Large Fowl Cochin Thread

[Michie]

Hello, I am pretty new to cochins, but they have won my heart!!! Mine are 8 weeks old. I am pretty sure they are pure because I got them from a breeder here on BYC. I have 2 blues, and 4 blacks. Here are some pics of my blues. I am really having a difficult time deciding whos a boy and whos a girl. I have 2 black ones with really pronounced red combs and waddles(so they r obivious boys lol), but as of this week all of the cochins combs and waddles are turning pink lol I live in a neighborhood, and only plan on keeping girls. I am a bit scared I might have all boys, but I sure think they are pretty!!! My goal is to be able to have at least 1 to show!! Here are my 8 week old blue ones!!


COCHIN #1

COCHIN #2

 

[Bo Garrett]

New varieties within a breed............hmmmmm?
Do new varieties help the breed?
1. in some instances no, they just create mediocrity for which I have no tolerance.
2. new varieties are made only to be admitted to the standard and then bred into mediocrity, again no tolerance.
3. new varieties are made, standarized and lost within a short period of time, inexcusable because it is too dang much work!!!!
4. new varieties are made, standarized and contribute to the breed and increase the variation within the breed by creating another independent gene pool.
In the 1960's a man by the name of Alex Duffy made the Brown Cochin using the best of already standarized breeds. Within a few years he and others had standardized the variety and he began winning shows with his beautiful browns. Sadly, his flock was lost to dogs and he passed shortly thereafter. Other breeders either lost interest or lost the birds due to the decreased pool of breeders and lack of knowledge of how the variety was made. The LF brown cochin is gone...........maybe not.
Point to the question: Keep exacting records of matings whether they produced mistakes or success. Never develop a single line of birds, develop multiple bloodlines from which to increase your gene pool and allow for improvement of the variety. Don't paint yourself in a corner!!! Sell good birds to good breeders so they will be propogated and improved beyond where you have taken them. And, last but not least, TYPE, TYPE, TYPE, if it doesn't look like a cochin then there is no amount of color diversity will disguise the lack of TYPE. Breed for type first and the variety will come in time.

I am of the mind that we need to breed the established varieties; maintaining and improving them while at the same time developing new varieties. Just think what the show halls would look like with only black and white birds. The founding fathers of poultry did it and they expected us to continue in their endeavors.

Respectfully with blessings to each of you,


Bo Garrett
The Garrett Nest Poultry Farm
Garvin, Oklahoma

 

[scrange79]

Quote:
Nice post. I'm not a breeder, and actually am new to the chicken world, but I like reading everyone's views. I have a white and buff cochin and am really enjoying them both. Although they are hatchery birds ( I didn't really know the difference until recently), I like the way they look. The white one (who we've dubbed "Paula Deen") comes running to us and she looks hilarious in her feather pants.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Quote:
Thank you. It's been very hard....I started with REALLY crappy birds...they still have a long ways to go as far as size and type (but they are getting there). I have their lacing down pretty good but again--you're supposed to build the barn before you paint it.

I have noticed with some of my other breeds, Crevecoeurs & Orloffs in particular--that it's not an overnight success when working with such rare & depleted lines.

Heck, it's not even a few years' project. I have been working on some breeds for close to 7 years now and at times, it feels like I'm going no where.

This spring I was able to get GLC eggs from a judge/breeder--I bought a dozen. Unfortunately, the packing job sucked BIG TIME and I only ended up with a few eggs that I was even able to set. Then out of those very few, I got ONE chick.

While she's HUGE--my $80.00 chick has VULTURE hocks and greenish legs!?? This is something I have not encountered in my own line. I have been hatching like crazy this spring (my own birds) and I'm making this new pullet an area of her own and I'll be crossing with her my best cockerels and seeing what happens. Worst comes to worse--I'll be selling them next year to local people who just want "pretty chickens." Of course, I'm hoping to add size to my line without screwing up leg color or adding in vulture hocks...

 

[rtroxel]

Quote:
I'm pretty sure vulture hocks are recessive. So you just have to be careful not to keep carriers. Leg color really isn't that big a deal to get rid of. It is two genes that work together to form the different colored legs. Even if you use a green legged bird, the yellow legs are in there. Every year, use yellows and you can justify it and breed it out pretty quick. But after a year or two, you have to put a stop to it and never use a green legged bird again. That is just putting more of it in the pool.

 

[chickendales]

Quote:
I'm pretty sure vulture hocks are recessive. So you just have to be careful not to keep carriers. Leg color really isn't that big a deal to get rid of. It is two genes that work together to form the different colored legs. Even if you use a green legged bird, the yellow legs are in there. Every year, use yellows and you can justify it and breed it out pretty quick. But after a year or two, you have to put a stop to it and never use a green legged bird again. That is just putting more of it in the pool.

is it greenish or slate because there allowed to have slate legs

 

[Bo Garrett]

The standard in cochins requires the shanks and toes to be yellow in silver laced, golden laced, buff and white varieties an yellow or dusky yellow in the other varieties. Slate is a disqualification. I used blacks to improve my whites and it worked but I still battle leg color, I still have willow legged pullets on occasion.

Bo

 

[chickendales]

Quote:
thanks bo i dont know what i was thinking,i should made shure before i posted

 

[satsuki23]

I have a question does anybody have Silver penciled Cochins LF or Bantam

Thanks Bob

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

Quote:
I would check the Cochin breeders thread that Coopa Cabana set up.