Cochin Thread!!!

[Black Cochin Bantams]

Quote:
The white feathers on the wings and breast still need to molt out. Good mottled birds take 10 months or more to develop and I think these are still too young to know how they will finish. Have potential.

 

[wildwoodcochins]

I bought some birds last week, even mailed her a shipping box but ended up mailing it a little late. Now she doesn't want to ship because it's too cold. Has anyone ever had any problems shipping birds in winter? I even sent her a 72 hour heat pack all the while worrying that they would be too hot. We live in neighboring states, she's 500 miles north from me. I'm outside in a Tshirt today!
I have shipped in fairly cold weather but it would seem to me that the birds would be in a warmer enviroment than their coops would be in winter. Anybody have any input on this?
Twyla

 

[joanie_maine]

Quote:
It's not that cold yet

Have you paid for the birds and shipping?

If you have, you own them now and it seems to me that you can call the shots.....

If you do not receive the goods in a timely manner, I guess she can refund your payment and send back the box....

 

[wildwoodcochins]

Quote:
It's not that cold yet

Have you paid for the birds and shipping?

If you have, you own them now and it seems to me that you can call the shots.....

If you do not receive the goods in a timely manner, I guess she can refund your payment and send back the box....

I paid for the birds but she was going to weigh them and let me know how much the shipping was. I'm just really upset because I had my heart set on them and I agree; it's not THAT cold yet!

 

[thecochincoop]

Quote:
I do see a lot of pointy baby feathers on the wings. The cockerels take even longer than the pullets to finish out so you're looking at next summer before you can evaluate pattern etc. That pullet is looking really great and I think she'll finish out very nice. I have her sister here and they look very much alike

 

[thecochincoop]

question for breeders keeping your birds in good feather, I am building a new coop/small barn and don't know if shavings on wood floor or vinyl coated wire would be better to keep them on. I have a few birds on wire now and they are still getting poop stains all over. Their foot feathering is holding up better than the free rangers but they're breaking off now after about a month of finishing molting. How do you guys keep your birds from getting dirty and damaged?

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

Quote:
I use pine chips. I change them when dirty. It depends on the number of birds per pen how long I can go between bedding changes. I also have some birds that seem to always find a way to soil/stain foot feathers quicker than the others in the same pen. I don't clean out coop over the winter but just add another 2-3 inches of chips and really clean in the spring. Makes for large compost piles.

Craig

 

[thecochincoop]

Quote:
I use pine chips. I change them when dirty. It depends on the number of birds per pen how long I can go between bedding changes. I also have some birds that seem to always find a way to soil/stain foot feathers quicker than the others in the same pen. I don't clean out coop over the winter but just add another 2-3 inches of chips and really clean in the spring. Makes for large compost piles.

Craig

so i would probably be better off keeping about 2 birds in a 2x2 cage with shavings to keep them in good condition and just keep an eye on the cleanliness of the chips instead of trying to do wire with droppings trays. I was planning on making all the cages roughly 2x2 or 2x3. perhaps I'll just use wire for the brooder cages then

 

[andrea98]

Trying to decide who to keep white roo , red hen & blue hen , or a very pretty multi colored roo & the hens.. I have 3 black frizzle hens that I'm thinking about rehoming it's just the roo issue ?? Who do I keep!!!!

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Quote:
I use pine chips. I change them when dirty. It depends on the number of birds per pen how long I can go between bedding changes. I also have some birds that seem to always find a way to soil/stain foot feathers quicker than the others in the same pen. I don't clean out coop over the winter but just add another 2-3 inches of chips and really clean in the spring. Makes for large compost piles.

Craig

so i would probably be better off keeping about 2 birds in a 2x2 cage with shavings to keep them in good condition and just keep an eye on the cleanliness of the chips instead of trying to do wire with droppings trays. I was planning on making all the cages roughly 2x2 or 2x3. perhaps I'll just use wire for the brooder cages then

Another interesting idea is the Poly Barrel Conditioning Cages. There was a thread on ShowBirdBid this past summer about them, and there is an article in the October issue of Exhibition Poultry:

http://www.exhibitionpoultry.net/