Judge my cochin!

[Miriah132]

Hey y’all! I picked up my first cochin a while ago and absolutely love her! The guy I bought her from said she looks like she would do well in a show. Well I have no idea. She doesn’t look like most show Cochins look to me. What do y’all think? I know these are not the best photos but she would NOT stand still lol. She’s standing very upright in some of the pictures on the table since she kept trying to jump off lol. Any opinions appreciated! She’s around 6.5 months old, has not started laying yet, has not been kept in a cage or anything of that sort.

 

[Cyprus]

I would like to put it out there that I am NOT a Cochin breeder.
I am giving my honest input based on what I know of the SOP of bantam female Cochins
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1) Her comb- Does not meet the standard. Her comb should be single - medium size, straight and upright, set firmly and evenly on the head. moderately and evenly serrated, having five regular and distinct points, neatly arched, free from wrinkles or folds.
2) Her beak- Meets the standard
3) Her face- Meets the standard
4) Her eyes- Meets the standard
5) Her wattles- Do not meet the standard. Her wattles should be more rounded and not folded or wrinkled.
6) Her Earlobes- Appear to meet the standard
7) Her head- Mostly good. Well feathered, skull is filled out well. The only issue I see is that she doesn't hold her head right. Her head should be carried so that top of comb will be on a parallel line drawn from the top of the tail, beak slightly back of line drawn perpendicular with the front of the breast. I cannot tell from the pictures if she usually holds her head right or not. You did mention that she didn't stay still.
8) Her neck- Meets the standard
9) Her hackle- Does not meet the standard. Her hackle needs to be much fuller, and very nicely flowing over her shoulders.
10) Her back- Does not fully make the standard. Whilst short, as it should be, her back is not broad enough and her back should be more rounded as opposed to flat.
11) Her cushion- Does not meet the standard. Her cushion should be rising very full from back at the base of hackle, very large and round; plumage, abundant, flowing over wingtips and into thigh plumage.
12) Her Tail- Needs improvement. It should be short, well spread at the base, carried fairly low, well filled underneath with an abundance of soft feathers which are overlapped by tail coverts, the whole forming one unbroken duplex curve with back and cushion.
13) Her wings- Meet most of the standard. However, they should be held a fair bit higher above the thighs.
14) Her breast- Carried well. However, her breast should have more fullness and depth to it.
15) Her feet- I cannot see the bottoms of her feet. However, if there is any yellow on the bottoms of her feet it is a disqualification.

Final decision: She is not high show quality and has areas that need improvement. If you were to enter her in a show I would expect her to take a second or third ribbon.

I hope I was not too harsh. If I was, I apologize. Please take my opinion as constructive criticism and do with it as you will.

Regards,
Cyprus

 

[Miriah132]

Not rude at all! That’s exactlh what I was needing! Very informative, thank you! With her being 6.5 months, would there be possibility of her improving in any of those areas? Like I said, this is my first cochin! So I don’t know how they mature either

 

[Cyprus]

There is a chance that she could fill out better in her tail, cushion, and hackles. Her back may get broader too.
Her comb and wattles will not change.

 

[BlackHackle]

This is too much pressure on the poor Cochin! lol

 

[BlackHackle]

...it's a bleak future for her showbird career...just kidding

 

[featherhead007]

Ok, so maybe she's not show quality, but I think she's very pretty! Signed, The rooster

 

[LilJoe]

... I believe black cochins are supposed to have yellow legs/feet, but black is okay.

 

[Miriah132]

...it's a bleak future for her showbird career...just kidding

Lol it’s a good learning experience for me! I don’t expect to ever show her, BUT it’s very helpful to have others critic my birds that way I can get an unbiased opinion and learn to judge them on my own! Cause I tend to think my girls are the prettiest no matter what! Lol

 

[Miriah132]

Ok, so maybe she's not show quality, but I think she's very pretty! Signed, The roosterView attachment 1424153

Thank you! She’s a pretty girl to me either way!