Cochin Thread!!!

[spotsplus]

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Thanks!

 

[abbey2140]

Basically I would be right in stating that Columbian Cochins should resemble Wyandotts in color? I was told by someone that you only want hints of black in their hackles and saddle feathers.

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

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sweet looking chickies!
Tammie, i got one of your buff chicks back in March during Shay's chicken swap, she's been such a wonderful little chatterbox! i named her Boof, a mix of buff, poof, and because she reminded me of a pumpkin i thought of Boo and the 'f' just happened to stick to the name! i wish i had a good pic of her before she got attacked and her neck feathers ruined in the process. she was showing a wonderful form to her body! she has been recovering wonderfully since and still shows that wonderful puffy back end developing! but with the neck still looking horrible i didn't want to frighten anyone. she has a sweet personality and loves to cuddle even after such a traumatic experience.

i took her outside today for the first time since the attack and she was loving it! i had to weed the garden and she was right there the entire time grabbing bugs and bits of weeds as they were getting pulled up. chattering away the whole entire time! then she started purring and trying to settle in on the ground, she DID NOT want to come in for the evening!

she did not want me out of her sight at all, so, she hopped onto my hand and came back in the house for the night.

thanks for letting me get her from you!

 

[cochinman2005]

For the post that stated Columbian Cochins should resemble Columbian Wyandottes in color the answer is yes, but I wouldn't call it hints of Black. There are distinct markings that they are supposed to have. "hints" to me would mean that they are way undermarked.

I took some photos last night to provide examples of poor and acceptable markings.

Poor wing (primaries) marking. This is a Cochin Ckl.

Acceptable hackle marking. Columbian Pullet about 3 months old. Although her wings are poorly marked.

Decent Tail Coverts (Plymouth Rock Pullet)

Acceptable Tail Coverts (Cochin Pullet)

Not well defined hackle and it goes too far up toward her head. Same Cochin pullet as previous picture.

Same Cochin Pullet. Back is fairly clean, but showing a little ticking, and you can see that the hackle markings go too far up her neck toward the head. However, this a very nice typed pullet, and you have to weigh that against the color flaws and go from there.

Fairly well marked hackle on a Plymouth Rock cockerel.

Same Plymouth Rock Cockerel. Saddle markings are starting to come in and you can see the distinct white across the back. Patterned hackle, crisp white back and then the saddle marking picks up. However, he's showing some white in the middle of his saddle markings already, which is a common flaw. We'll see how he winds up in the type department.

Well marked hackle on a Wyandotte Cock bird.

Saddle on same Wyandotte male.

And finally that same Wyandotte viewed from above. He is pretty well marked although he does show a bit of White on his two main sickles. He's a 3 year old bird and that is to be expected as they age.

 

[Msbear]

I never realized that the length of the markings on the hackle extending toward the head mattered too much. I've seen the "hints" of black and always knew they were undermarked as well as the birds with the high capes and they typically displayed the ticking and other dark patches where there shouldn't be. This general rule, referring the the cape, can really help pinpoint wether the pattern is over or undermarked as it seems directly related.

thanks for all the pics. they help tremendously when reading the explanation.

 

[hippichick]

Thanks so much for taking the time to post these pics, Tom. Reading about what they should look like is helpful, but actually seeing in pics, to me, makes all the difference. I'll definitely be printing these up to take to the coop later for comparison-along with your explanation. Thanks again.

 

[Coopa Cabana]

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Just be very careful when you take those pics out to the coop!!! Whatever you do, don't say things like "Why can't you look like this?" I've found mine to be very sensitive about things like that!!

It took a lot of extra treats to convince them that I still love them!

 

[rnorris1234]

I'm new to keeping chickens and I really love cochins. I bought 2 new ones today-- a splash hen and a lemon blue roo. This is the first lemon blue I've seen in person (only pictures). I think he's really pretty, but not as golden yellow as some others that I have seen. Anyway, it was $15 for the pair, which was in a price range I could afford. I guess I'm hoping that y'all will tell be I got a great deal and not that I got taken!

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Thanx so much, Tom! I'm reading and studying, studying and reading, trying to absorb as much of this as I can. Realizing, as you said, if you cull for defects, you'll end up culling 100% of your birds, can you elaborate any further as to more breeder vs. show quality? This has been a fantastic demonstration and training tool for all of us, and gives much more insight now on what the perfect Columbian would look like if we could combine the correct hackles, saddle, wings and tail on to a great-typed bird.

I guess what I'm wondering is if any of the pattern defects discussed should be totally avoiding when selecting a breeder? Or do you just continue to select the best typed bird with the overall best patterns? And how do you rank which defects carry more/less weight?

Take, for example, the hackle markings going too far up the neck onto the head. If that is present, will it be passed on? Or reversely, if you sire and dam have clean heads, how safely can you assume that offspring will have clean heads? And how important is the clean head in relation to other pattern defects?

 

[usschicago1]

Just for anyone who doesnt have the book. I really hope this link works.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ho...&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false