Cochin Lovers, are these pure or cochin/orpington mixes (do you think?)

[starsevol]

Here is the background on these bubs. In May I went to a poultry show to get my very first chickens ever. I had geeked out on breeds for over a year and had a pretty good idea what I wanted. When I got there, there were not many breeds that interested me for sale but in one of the sale pens there was a beautiful golden laced cochin. In the next pen were a pair of buff orpingtons, a hen and a rooster. I noticed that the same person was selling all of them, and since my town does not allow roosters I talked her into selling me the cochin and the orpington hen. Shortly after getting them home I noticed how both had feathers missing on the backs of their heads and realized that they had probably been bred. My husband made me an incubator and somehow we managed to hatch out 4 chicks. By the time they hatched, I could tell which egg came out of which hen. I have one chick that is definitely an orpington, and I am pretty sure the father is the male I saw my girl penned with at the show. The other chicks have the feathered feet, and their feathers are much stiffer and denser than an orpington's feathers, but their coloring looks nothing like their mother, the bird in my avatar. For anyone familiar with the golden-laced gene, or the cochin breed, what are your thoughts on these babies? The first picture is the orpington chick and one of the chicks from the cochin. The other pics are all babies from the cochin.

Part of me thinks they are pure, since the previous owner shows poultry and would want pure lines, the feather type and feet mirror their mother



. Another part of me looks at their color and lack of lacing and thinks that the buff orpington roo might have gotten around some!

 

[Lollie508]

The are Orpington mixes they have tails. All pure bred Cochins are without tails.

 

[starsevol]

They had the chipmunk stripes when they hatched. Well, the thing I love most about Penny the orp is how she "talks" to me.....I hope one or two of these do that too!

 

[Lollie508]

Aw ww they sound adorable!!

 

[starsevol]

And now I really really hope that the "all pullets" opinions I got in another thread are correct. I can keep all of these if they are pullets but Roos are not allowed where I live. And a mixed breed roo would have a hard time getting a home.

On the bright side,it will be easier to tell everyone apart. I prefer pure reds,but a mix of your two favorite breeds is not a bad thing!

 

[donrae]

I'm not sure on the others, but the bird front and center looks to be a Cochin/Orp mix. Orpingtons have white skin, which is dominant over yellow, so it would bear this bird is mixed. Buff is a very dominant color, lacing doesn't really hold up against it.

 

[Lollie508]

I hope they're all pullets so you can keep them, they are beautiful!

 

[starsevol]

Thank you for the lovely compliments! I just retread what I posted ab
Nd I meant that I prefer purebred, not pure red!! Lol. So far they all still look like girls, comb wise. I may have to annoy you all again in a week or so with one of those" do they STILL look like pullets threads" though!

If someone had ever asked me which breed I favor, it might have been hard to say. I am new to this hobby, but I love the look of my Cochin, and she is a better layer than my Orpington. But my Orpington is fluffy and friendly and I love the sounds she makes when she talks to me. Hard to choose! So maybe mixed chicks are not such a bad thing after all!!

 

[Lollie508]

Haha I hatched six chicks this year, all of the were silkie crosses but are perfect. I don't want to sound mean but a got four purebred chicks from the feed store and they are the most annoying little guys I've ever met. Always stepping in the water and knocking it over! Crosses are amazing too!

 

[starsevol]

Yeah, I do love my cochorps, Polly, Dolly and Milly. At 8 weeks they all appear female and are keepers. They are out with the big girls now, sorting things out. It seems to be going well.