Cochin or French copper marans?

[cowgirlfarmer]

Hi, I bought out a breeder of all their French copper marans ( blues and blacks) and all their Cochins ( splash, blue, black etc). well, when we got them we mixed them all in the boxes and I didn't pay attention to what the marans looked like when he was putting them in the bins. So I'm wondering how do you tell the difference between the French marans and the Cochins when they both have furry feet, and they are all 3 months and younger.

 

[Pyxis]

Cochins are larger and their legs and feet are much more heavily feathered. Cochins have yellow legs and marans have dark slate legs. At three months you should be able to tell them apart.

 

[cowgirlfarmer]

The older ones are easier to tell, but the younger ones I'm having difficulty with.. Some of my Cochins ( that I know for sure are Cochins) have the grey slate legs still..there a few that I am sure are a splash Cochin but have lighter feathering down their slate legs. Thanks for your reply. I know my question sounds stupid, but I want to make sure I'm doing this right.

 

[cowgirlfarmer]

Cochins are larger and their legs and feet are much more heavily feathered. Cochins have yellow legs and marans have dark slate legs. At three months you should be able to tell them apart.

The older ones are much easier to tell apart . We also have a bunch that are 3 weeks and up. Some of my Cochins that I know are Cochins have slate colored legs still. And as for my older ones I have a splash Cochin but it has light feathering on its slate legs. I know my question may sound stupid but I am really trying to get this right. Right now all the birds are about the same size for their age group. And like I said some I know for sure are Cochins have slate legs. Thanks for the help

 

[Pyxis]

It doesn't sound stupid All the cochins should have yellow legs - in the black they should be all yellow and in the blue they should be yellow with maybe some blue in the pad. If they're not yellow that would be a fault - and would make it harder for you to tell them apart as chicks, for sure. But the cochins should have much more profuse leg feathering than the marans so that should help.

 

[donrae]

Look on the bottoms of the feet for accurate skin color.

Unless you're planning on doing a round of culling now, I'm not sure it matters who is who. If you're planning on breeding, you'll be well able to tell by the time they're breeding age. And at that point, if you can't tell which it is, then it's not a breeding candidate anyway

.

I have bantam Cochins and Marans in together, the Marans are leggier and have lighter feathered legs.

You might want to start deciding what you're going to breed for. If leg feathering is on your criteria, any lightly feathered birds would be on the cull list, regardless of breed.

 

[cowgirlfarmer]

Thank you both for your help! That's helpful. The breeder we got them from has nice parents and is always aiming to breed up. we also got bantams and standard sized Cochins. I realize as they get older it will be easier to tell. I appreciate your replies!