Giant Cochins??

[AtRendeAcres]

I have 1 that is always broody my others are never broody!!!
I absolutely

my Cochins but, my Brahmas do lay better! I would say my girls average would be 4 eggs out of 7 days!

I have a mixed flock so I am never out of eggs!!! LOL

 

[prncssprplfrog]

I LOVE my two partridge cochin girls!!! I get an egg from each of them most every day. They have yet to go broody, probably because I would love them to hatch some chicks!
The eggs from one of my girls are HUGE- larger than the xtra large eggs we used to buy from the store!
I started out with a mixed flock (see sig) but am thinking about going to to a Cochin, Wyandotte & Maran flock!

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

Generally speaking...

large fowl, standard, and giant mean the same thing.

BUT... there is a marked difference in the size of hatchery Cochins and exhibition Cochins. Exhibition are truely Giants.

 

[cochinman2005]

Cochin Broodiness and egg laying capability.

As a breed,bantam or standard, some are more broody than others, probably related to the genetic makeup of the strain. All-in-all, once they go broody, they are quite adamant about it. I also find that my Large Cochins are very clumsy, and aren't the best about minding eggs they think they need to set on. I wouldn't use a large Cochin as a broody. I've had hens that sit in the corner with their don't bother me, I am attending to important incubating duties attitudes, only to find that their supposed charges aren't even under them, but are behind them or even right beside them. Bantam Cochins on the other hand, are very good at incubating eggs, and I use them for both large and bantam eggs. If I have them incubating large eggs I'll give them 4 and if bantam eggs I'll let them have 6 or 8. On the broodiness scale of 1 - 10 with 10 being extremely broody, I'd rate them as a 7.

Egg size and quantity: I do pay attention to egg size and lay rate when selecting breeders. Consistently small eggs from a large bird results in smaller chicks that don't stand a chance to become Large birds. I won't use a large fowl (doesn't matter what breed) that lays a small egg in the breeding pen. Likewise, I don't set pullet eggs until they've started laying acceptable sized eggs. Numbers of eggs layed is also hereditary. If you have hen/pullet that lays sporadically, or only lays a few eggs in a season, she's not a good candidate for your breeding pen. That trait will be passed on, and can be passed by a male from a poor laying breeding as well.

Giant Cochins. No such thing. Large Fowl and Bantam Cochins are the two sizes.

The Standard of Perfection lists the standard weights for Large Cochins as:
Cock...............................11 lbs. Hen.......................................8 1/2 lbs.
Cockerel...........................9 lbs. Pullet..........................................7 lbs.

See also: http://cochinsinternational.cochinsrule.com/ShapeLargeMale.htm

Birds that come in under those weights are considered small. Hatchery Cochins tend to be smaller than exhibition strains. Some strains weigh in over the standard weights. The SOP covers this in the cutting for defects area. There is such a thing as getting them too big. I am a big fan of a nice large Cochin, but if they get too big, they become out of balanced, from a symetry standpoint and many have trouble breeding. Also, overweight hens don't lay as well.

To illustrate my point on Cochin broodiness, I had a bantam Buff Cochin hen that showed determination above and beyond the call of duty. She was in a group pen with a handful of other Cochins and decided to go broody. The perfect spot (to her) that she selected was right behind the door in the corner (these particular pens are walk in pens and the doors open inward). None of the other hens would lay any eggs in her vicinity so she chose a 1" square piece of wood that happened to be in the shavings I used for bedding. I would take the piece of wood away every day and toss it on the other side of the 4 X 8 pen. At some point during the day, she'd manage to retrieve it and would be happily incubating her block of wood the next time I went in the pen. This went on for a couple weeks and I finally had to move her to a different pen because she was behind the door and in the way.

 

[Goose and Fig]

None of the other hens would lay any eggs in her vicinity so she chose a 1" square piece of wood that happened to be in the shavings I used for bedding. I would take the piece of wood away every day and toss it on the other side of the 4 X 8 pen. At some point during the day, she'd manage to retrieve it and would be happily incubating her block of wood the next time I went in the pen. This went on for a couple weeks and I finally had to move her to a different pen because she was behind the door and in the way.

Oh they can be quite hilarious.

I have many breeds, but I have to say there is a higher percentage of "personality" in the cochin house. Even the few I have in the layer house- they are sooo domesticated. They'd ride around on my boots all day if I let them. I think everybody should have a few- unless you live in the desert maybe.​