Cochin Thread!!!

Do males usually feather out faster than females in cochins? I have 4 frizzle bantams that are 4 days old and one have major growth on the wing feathers already. The others don't even look like the have any feathers.
 
My 16wk old cockerel Cash crowed for the first time today. I'm very pleased with the sound...he has a deep baritone that rounds out at the end of the crow. One of the other Roos crowed as well but it couldn't tell which one it was...his was a little higher pitched and strained he sounded more like a turkey.


Any critiquing on Cash? I realize he's young but I have hopes for him. Beautiful yellow feet, nice green sheen, and a decent cushion when he's fluffed. I have ordered my standard but its yet to arrive. Please feel free to point out his failings so I can learn from them.
He is a Large Fowl isn't he? He looks good for his age but they take so long to fill out. More pictures of him in a couple months as he grows. I like the head at this point and the good foot feathering. Color is as it should be. That is all I can comment on at this time. Patience is the key since most Cochins go through a gawky stage sometime in their development. Enjoy!
 
He is a Large Fowl isn't he? He looks good for his age but they take so long to fill out. More pictures of him in a couple months as he grows. I like the head at this point and the good foot feathering. Color is as it should be. That is all I can comment on at this time. Patience is the key since most Cochins go through a gawky stage sometime in their development. Enjoy!


Yes, he is LF and thank you for your critique. Like I said, I do have high hopes for him...he's bigger and heavier than any of my others from the same hatch and just seems to meet everything I've read to look for. I'll keep watching to see how he fills out. He's from a very good line and hopefully will be my very first show bird.
 
So I think the lf cochin girl in my pics from earlier has gone broody. She is only six months. IS that possible? I'm not sure she has even layed an egg yet. She has been staying in the nesting box on and off for 3 days now. Sleeping on the roost at night, but hanging in the box most of the day. She puffs up when I reach in, but did allow me to feel her vent to make sure she wasn't struggling. I put a plastic egg in with her and she rolled it under herself today. Any thoughts? I have a bunch of fertile bearded silkie eggs that she could try to hatch, but she is in the large fowl coop with 8 other hens and two roos.
 
So I think the lf cochin girl in my pics from earlier has gone broody. She is only six months. IS that possible? I'm not sure she has even layed an egg yet. She has been staying in the nesting box on and off for 3 days now. Sleeping on the roost at night, but hanging in the box most of the day. She puffs up when I reach in, but did allow me to feel her vent to make sure she wasn't struggling. I put a plastic egg in with her and she rolled it under herself today. Any thoughts? I have a bunch of fertile bearded silkie eggs that she could try to hatch, but she is in the large fowl coop with 8 other hens and two roos.

It is highly unlikely that she has gone or is going broody, 6 mo is very young even for a bantam. I will admit the things you mention do sound like she could be, but she is just too young, particularly since she hasn't laid an egg of her own yet. Personally, I wouldn't encourage a cochin to go broody as they are normally a very broody breed anyway, and being broody is very hard on them. They stop eating and drinking regularly and as a result they typically become very light. Since she is only 6 mo old she needs to be maturing and filling out not sitting and brooding all day long. If you can safely rule out any possibility of illness, I would recommend trying everything you can to change her mind. Try to cut of access to the nest box, change her surroundings, anything to upset her normal daily routine.
 
It is highly unlikely that she has gone or is going broody, 6 mo is very young even for a bantam. I will admit the things you mention do sound like she could be, but she is just too young, particularly since she hasn't laid an egg of her own yet. Personally, I wouldn't encourage a cochin to go broody as they are normally a very broody breed anyway, and being broody is very hard on them. They stop eating and drinking regularly and as a result they typically become very light. Since she is only 6 mo old she needs to be maturing and filling out not sitting and brooding all day long. If you can safely rule out any possibility of illness, I would recommend trying everything you can to change her mind. Try to cut of access to the nest box, change her surroundings, anything to upset her normal daily routine.

Okay. I only did the plastic egg thing to see what she would do. Trying to determine broodiness. After I wrote the initial post, I do remember a few eggs layed that I think were hers. They were lighter color than my other girls. I know what my wyandottes and minorca and ee lay, these were different. So I do think she may have layed. Would a hen sitting in a nesting box roll a plastic egg under herself if she wasn't broody? I'm not sure how I could break her unless I put her in my silkie coop for awhile. She is very sweet. I don't think she would have an issue with them. I looked her age up and she is around 26 weeks. Is that unheard of? I really don't think she is ill.
 
Last edited:
Quote:
I've had bantam girls do that. one bantam brahma laid for about a week then went broody, ended up hatching 18 chicks. but I wouldn't say that's normal for any breed, though I've also had dorkings do that to me this year as well. one pullet, hatched mid November, went broody in may. only reason I let her was because it would have involved disassembling my deck to get to her. LOL
 
I've had bantam girls do that. one bantam brahma laid for about a week then went broody, ended up hatching 18 chicks. but I wouldn't say that's normal for any breed, though I've also had dorkings do that to me this year as well. one pullet, hatched mid November, went broody in may. only reason I let her was because it would have involved disassembling my deck to get to her. LOL

Lol! I'm glad she is just in the box. The only eggs I have ready to go in the incubator are silkies. If I can't break her I guess I could let her sit on a couple and see what she does. I am going to see if she roosts tonight or not. She did last night. 6 months is young, but she is pretty filled out and very healthy. I hope she is just being goofy and taking her time laying. The little turd....
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom