Probably a silly question but...are there 3 sizes of Cochins? I've got Bantams and a Standard. But I keep seeing posts about Giant Cochin eggs or chicks and wondered if they're one and the same as the Standard or are there really bigger Cochins than the Standard?
Giant Cochins are what some people call the standard sized. I used to think of just the bantam size when cochins are mentioned, but now I know better.
Giants and Standards are the same thing. I was confused to on this when I started collecting up mine too.
Until two weeks ago I would have agreed with the above two posts. And I still actually do, however I was at a breeders house and he has Cochins and Buff Orps that he raises and breeds for showing. They were huge... much larger than the standard Cochins and Orps I have always seen before. We talked about it because I was amazed and he said it's because they've been bred for showing. They were just beautiful chickens and very, very friendly.
Chirpy you shouldn't have said that. Does he ever sale them? I have fallen madly in love with my Black Cochin, Stella and my Mottled Banty Cochin, Chloe. I told my hubby that in the future these will be the breed that I will most definitley have pretty much for the entire flock. Although I've heard standard Buff Brahmas are very similiar in personality too.
Quote:Chirpy I know what you are saying about the size how it has to do with "Hatchery Stock" and then "Show Stock." I noticed at the chicken shows even the Barred Rocks and RIR's were HUGE compared to my hatchery chickens. I have hatched out some cochins from a breeder and they are MUCH better looking alot BIGGER and more feathered out then my hatchery ones! coloradochick, if you want some nice ones I do recommend you buy from someone who shows them seriously. Because there is a difference in the quality of them.
coloradochick - if you're serious I can put you in touch with him. (pm me) I have no idea if he sells his show birds or not but I do know he was just putting some of their eggs in the bator!!!!! I was there looking at his beautiful Nigerian goats ... I'm getting two girls from him. I really like the guy too, he's very knowledgable and seems to take excellent care of his animals and only breeds for better quality. (edited because I left out a word)
I have hatchery & I also hatched eggs from Sandspoultry on ebay and hers are also double the size of hatchery Cochins ((so are her buff orpingtons)) Her Cochins also lay LARGE eggs!!! (I stayed away from Cochins for awhile because everything I have read said they lay small eggs!)
Since you're all talking about cochins here, I have a few questions. I have several standard chicks coming (I thought I needed one of each color I could find) and also a few roosters, because I couldn't resist their beauty. I worked with bantam cochin hens and a standard rooster several years ago in a bird show (they were the comic relief) and found them all to be wonderfully gentle. Most of what I read seems to indicate that unless you're showing them, they're not of much use, and have the apparently supremely annoying habit of being broody (this will be my first year with chickens, so I don't know how bad that can be). Do those of you who have cochins feel that way, or do you totally love them? Do you find that they produce a reasonable number of eggs, even though that's not a strong point for them? How bad is the broodiness? Any thoughts on cochins are welcome. Also, can standards and bantams coexist?