Mille Cochin Info

[KDailey]

I need some advice on my cochins. I only have a picture of the one roo at the moment but will be getting pics of the rest of them today and can post them tomorrow.

This roo was called pet quality when I bought him but he was only like 8 weeks old at the time so I'd like to hear opinions of him now that he's matured. He's around 8 months old now I believe. I'm trying to decide between him and a younger roo that hatched earlier this year. I think the other one's color is probably better but I think this guy might be better as far as type. The younger one looks too tall and long. But I'm farrrrr from expert so I need better opinions.

I'd like specifics on his type and color etc. What exactly makes him bad? What exactly makes him good? I'm trying to learn everything I can. Also, If you could explain how you know that he's bad/good in those departments. As in (example) His back is too long. I can tell that because.....

 

[County Boy]

I can get some!

Can't send out in this heat, though...

You can pick up or I can keep until autumn...which might be better...

If I could see some pics that would be great. I agree on waiting until autum.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I need some advice on my cochins. I only have a picture of the one roo at the moment but will be getting pics of the rest of them today and can post them tomorrow.

This roo was called pet quality when I bought him but he was only like 8 weeks old at the time so I'd like to hear opinions of him now that he's matured. He's around 8 months old now I believe. I'm trying to decide between him and a younger roo that hatched earlier this year. I think the other one's color is probably better but I think this guy might be better as far as type. The younger one looks too tall and long. But I'm farrrrr from expert so I need better opinions.

I'd like specifics on his type and color etc. What exactly makes him bad? What exactly makes him good? I'm trying to learn everything I can. Also, If you could explain how you know that he's bad/good in those departments. As in (example) His back is too long. I can tell that because.....

I would love to help you out but I need more photos. These are 3/4 front views and I can't see as much how he is built.
I can tell you what I do see but it may be wrong from where I am seeing him.

If he is 8 months old now and these are recent photos then his comb has too many points. His back is much too long for a roo and he does not look balanced for a male. His rump is too pinched, he needs a more full cushion. Maybe he is just more slow to mature and may look better as a year old but 8 months is pretty mature in bantam Cochins and he should be full and wide by now.

I like how high he carries his wings. He has a nice eye but a lot of extra skin around them. He has a decent chest and seems to have a wide stance but he should look wide all the way through his body and he doesn't.
I don;t look at his coloring because without type, pattern is nothing. If you have some really awesome hens then I would use him for the color and pattern but after about 20 chicks, I would not use him anymore and move on with his offspring. Even a nice buff Columbian girl can be useful with him if she is super typy.

Just my 2 cents worth and no offense on your roo. Love his chest pattern. It is so hard to get on roosters.

 

[KDailey]

I appreciate it! I need to learn and the only way to do it is for someone more knowledgable than me to show me the good, the bad and the ugly. lol.

Edit: It actually just occured to me that the pics of that roo were not taken recently. it didn't even occur to me. lol. That pic was taken several months ago. So he was probably only 4-5 months old. Unless he's older than I think he is....I'll just get another picture tonight. lol

Here are pics of the other birds, not very good but they're what I could get. I don't think they're really all that special but I'd like to get some sort of an idea of what I'm working with.

The second rooster: If I remember correctly I believe he is around 6 months old




Hen number one. Same age as rooster





Hen number two. Same age as rooster and hen number one. I apologize for her sitting on the pole. She refused to stay on the ground.






Hen number three. The more I looked at her yesterday the more I didn't like her. lol. She's the same age as the rooster in my first post.




So that's what I have to work with at the moment. I know it's not real impressive but I'm working on getting more birds of better quality. It'll just take time.

So after looking at them, which rooster is better from what you can tell from pictures? I'm trying to decide which one to keep in the pen with my cochins and which to move to my "random chickens" pen. There are too many roosters as of right now.

As for the hens, could you order them as far as best to worst? Or tell me if maybe one hen would go better with this rooster vs that rooster, etc?

I really do appreciate all the critisism. It's the best way to learn as far I'm concerned

 

[chicken fever]

i think several people went with mottled and buff columbian to get the desired effects, but it is a long term project, not a quick fix...  and i don't know if LF cochins come in either of those colors... 

one possible suggestion, breed a nice mille bantam roo to a lf hen? (ai if necessary), breed those chicks (F1) back to each other, and then cross the best of those (F2) out to LF cochin again, repeating the pattern until you get the type/color/etc you're looking for.

Thx for the advice!LF don't come in buff Columbian but we do have mottled...hard to find tho. I have a call into bo garrett to see if he has any. I was going to try a LF mottled roo over a bantam calico to begin my long term projects. Any and all advice is welcome!

 

[County Boy]

Thx for the advice!LF don't come in buff Columbian but we do have mottled...hard to find tho. I have a call into bo garrett to see if he has any. I was going to try a LF mottled roo over a bantam calico to begin my long term projects. Any and all advice is welcome!

I'm n ot sure if this will work as well but if you fin a LF mottled you could breed it to a buff. I am trying that with my bantams but I'm not sure if it will work. I'll post pics though once I get started.

 

[ShysCreations]

K Dailey,
Amy gives good advice, she may have some of the better typed MFCs as well as Erin & another breeder Annamay Carlson. Look on Cochins Intl site to find the shape of cochin you are striving for---a volleyball shape. Introduction of a well formed black mottled will really help advance body type. Most MFC breeders started with some narrow bodied birds and simply by introducing blue or black mottled or buff columbian helps body type.
IMO--the darkest hen shows the least desired body type. The roos (its tough with pics rather than in person view) but initially I'd say the lighter roo is better shaped but not having seen the darker roo at his current age......set them side by side to compare. Look for width in tail, chest.

 

[KDailey]

I actually have a blue mottled rooster being shipped to me as soon as it's cool enough that should have a lot better type than what I have. Initially I was getting him for my Splash pen but that's great news if I can use him in my Mille pen as well. I got more pictures yesterday and will post them as soon as I get them uploaded.

I'm happy to hear any and all advice from those of you that have been doing this longer than me. I always appreciate a learning experience.

 

[HiddenBrookAcres]

I have a Calico MF roo with lots of white. What color hen should I pair him with to improve the MF color? I have a couple of red MF with very little white and was thinking of putting all together in hope that some of his white will improve the lack of white in them. Not sure what I will get out of that pairing??

 

[normanack]

Thank you for starting a new one! I'm putting my pics back up...


Okay..here is my hen--she's got a lot of white:

That may be the most beautiful cochin I've ever seen.

Edited to add: oops, started at the wrong end of the thread. Also, I haven't seen many cochins. And now that I've looked at a bunch of pictures here, I love them all. In short, disregard this post.