Cochin Thread!!!

[trailgurl]

Hope the luck lasts I plan on starting to breed, raise, and show standard cochins, and i'm in the process of getting my first few chicks-just waiting on the other ppl I'm ordering with to get their chicken stuff together

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Spring fever has hit me.
I put my buff girls and buff mottled girls in breeding with my white roo yesterday. I have rearranged a few hens and roos and thought I might as well get my buff mottled project going.
Earl is so happy to have 5 beautiful hens in with him and they are all proven. However, now he needs to be proven. If he is anything like his dad, Prince and his grandfather, King, he is more than ready for his job.

I just bought another big dog kennel but that is for more Mille Fleur bantam Cochin project birds.
Ugh. I think I may hate myself come the middle of summer. Watering can be so boring, especially with 27 pens and it is 100 degrees outside.

 

[trailgurl]

yikes! Well, I'm sure I'll be singing the same song with over 30 animals to take care of outisde:/

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Oh, I wish I only had to water 30.
I love all the work but to breath in some of this hot air or even some of those cold days, I wonder why I have so many birds. I do love the work and I love the chickens but there are days I like to remember how warm it was when I had an office job and did not work for myself.

Right now I have a little over 600 birds. I need to put some in the freezer. Once I evaluate a few others they can be sold and a lot are staying.

 

[kennedyscochins]

Quote:
Just for thought: I have 6 pens side by side and I put a long PVC pipe through all of them with poultry nipples and then attached a 50?? gallon barrel to the pipe. Run a downspout into it from my garage and never have to water those pens! For a quick waterer, I put a poultry nipple into a cleaned out milk jug and tie it in the pen with a string. May save you every other day of watering depending on how many are in each pen! Just thought I'd drop my two cents and try to help. I am getting ready to build the PVC thing on a small scale for each cage I have chicks in too!

 

[mjgigax]

Quote:
I have my guy isolated with a little pullet to keep him company. They are in a 3'x5' penn so he kind of confined . I noticed that he isn't roosting with the pullet. The roost is only 5 inches from the floor.
Thank you for your honesty and help. I agree we neet to avoid situations such as breeding to a type that isn't hardy. Do SQ blacks have problems? I'm sure it isn't "advertized".

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I believe it can be a problem in any variety, though whether it has been or not I can't say.
None of my original birds have had any problems but I have produced it so I am cautious now as to whom I breed to who. I had never thought about it before in chickens but once I found it and did a bit of research and talking with my veterinarian friend, I realize it is a problem that can be avoided.

Odd, isn't it? That you may have one that is totally unrelated in bloodlines than what I have but are possibly experiencing the same thing. I am glad I spoke up about it.

BTW, I had this happen in my MFC project chicks and also when I crossed in Mottled. Just typy birds with nice conformation.

Live and learn!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Quote:
Won't work for me too well. Most of my pens are moved every week. Very few of mine are stationary pens. I had thought about that with the few pens though.
Great idea but I love being able to add vitamins to the water a few times a week, ACV and garlic about 2 days a week (great to keep the algae down in the summer, too) and I am upset when I see my water containers get a bit dinghy.
However, we are working on ideas of ways to do this, be able to clean it when needed and add stuff to the drinking water, too.

Thanks for the help!

 

[mjgigax]

Quote:
I don't think I will keep my Mottleds, not because of this problem but I'm not sure I want to work with them other than improving Mille Fleurs. Besides the cockerel, I have 2 black mottled, 1 blue Motteled and 1 solid(?) blue with gold leakage that are his "sisters" and one black Mottled from a local breeder. They sure can be pretty but I think I'd rather have a Barred pair or trio. I have my Mille Fleurs for "flashy" spotted birds. I have 5, 8'x10' breeding pens and a 16'x16' grow out pen and that is about the maximum I can care for well (and that my husband can deal with). That isn't much to work with for project flock progress but theyare so fun and I am learning alot.

 

[kennedyscochins]

Quote:
Won't work for me too well. Most of my pens are moved every week. Very few of mine are stationary pens. I had thought about that with the few pens though.
Great idea but I love being able to add vitamins to the water a few times a week, ACV and garlic about 2 days a week (great to keep the algae down in the summer, too) and I am upset when I see my water containers get a bit dinghy.
However, we are working on ideas of ways to do this, be able to clean it when needed and add stuff to the drinking water, too.

Thanks for the help!

I have never had a problem with algae. I'm not sure why I don't get it in the barrel, but I've never seen it. I have a white barrel so it would be pretty obvious. I don't get it in the gallon jugs either. I use these if I have to add vitamins or anything to the water (although I doubt the garlic would go through the nipple even when dissolved). It's just whatever works for you. I just loved it after I got all of these fixed up because it really cut down on the watering and the chickens always had clean water available and no poo to clean out!