Cochin Thread!!!

[Coopa Cabana]

Thought I'd change things up for a moment and show you who's the egg layer around my place lately. (I actually had to buy eggs at the store for the last couple of weeks!!) You can see the eggs I got compared to the eggs I bought (which were XLs):



Any guesses who's laying?

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This is Sahara, my 8-year old Cockatiel. You think Cochin varieties have funny names? She's a "White Faced Cinnamon Pied Pearl"!!




She's broody now, and has been using one of her feeding bowls as a nest. And NO, I'm not getting her a mate!

 

[Mr. Ree]

Something I've been asking myself lately about my breeding program, and I thought I'd ask the thread members as well. We all know that it can sometimes take a few years and/or generations to achieve the results we are looking for, whether it be correcting type, color, pattern, or all of the above. So here's my question to everyone - try to limit your answers to just one or two sentences.

What is your 3-year (or 5-year) goal for your Cochin flock and breeding program?

Here are, what I would consider, my goals for the coming years:

3 yrs;
Have my Whites almost perfected, and be able to show my frizzles and place better than a BV or RV. Would also like to have my Reds improved greatly by this time, or at least to the point of breeding for better color, with them already having good type. Would also like to find some nice SL or SP to work with, and help improve upon.

5 yrs;
Be the "go to guy" for some of the best White, Buff, and Red Cochin Btms in the country. (Frizzle and smooth of course.) And have my Reds able to show and compete at the level of Whites or Blacks. Have the SL or SP improved to the point of going to a show and seeing them how they should look.

And in the mean time, I not only want to have fun with all this, I want to genuinely enjoy it as well. And share what I know, and keep learning, with anyone wanting to learn or needing advice.

~Casey

 

[tiki244]

Kris -

My Uncle, who raised exhibition pigeons in one breed for over forty years, taught me several important breeder philosophies. These apply to pigeons, chickens, and probably most exhibition stock.

1. Develop a breeder's eye. You should be able to close your eyes and see a standard perfect bird. But most importantly, you should be able to see the parts that go into making your vision the standard perfect bird.

2. In development breeding, see the parts of the standard and correct them in bite sized pieces. You can't correct all the faults a line may have in a single generation and some individual faults may each take several generations. However, once a fault is eliminated, don't ever go back to it.

3. Know a bird's strengths and it's weaknesses. Breed to its strengths, but keep in mind that sometimes the best bred together don't always produce the best. ( My favorite example are my nearly white looking splashes bred from breeding my best splashes together - the pale blue just washes out. Opps, lesson learned.)

4. Learn how to correct faults through complementary matings. The likelihood of two narrow Cochins producing anything but more narrow bodies is pretty small. But a narrow body with strengths may be of value if the strengths improve a wide body line in the second or third generation.

While its true that starting with good stock with fewer faults is helpful, there can be much pride in improving lesser birds too especially if they move your breeders closer to the standard. Development breeding is designed to be a longer process than simply breeding champions from champions. In general, the first 80% of the changes can come quickly and easily. The last 10 or 20% may take a lifetime.

I knew a Buff Orpington breeder who never brought his Champion's home from a show - he sold them or gave them away. He's reason was, they were done. His pride came from being patient and working a few years to duplicating his success using the breeding knowledge gained each time. I swear, just before he died, he could take two crows and make champion Orpingtons from their line by good breeding and bringing in birds to correct their faults in a minimal number of generations.

I could be wrong about your situation, but don't get discouraged, get excited - Spring will be here before you know it.

Dave

Thank You Dave,

I am going to copy this and save it to read when I am discouraged.


I do believe I have a couple of cockerels that have a forward tilt much nicer than what I have had in the past. I am waiting to see which one(s) fills out in the chest most. I still have 7 pullets that I look at everyday and are beginning to all look a like. Maybe I will just not look at them for a week and start again.

And Thank You Gail and Craig. I am in contact with the breeder you told me about Craig. I just had some major car issues a few weeks back so havent been driving anywhere lately.


That is a Great quote from Jerry Foley also. I think I will copy that too

 

[Fancy Feathers]

She's broody now, and has been using one of her feeding bowls as a nest. And NO, I'm not getting her a mate!

That is SOooo adorable!

 

[ki4got]

Thought I'd change things up for a moment and show you who's the egg layer around my place lately. (I actually had to buy eggs at the store for the last couple of weeks!!) You can see the eggs I got compared to the eggs I bought (which were XLs):

Any guesses who's laying?
This is Sahara, my 8-year old Cockatiel. You think Cochin varieties have funny names? She's a "White Faced Cinnamon Pied Pearl"!!

She's broody now, and has been using one of her feeding bowls as a nest. And NO, I'm not getting her a mate!

ROFL at least the cockatiels color names are descriptive... unlike some poultry color/names. i raised cockatiels for 20 years before getting into poultry.

and, they don't have nearly so many mutations that combine in odd ways... there are several sex linked mutations that linked up, like pearl and cinnamon (lutino and pearl are also very attractive linkage). then add whitefaced (removal of yellow pigments) and pied. pretty straight forward, as the naming suggests.

 

[Reyvaughn]

I had to catch up on 94 posts, so the first topics may have been forgotten.

