Cochin Thread!!!

[AndyCap]

These are the silver laced I have another one I will try to get pics of soon.

#1

#2I don't like this guy for some reason

#3

no 1 for me. He has the last amount of leakage in his hackles. The others might pass on the yellow to their offspring.

hard to tell from just one pic of him though.

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

Any thoughts on this pullet?

The positives in my opinion :

Her head/beak/comb all come together wonderfully. Nice line.

Great foot color

Good wide feathers in the cushion

At this young age appears to have decent type.

The negatives in my opinion:

Appears to be Black rather than Blue

Too dark to be a proper Splash

Too white on the breast. Makes me wonder if both parent stock birds might be carrying the Mottled gene. That is something you don't want since birds would get lighter with each molt.

Neutral:

I would be selective if using her for breeding. If I was going to breed her I would select a male Splash or Blue with no Mottled in its background. Not a show bird but has a place in a breeding program. Do as you wish but that is what I would do.

 

[PsycoPeep]

I hate to see them go, but love to watch them leave <3

I have 5 eggs from this pair in the bator, I can't wait to have a flock full of butts like these <3

What color is that guy on the left?

 

[lilcrow]

The positives in my opinion :

Her head/beak/comb all come together wonderfully. Nice line.

Great foot color

Good wide feathers in the cushion

At this young age appears to have decent type.

The negatives in my opinion:

Appears to be Black rather than Blue

Too dark to be a proper Splash

Too white on the breast. Makes me wonder if both parent stock birds might be carrying the Mottled gene. That is something you don't want since birds would get lighter with each molt.

Neutral:

I would be selective if using her for breeding. If I was going to breed her I would select a male Splash or Blue with no Mottled in its background. Not a show bird but has a place in a breeding program. Do as you wish but that is what I would do.

Great feedback Craig. You always do such a nice job of giving constructive evaluations of birds when folks ask. Regarding the white front, I wonder if the heavy marking is due to young age. From watching Mandy's birds, I know they have the "tuxedo" until they've molted at least once. Steph, is this maybe her first set of feathers? I agree with Craig about her being pretty dark, but from what you're working on, this would be a good thing. You're always walking that fine line between too much color and washed out color, so I would say she's perfect for your program. Since she has Mottled in her background, she may lighten up as she gets older, at which time you may be able to show her. I think time will tell a few things on her, but you've clearly got a winner for your Splash program.

 

[lilcrow]

Sigh
that sounds like another project and I am already doing silkied ams!

Mille Fleur is definitely a "program." Calico is just pretty birds headed for your backyard. If that is what you want, you've got a great start. That one pullet is the closest you have to a real Mille Fleur, but as you now know it's a program and a long road ahead. If you ever decide you really WANT Mille Fleur, make sure you do your homework and really SEARCH for Mille Fleur breeders. Look at the Mille Fleur pattern on other breeds so you know what it should look like and where you're going. DON"T be confused by people that say they are breeding Mille Fleur and are calling the coined name "Calico" a Mille Fleur. I'm not saying these folks are lying, they just don't have a full understanding of what goes into breeding a variety that breeds true.
Breeding chicken varieties is SO much more complicated than I ever thought when I first started. You can not look at two birds and think, "hummmm, they look like they might produce "look A" and then begin selecting birds that LOOK like the bird you're trying to create. You MUST have a basic understanding of the genetics of poultry and find people that have a true knowledge of the science. That way when you make your selections you have people that really KNOW, and you can pick their brains. Almost everyone, without exception that I can think of has been as helpful as they could possibly be when I have gone and asked for help. I do try to search for info on the Internet and do as much research as I can on my own before I go to the truly knowledgeable and ask to take up their time. I know how far ahead of me they are and I don't want to waste their time, I need to atleast be able to understand what they are talking about.

 

[Twizzlebee]

What color is that guy on the left?

He was sold to me as a blue, but he has a lot of gold leakage, I was told it's sunbleaching.

 

[lilcrow]

He was sold to me as a blue, but he has a lot of gold leakage, I was told it's sunbleaching.

I think that's a bit more than sun bleaching.

 

[PsycoPeep]

Yeah, that's not a blue. Sun bleached or not. But he IS pretty. XD

 

[mibirder]

Adding to the genetics discussion, once you grasp the basis of poultry genetics, you need to be certain of the genetics for the birds you'll use. In building my Lemon Blue/brown red lines I test bred a lot of blues to find gold based birds. That means feeding a lot of chicks for a few usable breeders. While it works it takes patience and persistence. I also obtain some LB/BR breeders once I got going.

Dave

 

[Twizzlebee]

I think that's a bit more than sun bleaching.

Yep, that's what I figured too. But seeing as these are my first cochins and I don't really have any 'quality' birds anyways, it doesn't bother me a bit I do need to find some good breeding stock, but I'm saving that project for the spring.

Edit; So does he look like a lemon blue or do you think he is from some sort of mix of colors? I've seen some of his 6 month old chicks and they are all solid blue or black, which helps me feel a bit better. I realize he's probably a cull, but it'd be nice to see if he has any kind of potential, even if it's minimal xD




if you can't tell I'm a little nuts about my first cochin. also, how would they hold up during a wisconsin winter? xD