Cochin Thread!!!

[localcommotion42]

Can anyone help me with the quality of this rooster? Some good things about him and some bad things would really help.

 

[lilcrow]

wow that's going to be tough on the chicks, i'm sure... hopefully they make it back to the breeder in good condition.

my last 2 orders of chicks didn't get here for 5 days from shipping and none were left alive.

One of the reasons I would never ship day old chicks. Even when shipping started birds I always put something in the box for them. I've found that watermelon at least makes me feel better whether they eat it or not, it provides liquid for them and also a little bit of substance. I'm sure older chicks would eat some if they were in the box for too long.
I'm going to guess your chicks won't make it back to the breeder alive. Is there no way you could sell them to someone local?
Good luck.

 

[lilcrow]

They are adults not chicks. But I am worried about the stress still. But I do have to say these Bantams seemed to have dealt with shipping far better than any other standard adult that I have gotten through the mail.

Oh yes that is much better, but even so you might just try selling them locally first.

 

[wife2abirdman]

Oh yes that is much better, but even so you might just try selling them locally first.

I talked with the breeder and I will be keeping them. The stress would be just to much so he thought it a better idea to try and sell them locally if I didn't keep them. I think they are cute but I am not even remotely set up for them. They will be staying in my "new chicken" pen for now until we can figure something else out. Is there information or is there much of a difference with Bantams? I have never had them-not much of a real urge before. I always thought their crows and cackles were cute but thought it would be just a novel idea. My husband has always liked Bantams and it just so happens that he was talking about getting some yesterday. He likes these guys a lot and while they are not the size I had wanted they certainly are cute and the color I wanted! I just can't get over how tiny they are, so so tiny!!

One of the blues seems the tiniest, almost too small. She's so fluffy it looks like just a ball of feathers!!

 

[ki4got]

Quote: lol that sounds about right. and i'd much rather have the little fluffballs than those wookie-ish related cochins. LOL

there are a couple other bantam cochin breeders i know of, but more southern maine i think..

 

[wife2abirdman]

lol that sounds about right. and i'd much rather have the little fluffballs than those wookie-ish related cochins. LOL

there are a couple other bantam cochin breeders i know of, but more southern maine i think..

Who you calling a wookie!!

Well at least now I'm laughing!! Thank you for that!

 

[lilcrow]

lol that sounds about right. and i'd much rather have the little fluffballs than those wookie-ish related cochins. LOL

there are a couple other bantam cochin breeders i know of, but more southern maine i think..

May I ask how old these birds are? You say they're tiny, tiny, tiny and I could understand that comment if they were bantam cochin chicks, as in a week or less, but I just never thought of adult bantam cochins as tiny.

 

[fancychickenlover]

Hope this is the right place to post . I was wondering if anyone could help me figure out what colors my rooster will throw with my hens ? I'm a bit confused by the whole chicken color genetics I've got a red roo a golden laced hen and a silver pencil hen . Thanks

I actually did something similar last summer! I bred a Brown Red/Goldenlaced roo who appeared birchen and bred him to a lemon blue splash hen and a goldenlaced hen. Out of the 30 chicks I hatched I got 4 lemon blue, 5 goldenlaced, 2 buff, 3 silverlaced/columbian, 3 black, 6 birchen and about 7 silver blues. Most weren't pure varieties but I was able to keep a pair of decent goldenlaced Cochin's to breed back to my original goldenlaced hen and a trio of Lemon blues to breed back with my Lemon blue splash hen. So if you ar trying to breed for the colors you already have its possible. The lacing on the hen I hatched is too wide and she has very little lacing but my roo turned out really nice! Perfect hackle and saddle color but the lacing isn't clean. Not peppered but the edges aren't very clean ad crisp. My lemon blues turned out nice though. Very excited about them! I only kept 5 out of about 30 or more chicks which is pretty good but they are all project birds. This year now that I have both male and females of each color I can breed them true and start to improve their color!

Hope that helps. It worked out for me. You don't get the ideal color's you want but you can begin to work on getting better ones in the next generation.

 

[JosieChick]

I adore my bantam cochins. I had a few large fowl cochin hens that I finally sold last fall so I could just focus on my banties. They are the most comical little birds and you don't really need a special set up for them. Mine have a separate pen for breeding season but they are wintering over with my large fowl orpington flock and they do just fine. In fact my splash hens like to roost in the rafters of the coop which drives me crazy but they love it up there. My cochin roos are ferociously protective of their little ladies and don't let the LF roos near them. In fact my mille fleur cochin roo chased my giant black english orp boy all over the pen the other day because he got too close to the cochin hens! I think you will find you really enjoy them and they aren't difficult to care for at all.

I talked with the breeder and I will be keeping them. The stress would be just to much so he thought it a better idea to try and sell them locally if I didn't keep them. I think they are cute but I am not even remotely set up for them. They will be staying in my "new chicken" pen for now until we can figure something else out. Is there information or is there much of a difference with Bantams? I have never had them-not much of a real urge before. I always thought their crows and cackles were cute but thought it would be just a novel idea. My husband has always liked Bantams and it just so happens that he was talking about getting some yesterday. He likes these guys a lot and while they are not the size I had wanted they certainly are cute and the color I wanted! I just can't get over how tiny they are, so so tiny!!

One of the blues seems the tiniest, almost too small. She's so fluffy it looks like just a ball of feathers!!

 

[wife2abirdman]

May I ask how old these birds are? You say they're tiny, tiny, tiny and I could understand that comment if they were bantam cochin chicks, as in a week or less, but I just never thought of adult bantam cochins as tiny.

They are just tiny to me, ALL of my birds are LF. I even think my Dominique is tiny and she's bigger than these guys! When I would see the Bantams at the fairs and shows I always thought how cute they were but that is as far as it has ever gotten for me. Compared to the large Orpintons and my large Cochins they are super tiny! They are all full grown, I am even getting eggs from on of the three hens. I have never in my life owned Bantams and I usually don't look at them very long at fairs and what not. My husband is a Bantam fan, but we just never got any. My husband lost his entire flock of OEGs(36 i think he says) to a fox over a two day period and that was before he met me. Since then he just never got them again. I held one of the hens that I keep thinking is super tiny and holding her she doesn't seem quite as tiny as when she is on the floor. It's all in my perception. I am used to regular size birds as being the norm and this is not the norm-for me. It's like bringing a miniature horse to someone who is expecting a Thoroughbred!

The breeder I got them from is a reputable breeder and he has great stock with very correct form. It's just this time it was a HUGE misunderstanding. He thought I wanted Bantams and even though at one point I did question it, I never said blatantly I want standard size. Shipping was super low for 4 standards and that should have tipped me off for sure.