Cochin Thread!!!

[wildwoodcochins]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words on my blues. I am very excited about them. As I said I have several nice babies in the grow out pen and hoping to continue working on them. I just love blue chickens, especially my fluffy butted cochins

Tonea! All I can say is

AND, I'm so happy you live so close!! lol

 

[wildwoodcochins]

Isabella & Oliver's chickies are starting to hatch!!!

 

[StevenW.]

Hello everyone I've checked on here before, but that was quite some time ago.

I currently have 1 Black Mottled Hen (Bought) and 2 Lemon Blue Sport (Hatched) pullets.

Monday I received in the mail, a dozen eggs from these birds.


I hope I'll get a little Frizzled chick but its iffy. The eggs came all the way from Florida, when I candled them after I waited 24 hours to put them in the incubator, all of them were porous and I've had very bad luck with Porous eggs in past.

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Isabella & Oliver's chickies are starting to hatch!!!

 

[tiki244]

They are Beautiful WWC!!!

 

[Coopa Cabana]

Thank you Craig, Casey, Dave and others for your replies! The information you provided is very helpful. I have been looking at the CI site some and have even joined the CI board. I now have an idea of numbers and that there may be more breeders around that have birds that dont show or go to unrecorded shows. I didnt even think about the different goals folks might have for having birds, so that was really helpful. I am totally fascinated with color and differences, so genetics just intrigues the heck out of me!(lol, I didnt even think about the possibility that someone would want the popular colored birds of high quality for shows, <grin> 'cuz I would only want em for their genes! Guess that shows where my head is.)

So for my next informational quest:

I know little of genetics at this point, but am working on learning(I hope to purchase some books about chicken genetics in the next month or so! lol, been saving up). I would rather not use my limited resources and knowledge in a hit and miss manner to aquire birds(and work towards goals). So I thought I would ask here and see if you all could help me some more. I dont want to purchase birds and then figure out that they arent needed or cant be used for what I want to do(lol, that is after I figure out what it is that I want to do). So any help would be appreciated. If there is a site or sites that I can reference that would be great to know too.

Here's an excellent site that covers just about everything you could ever want to know:
http://sellers.kippenjungle.nl/page0.html

I know what offspring are produced depends on the birds you have, their genetic backgrounds, what recessive traits they and their line have and probably some environmental factors. But as far as patterned birds go, in general, what colors and patterns are related?
I know that black, blue and splash are related genetically. Are there others?

That's not so easy to answer, because there are so many combinations as you add in genes, modifiers, etc. Anything that has Blue in it (NOT Self-Blue/lav) will produce B/B/S, whether it is Mottled, Laced, Mille Fleur, etc. If you are working with patterned genes, just the Pg (Patterned) will produce Pencilled/Partridge. Add in the Ml gene (Melanizer), and you will have Double Laced. Add Co (Columbian) to that, and you will have Single Laced. And depending on which alelle those are (eb or ER), the birds will have either a black tail or a laced tail. (Laced Cochins should have a black tail.)

I know that partridge works best with two breeding groups(one to produce Roos and one to produce Hens) to produce good colors/patterns.
Are there other patterns that take two groups to keep better colors on each gender?

CI has an excellent article on Single vs Double Mating on the Education tab, but basically any variety where the male and female coloring/pattern differs is a good candidate for Double Mating.

I think I want to deal with reds, as I already have a funny little cockerel that is frizzled, red/black and patterned and I would like to see what I can do with him. So having some red cochins also isnt too big of a jump. So I am also thinking about the brown red and the black tailed red(I think those are the right names, if not I apologise), because I am guessing that they would also be related to reds, or that reds might be needed in their breeding program. Can anyone tell me about the genetics and bird colors involved in either or both of these varieties?

True Reds and Brown Reds are based on different alelles.

I know that there is a genetic chicken calculator out there, I have it bookmarked, but I have had some difficulty in using it-mostly because I dont know where to begin or what the heck I am doing.....lol....someone spoke of patience and being able to be patient, I find I can do patience when I have direction, but(excuse the pun) without direction I run around like a chicken with my head cut off and the patience goes out the window.

I've never had any luck using the Chicken Calculator. I understand Chicken Math, and I'm an accountant, so I can certainly use a Calculator, but put the two together and I'm totally lost. Personally, I prefer book learning - it's easier for me to learn if I can read what's going on.

Thanks all for putting up with my inquisitiveness, you are all appreciated greatly!

Hope that helps a little bit!

 

[BackyardCoop]

Is anyone able to tell me yet whether my mottled is a roo or a hen?
S/he is probably about 6 weeks old.

 

[Coopa Cabana]

He looks like a little cockerel to me.

Is anyone able to tell me yet whether my mottled is a roo or a hen?
S/he is probably about 6 weeks old.

 

[County Boy]

He looks like a little cockerel to me.

X2

 

[wildwoodcochins]

Is anyone able to tell me yet whether my mottled is a roo or a hen?
S/he is probably about 6 weeks old.

X3 What a Cutie