1) Rosalyn Pickens' Eggs - I have bought over 100 eggs off of her and I have hatched at least 60 of them. I kept only one Mille Fleur (partridge based) pullet of all of those eggs. I have found flaws in them all. I have only ordered black, mottled, MFC and buff columbian from her. I would not call any of them show quality. Even my black from her 'champion rooster - Champ' had purple sheen, long back, low wing carriage and crow head. The worse issues I have had is no feathering on the middle toes, hard tail feathers and pinched cushions. I kept buying eggs hoping to get an elusive show bird to add to my flock. The single girl I kept is still pinched in the cushion, but I was hoping she'd produce nice babies if paired with the right rooster. I have a single blue from her 'Champ' and this is the 2nd chick from him that has been weak, runty and unthrifty. She has been in my house, in a dog crate for a month and she's over 2 months old and still not feathered out or caught up in size. Her type shape is looking promising, but she doesn't have much feathering on those middle toes. Rosalyn is a wonderful, kind and helpful lady, but I do not see the quality she does in her birds.

My only pullet (well, other than the runty blue) from Rosalyn's eggs.

2) 3/5yr Goals - 1) Still have chickens (and still enjoy them). 2) Learn more to better my flock. 3) Buy better stock. 4) Show my best at a show... 5) See some kind of progress in my projects. 6) Not stress over goals.

3) On those goals... I have had MFCs for a bit over a year now. I have moved and had some rough patches in this last year, so not much has happened with them. Sometimes you have to put other things ahead of your own selfish wants. I finally have a couple of my own homebred babies growing out and I have my first serious setting of homebred eggs in the incubator now. I cleaned out a LOT of crappy birds since June - I went from 203 to 42 chickens. I finally have a chocolate pen set up, so that project is now underway. I have my first chocolate Cochin egg set from another breeder, too. My eggs were not fertile... or developing, I should say. My rooster is young, so maybe next year he'll be more mature and be able to do his job. If not, I have 3 boys on reserve. I'd like to get a black flock going next year. John Burgess has a couple blacks for me that I will get in the spring. I have been trying to catch up with Tom Roebuck since I first met him last year. I'm only a little over a year and a half into this chicken stuff, and I am actually quite happy at where I am now. Thank you BYC members... Even if I had have a few less than stellar incidences with some of you. I forgive all and hope you all have as well.

My homebred MFCs! Junior and his 2 sisters.

(If you blow up this last pic, please note the feathering on the inside toe! I love this pair's babies' foot feathering!)

 

[AndyCap]

Something I've been asking myself lately about my breeding program, and I thought I'd ask the thread members as well. We all know that it can sometimes take a few years and/or generations to achieve the results we are looking for, whether it be correcting type, color, pattern, or all of the above. So here's my question to everyone - try to limit your answers to just one or two sentences.

What is your 3-year (or 5-year) goal for your Cochin flock and breeding program?

Mine are short. 3 years - starting a laced project(silver and gold). 5 years - getting something i could show to breeders here, not show quality, just something different.
I am trying desperately to get breeders here to focus on more then just black, white and self blue. I have convinced my breeder/supplier to start a buff project, and he has also started a barred self blue project, but its so hard to convince breeders to do anything that isn't white/black.

It so difficult, i have only seen one nice partridge, no silver pencilled, no decent columbians, no laced, etc etc

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

I like the looks of the MFC"Buff Columbian". Does she have white feathers on the breast or is she all buff?

 

[Reyvaughn]

I  like the looks of the MFC"Buff Columbian". Does she have white feathers on the breast or is she all buff?

The older one in the first picture has 2-3 perfect flowers on her back, nothing on her chest. The second one has white tips, but I am not sure she will keep them. Her sister had them and lost them once she fully grew her feathers out. Actually, I am not sure she has any at all now... I really didn't check. I do know the young one has the nicest type. I have another cockerel that is a full brother in with her. He isn't very photogenic and I haven't been able to get any pics of him.

I'll get updated pics. Those pictures were taken over a month ago.

 

[Sanna]

I had to catch up on 94 posts, so the first topics may have been forgotten.
1) Rosalyn Pickens' Eggs - I have bought over 100 eggs off of her and I have hatched at least 60 of them. I kept only one Mille Fleur (partridge based) pullet of all of those eggs. I have found flaws in them all. I have only ordered black, mottled, MFC and buff columbian from her. I would not call any of them show quality. Even my black from her 'champion rooster - Champ' had purple sheen, long back, low wing carriage and crow head. The worse issues I have had is no feathering on the middle toes, hard tail feathers and pinched cushions. I kept buying eggs hoping to get an elusive show bird to add to my flock. The single girl I kept is still pinched in the cushion, but I was hoping she'd produce nice babies if paired with the right rooster. I have a single blue from her 'Champ' and this is the 2nd chick from him that has been weak, runty and unthrifty. She has been in my house, in a dog crate for a month and she's over 2 months old and still not feathered out or caught up in size. Her type shape is looking promising, but she doesn't have much feathering on those middle toes. Rosalyn is a wonderful, kind and helpful lady, but I do not see the quality she does in her birds.
My only pullet (well, other than the runty blue) from Rosalyn's eggs.

Thank you for all this information.
I hear Rosalyn is a very nice woman. My old roommate actually got a horse from her. That's the only reason I knew of her having Cochins and looked her up on Facebook.

I never spoke with Rosalyn myself but have not heard anything negative. But. That doesn't mean that the quality of birds is good just because someone is nice. I wish it did.
I think, when I order my first Cochin eggs, I will make sure I'm getting good quality. If I'm going to get into showing and some day breeding, I want to know I have a good start and not waste my money on something I wish I didn't have later on.

Thanks you everyone for all the good advice I've been reading here!
Especially those of you who are writing down their goals as breeders.