Cochin Thread!!!

[AndyCap]

If they look partridge, does that mean they have the Eb or e+ base? I don't know which hens laid which eggs so I don't know if they came from Heartland or not. My 2 roosters did. Most of my hens did but 3 of them did not, so I don't know their histories or even how to find out about them. If I could be sure about the mothers coming from Heartland, I could ask Alan but then again, he may not know.

In general yes, the “Chipmunk” like patterning on chick down(fluff) feathers shows that the bird is on an Eb or e+ base, although it may be split on that base and have any other patterns mixed in. I can show you a huge variety of chick down feathers that can be created through various combinations with partridge, I did a lot of test breeding to try and figure out what genes my birds were carrying and learnt a lot in the process.

As with a lot of things related to chickens, it is difficult to predict a hard and fast rule. For example me saying that the eye stripe is definitive is because it is for me and my birds, because I know what genes my birds are carrying. But that did involve hatching over 100 chicks from test breeding and breeding back to the parents.

A lot of the birds I hatched looked partridge when they were very young. And that is a sign of the base genes I was talking about earlier. They grew up into all sorts of variations on partridge though. So it isn’t a hard and fast prediction that you will have a flawless partridge. Only time will tell that.

Partridge birds look best after first or even second moult between 12 months to a 24 months. So it is a difficult variety to breed(like a lot of patterned varieties), because as breeders we have to keep them a lot longer than a black or white to see if they have potential.

Sorry I got carried away there, if they come out looking like little Chipmunks, then they will be on either of the two bases mentioned, which means the parents will carry those genes even if they do not display them on the outside. To really see what they are carrying, you could keep males and females that hatch and look like partridge and breed them back together, that will show you for sure which genes are causing that look.

Hope that helps.

Andy

 

[mystonedgarden]

I think he is coming along and he will fill out soon. He is a very pretty boy. I just love the color of them.

Thank you I love self blues.

 

[ShadyGroveFarm1]

Thank you

I love self blues.

About Self blues. Do they fit in with the Blue, Black, Splash group?, or how are those 'categorized' when breeding them?

 

[lilcrow]

About Self blues. Do they fit in with the Blue, Black, Splash group?, or how are those 'categorized' when breeding them?

They are a variety unto themselves. They breed true and should be bred to self-blue. Only exception to this would be breeding to a Black which will help to improve type and feather quality. Too often the lavender gene is linked with the fray gene. This is one of the big problems with breeding Self-blue, you almost always are faced with this issue and will need to address it one way or another. Because the two are genetically LINK, it can be a challenge.
It would cause serious color/pattern issues to breed Self-blue into the "Andalusian" blue group. Right off I can't think of anything good that would come of it.

 

[ShadyGroveFarm1]

They are a variety unto themselves. They breed true and should be bred to self-blue. Only exception to this would be breeding to a Black which will help to improve type and feather quality. Too often the lavender gene is linked with the fray gene. This is one of the big problems with breeding Self-blue, you almost always are faced with this issue and will need to address it one way or another. Because the two are genetically LINK, it can be a challenge.
It would cause serious color/pattern issues to breed Self-blue into the "Andalusian" blue group. Right off I can't think of anything good that would come of it.

Ok, thank you. I have a question. I just want to pretty much get cochins and breed for fun and experiment with colors. So, if I DID breed together colors that a breeder was doing for quality wouldn't, would it make the chicken be un-healthier?. In other words, breeding colors together that would otherwise be unacceptable, it wont have any affect on the birds health will it?

 

[beachbabies]

I found one! A sweet hen in oregon! Drove 8 hours round trip but I found one! Thanks guys!

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

Ok, thank you. I have a question. I just want to pretty much get cochins and breed for fun and experiment with colors. So, if I DID breed together colors that a breeder was doing for quality wouldn't, would it make the chicken be un-healthier?. In other words, breeding colors together that would otherwise be unacceptable, it wont have any affect on the birds health will it?

No, it won't effect their health at all.

 

[ShadyGroveFarm1]

No, it won't effect their health at all.

Ok, thanks!

 

[mystonedgarden]

About Self blues. Do they fit in with the Blue, Black, Splash group?, or how are those 'categorized' when breeding them?

I agree with lilcrow. Self blues are technically blue, I will be breeding my self blue to some black hens and a blue hen to improve type. This will only result in splits but Ill eventually get some SB hopefully. I got lucky all of my hens have yellow feet, unlike my SB who has willow legs. Once again a great example that when possible, start with quality stock from reputable breeders. I will work with what I have. It's easier to find decent blacks than finding a SB COCHIN in my area.

 

[BlackBrookPoultry]

Shouldn't your self-blues have slate legs?