Cochin Thread!!!

[thechickonthehill]

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Your gl cochin is absolutely beautiful!

Thanks! We like her.

She is actually a decent size for a hatchery bird I think and has a very sweet disposition. She is a good broody hen which is her main job here.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I want to give everyone a useful reminder when bringing chickens from somewhere else to your farm. Please use precautions and quarantine!

Recently someone brought me some Silkie chicks and while I talking to them, my husband took the chicks and went to put them into a brooder. Because he's been with me for 12 years, I thought that he would remember that we would have to quarantine them, but he didn't and he put them in with some gorgeous (and expensive!) cochin chicks I had growing out. Well I got busy preparing for this storm that was about to hit us and didn't check to see that he had quarantined them ( I assumed that he had because I've been raising parrots since 1980 and he's been with me since 1998.)

Later that evening, while we were talking, he said that the Silkie chicks were doing well with the Cochin chicks which stopped me dead in my tracks. Now this person that brought me the Silkie chicks is a BYC'r. I've known her for quite a while, I've been to her house, she's been to mine before but I still quarantine EVERYTHING that comes into my place from her place and others places. Hubby thought it was okay to put them together.

Well guess what? I've now lost 18 of my Cochin chicks to cocci. Do I want to strangle my husband? You bet I do! This isn't the first mess up this week especially. (This weekend, while I was busy, he sold 10 three month old Silkie chicks to someone for $15!!!!! He's not allowed to sell anything anymore!) But what's done is done.

So please, please, please quarantine when you're bringing new birds onto your property! I know several people in the parrot world who have lost thousands of $$$$ in parrots because they didn't and a very close friend just found out that he exposed his entire flock to Avian Herpes because he was trying to do the right thing by rescuing an abused parrot.

This is just cocci but it could have been much worse. I'm out major $$ for these chicks I just lost but it could have been so so much worse.

Laurie

 

[Coopa Cabana]

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Excellent reminder, Laurie, although I'm so sorry it's coming to us because of your loss - so sorry to hear about the chicks.

I hope you let your hubby out of the dog house soon - I'm sure he's just as devasted as you are.

I quarantine ALL my new birds for at least 30 days - doesn't matter who the breeder is, or how many health certificates (NPIP, etc) come along with the birds.

Along these lines, Tom made another excellent point a few months back that bears mentioning again. You should also ask the breeder you are getting birds from if they vaccinated the birds, and for what. You just might be introducing a live virus into your flock that your birds haven't been vaccinated against.

 

[TennesseeTruly]

I never quarantined my parrots (as I said before, I have been breeding them since 1980) until 1989 when a friend of mine lost about $4500 in parrots due to a diseased parrot he brought into his flock. That's when I learned about quarantine. Since then, I quarantine everything and I do mean everything. Right now I have about $50,000 worth of parrots that I absolutely cannot afford to lose due to introducing something like Newcastle's or something else into it.

But its the same thing with chicken diseases. I just started with chickens 2 years ago. Just because I'm a newbie in chickens doesn't mean that I don't use the exact same stringent quarantine procedures. I don't care if the birds are a $2. chick or a $2,000 parrot, the same thing goes. You MUST quarantine! My husband understands the mistake he made and he feels horrible. He's already out of the dog house for this, not so much for selling my 10 Silkie chicks for $15 though!!! GRRRRR

Anyway, if what happened here makes even one person quarantine then the loss of all these precious babies was worth it in the end. The few remaining Cochin chicks are hanging on. There's been no new deaths since last night. The Sulmet is working thank goodness.

 

[DANNY]

Here are a couple of buff barred cochins I will be breeding out of this year.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I totally love a buff barred! But since I have not been able to purchase any I have decided to use what I have and make more of the buff Mottled looking bantam Cochins. I have a few ladies like this and a roo or two that will go with them.

I will take my more buff/wht girls and go back with my white roo to add more white and keep breeding the more mottled ones to get some real beauties. With all my projects going on I keep getting some I can use and don't really want to part with them.

Danny, you always seem to have the most gorgeous bantam Cochins that I love to see!

 

[DANNY]

Here are the silver laced bantam cochins I will be breeding out of this year.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Okay, Danny, now I know I need some of those.

I have only a trio and they need some work so you are going to have to cough over your rejects. Goodness knows I think your rejects are awesome!
Let me know when you want to move some out. Those are really nice!

 

[mjgigax]

thanks for sharing pictures!

 

[RhodeRunner]

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Thanks! I would be happy to help you get started. However, I currently am not NPIP tested, so no shipping. (I am in PA near OH.)