eat out of your hand while being held), and a roo that has to have his butt kicked every so often to remind him of his place. I'm trying not to let the cranky ones contribute to the gene pool, so "Goldy" (aka "Stupid Chicken") will not father any eggs that I will hatch, even though he is a beautiful bird. My daughter raised Goldy, so she was pretty upset the first time he attacked her. She's old enough that she got over it, and has turned the tables on him many times since. Oddly, she is really fond of the little monster!

My opinion is that it would be best if you can see the parents, kinda like what they say about puppies. While you can't be sure that chicks from laid-back, friendly chickens will be as sweet as their parents when they grow up, aggressive birds do tend to pass on their fiercer natures to their offspring.

 

[kennedyscochins]

I have to say I have had 2 bantam cochin roos that were aggressive but are now gone because I have a 4 yr old and 2 yr old and I can't have attack chickens. NONE of my large fowl cochins have ever been aggressive. They are just big pets! My 4 yr. old picks them up and plays with them. No aggression. So, if you are going for the non aggressive, I would definitely get large fowl. In my experience, they seem to be calmer. But we also go out and play with them quite often, so they are all used to us.