Cochin Thread!!!

[posey]

Questions: at about what age to hens stop laying? We don't prolong the light during the winter to force egg production 'cause we are hoping that it will give the girls a rest and will help them to lay for a longer period of time.

Also, at about what age do the roos loose their ability to fertilize the eggs?
thanks
Posey

 

[wildwoodcochins]

I recently had one of my roos get somewhat of an impacted croup. In talking with a few people, I have decided not to feed scratch grains to my cochin bantams anymore. They just seem to have a harder time digesting the scratch. Has anyone else had this problem?
Can someone give me an idea on a super diet for cochin bantams?

Molly~

 

[Coopa Cabana]

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What does their diet consist of besides the scratch grains?

 

[wildwoodcochins]

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What does their diet consist of besides the scratch grains?

Layer crumbles and scratch was about all I was feeding. I scramble eggs and make cornbread pretty often, mixing pumpkin in my cornbread, I also get watermelon and feed as treats and cold mornings in winter I give oatmeal. Also canned cat food now and then. But as an everyday diet, it has been scratch and crumbles.

 

[thecochincoop]

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not sure on the hens' age of losing egg production but i had an old roo that was at least 7 and got babies from him. i figure they keep fertility as long as they are in good health

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Quote:
What does their diet consist of besides the scratch grains?

Layer crumbles and scratch was about all I was feeding. I scramble eggs and make cornbread pretty often, mixing pumpkin in my cornbread, I also get watermelon and feed as treats and cold mornings in winter I give oatmeal. Also canned cat food now and then. But as an everyday diet, it has been scratch and crumbles.

I think as long as they are getting a commercial feed as their mainstay, scratch grains as a treat/supplement shouldn't be the culprit. I've never seen a definitive on what causes an impacted crop, or how to avoid it. My personal opinion is that too much of a diet variety can not be good (i.e. lots of different food scraps every day), as well as any food that could cause them to gorge and/or eat too fast.

My bantams get a mainstay of commercial gamebird breeder pellets, and I supplement daily with scratch grains that I mix myself - usually equal parts BOSS, safflower seeds, corn and kitten chow. Extra treats they are getting now are dried meal worms.

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

I never feed scratch grains. I know they love it but the stuff I can buy is only about 7% protien and would fill them up with little nutrition value. I also wondered if you have grit for them. They don't need it for commercial crumbles. I occasionally give dry cat food as a scratch treat. Never very much or more than 2 times weekly. I don't feel that they need more than a 16-18% layer/maintenance feed.
Craig

 

[posey]

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I love your photo, what a beautiful bird.
Yes, I have had a problem not with bantam cochins but with silkies getting sour crop. I was told that scratch is like candy to chickens so we don't really use it anymore.
I know that it can be a good treat in the winter to help them stay warm but we don't get intense cold here in NC so I live with out the scratch now.

We feed flock raiser pellets because of the higher protein content and just to be cautious, I add oyster shell to it or keep it in a bowl for them to eat if desired. Someone always seems to be molting around here and the higher protein in the feed helps with feather re-growth. I think it helps to keep their feather nice too.
I feed similar nutritious treats as you and anything with seeds like cucumber, berries, fresh pumpkin, greens and watermelon this time of year.
I hope that this helps.
Posey

 

[wildwoodcochins]

I really have found that they waste a lot of the scratch grains too. I've checked out the gamebird feed and wondered if that might be what I should be feeding.

So, this roo, he's had a small amount of grain in his croup since about Sat, not a huge amount but I first noticed his comb was extremely pale and flopped over. I also noticed he was slightly labored in his breathing. I have him in a large cage right now. I have supplied him with chick starter as it has meds in it, I have made sure he is taking in water by using a syringe 2x a day with a small amount of mineral oil as well. He hadn't eaten anything for a few days and this morning he seemed to have eaten the crumbles. His croup had crumbles but I could still feel the grain at the bottom of the croup. His comb has gotten back some color but is still pale. I've heard of flushing the croup, has anyone done this procedure before? Any ideas? I gave him tuna this morning and he was pecking at it a little. I have his hen in with him for comfort and to hopefully keep him somewhat stimulated. She thinks she's in Heaven~

 

[posey]

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not sure on the hens' age of losing egg production but i had an old roo that was at least 7 and got babies from him. i figure they keep fertility as long as they are in good health

Thank you for answering. I just haven't raised chickens long enough to get to that stage but my rooster is about 3 or so years old now. He is still doing a great job and I adore him. All of my girls are under 2 years old. We will always keep them even when they stop laying - they are part of the family all 30 of them.