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It seems this subject has come up because of me wanting to breed wildly colored cochins. I never said I was a breeder or that I was going for anything even remotely linked to the SOP. In my area we have little to no cochins, and what cochins there are, are absolutely horrible. So even fatties pet quality culls are a vast improvement on anything I could get around here, and I cannot afford to go all out and get the absolute best there is at the moment. I have to start small and I thought these birds were very pretty. In the long run I can add better type as I learn how to tell the difference. It's not like I have a time limit on when I have to perfect my birds and in the long run, I think I'll be more proud of my birds if I can bring them up from down low.
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Yes, fattie said they were pet quality, I know this. I am also very very happy with them. I meant no harm in asking a question about their color. I said in my post that she labeled them as pet quality. I just wanted to know exactly what they needed as far as improvement. I'm trying to learn. I can't do that without asking questions and actually having a real bird to look at.
I guess I will just forget about posting pictures of them here to avoid any more insult towards fattie and whether or not she is a good breeder, which I think she is.
Fattie, I absolutely LOVE these birds and I did not mean to direct any negativity towards you. I am very happy with them
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It's just next to impossible for anyone to give you good advice on which direction to go with breeding when you have project birds of mixed genetic backgrounds.
It's also just next to impossible for anyone go tell you what is good or bad about them, as they are not standard colors, so we have nothing to judge or compare them to.
This is a different situation from asking, for instance, "This is my pure-bred Golden Laced, can you give me advice on breeding to improve the lacing."
It's also a different situation from asking, for instance, "These are my pure-bred Blacks, which I bought as pet quality - can you give me advice on breeding to improve their type and upgrade their quality."
I hope that clarifies what is being said, and why there are no good answers for the questions you asked. They were bought and sold as pet quality, and you should absolutely enjoy them as such.
I was intending on posting full body pictures to get input on type but I didn't get the chance before things went south. I just wanted to know what their colors might be called and what they were likely to do color wise as they aged. I got a few good answers of exactly what I was looking for and then Black Cochin Bantams, or whatever his name is, had to make a comment about people calling themselves breeders when they are not.
I did not call myself a breeder and did not say anything about trying to go by the SOP so I'm not sure why he felt his comment was necessary. All I asked was for some input on their color. I'm trying to learn.
I've read through a lot of this thread trying to learn and I can appreciate the fact that he wants to be as truthful as possible to aid in improving the breed. I think that's great. (Kinda like when you watch american idol or the X factor and the poor kid comes on stage to sing, thinks they're great because mommy couldn't bear to tell him he's horrible, and the Simon sets them straight.)
I would have been more than happy to get some criticism (sp?) from him on their color and type, but that particular comment was uncalled for, it sounded like he was putting fattie down.
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it is the standard of perfection. you can buy books and there is also a link on the cochins international site. i would personally recommend buying the book if you plan on breeding. i know they sell it on the apa, american poultry association website. you also do not have to be a breeder to join CI. anyone that likes cochins is more than welcome to join and it's a really good organization. they also send out an informative newsletter to all their members