Cochin Characteristsics?

[77horses]

Hi!

We just recently got a splash cochin rooster from someone(who is on BYC also) at a chickenstock meet. We named him Foghorn and the person said he is 4-5 months old.
Anyway, when we brought him home, the girls(two red stars and two buff orpingtons, who are 4 months old) acted fine around him. They pecked at his feathered feet alittle(which was pretty funny because they were like, "What in the world are feathers doing on your feet!?") but now the red stars seem to be bullying him around.

They don't aggressively attack him, but they like to chase him away from food, peck at him when he comes near, etc. And the boff orp girls aren't being very nice to him either.

Like I said, they don't attack him aggressively, they just chase him and peck him. We want him to be a tough yet gentle rooster, not one that is afraid of the girls. We are hoping to breed him with them. He still seems young, but once he gets older I'm hoping he will straighten out and not let the girls push him around.

And also, are all cochin breeds(raised from babies or not) always shy of humans??? Foghorn is very gentle, yet when we get near him, he runs away. And when we pick him up, he pecks(not very hard) He doesn't like to be held. I have read that all cochin breeds tend to be shy. Is this true? And are they good breeding birds for hens???

Thanks!!!

 

[Katy]

Even tho it's too late now, I'm going to say it anyway so maybe you'll do it next time.....he shouldn't even be in with your hens yet. He should be quarentined away from the rest of your birds for at least 30 days. Too late for that this time.

My older hens always like to boss around the younger roos. Over time that changes. I've never raised any cochins, so I can't tell you anything about that specific breed.

 

[77horses]

Oh.
Well, it sorta isn't too late, since after we saw that he was being chased around a bit by only the red stars, we put him in the empty chicken run with his own small coop, with a perch, light, food water, etc. He seems happy there for now. But we didn't separate him completely(forgot to add that) We put the two buff girls in there, and they seemed OK, since they were the ones who weren't being very rude. But after a while they started getting too mean(only one of them mostly) Now, he is usually by himself in the large run, pecking at corn on the ground. We occasionally place the nicest and smallest BO girl in there, who seems to like him. The other three are the bullies.
I forgot to add that we now DO have him somewhat separated, but only from the meanest ones.
Anyone own cochins at all?
Thanks!

 

[77horses]

we also have two 2-3 week old female buff cochin chicks who are in the brooder. We will put them with him once they are old enough, to see how that works out. Maybe they will get along better, since they are younger than him and they are also cochins. But that won't be for a while. They are still babies.

 

[Katy]

It is too late if he would happen to have any sickness that he could pass on since he's already been with your other birds and exposed them if he would have anything. Just something to remember the next time you bring new birds home.

 

[77horses]

ugh! I'm so stupid to have let this happen!

well, thanks anyways. I will keep that in mind the next time we get a new chicken.
They all are doing fine now.
anyone own cochins?????

I know a lot of people do. any advise would be great about the breed!

 

[chicknmania]

We have a barred cochin banty roo. He has always been very gentle and quiet, though I don't know necessarily if that is a characteristic of the breed because his brother was very aggressive and mean (bro was killed by a skunk)...anyway Checker, our roo, is now in a pen by himself because although at one time he was top roo in the barn, he got whipped by a group of other roos and lost all his status, can't go out now without getting bloodied. Since it's already too late for quarantine I would suggest you keep your young rooin a pen where the others can see and socialize with him through the wire, but can't hurt him. We sometimes sprinkle some feed outside the pen so Checker can call the hens over and pretend like he has a flock, the hens all get along with him great and some wish he could come out! Sometimes we let him out for a walk, with supervision. Another thing you could try is see which hen does get along with him best over time, maybe let her in to eat with him so they can become friends, then later you can let them out together and they will bond and make it easier for the others to accept him.

 

[chicknmania]

PS: Foghorn is a cute name.

Hope you have a happy ending to your story.

 

[weloveourchicks]

We ordered 25 brown leghorns from mcmurray and got 26 brown leghorns and 1 buffed cochin.

She has always gotten along wonderfully with the others.

- - Susan

 

[77horses]

Thanks everyone!

Chickenmania,
We now do keep him in a separate pen from the others, although the girls are usually in their coop while he is outside in the pen. But yes, we put our BO pullet(4 months old, the nicest one that seems not too rough with him) and they seem to get along OK. She chases him once and a while, but it's like a game with them. She doesn't usually peck him, she just runs around and they chase each other. She does this with her sis too. It is like a game of tag.

So they have been together usually.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that we once tried putting them all together(after Caramel and Foghorn spent time playing and flapping their wings and playing "tag") and they seemed OK. they all joined in the "game" and when it was bed time, we let the girls out, Foghorn following behind. The girls, after having play time in the run, go to bed before it gets too dark, all by themselves. We just open the run door and they come walking out, and into the garage where the coop is. But this time Foghorn followed! But once they got to the door, he decided to turn around and go in his small coop that is just used as an extra one. Is this a good sign that they are bonding?


P.S. LOL my dad thought of the name "Foghorn". And his name actually has a meaning. When we got him and put him in the run, he started pecking around and getting comfortable. But then he saw out little mini wheener dog, Riley, and he started making funny noises(even though Riley wasn't paying any attention to Foghorn. He's used to being around chickens) But it was hilarious to listen to the sounds he makes!!! He is usually quiet, but when he saw Riley, he started going "HONK! HONK!"

It sounded like a goose honking! My dad said that it reminded him of a foghorn thing on a light house, so we named him Foghorn.