Mille Cochin Info

[Feathersprings]

I think Rudy and/or Jon should come live with me.

I need some advice.
I just sold about 45 roos/cockerels for literally $0.50-$0.75 each in the last 2wks. I don't make any money on my MFCs (funny, I made a typing error and originally typed KFCs... irony or not...?). Actually, I don't make money on ANY of my bantams. No one around here wants bantams. Only birds I make money off of are my Wheaten Ameraucanas. Which, I sold and hatched out over 4 dozen eggs and now have 15 girls growing out to start again. Anyways... I am considering axing a project again. I love my MFC, but cost effectively, I am getting no place with them. No improvements because I can't get new birds and no money off what I have to improve. I just got my black bantam Cochins a couple months ago and I want to start breeding a chocolate/mauve bantam Cochin project. I bred pures so far (with ONE MFC x Choco Orp accident baby!). I am about to start the chocolate project since I have a couple young cockerels about ready to have their own girls but now I wonder if I want to. Is it worth the aggravation? No one buys my MFCs which is a project and I am going to have the same issue with the chocolates. Or... is there a bit of a demand I am not aware of? I know locally no one will spend an extra couple bucks because it's a rare/new color to Cochins. I don't mind dumping black F1 cockerels at the auction, though. Even at only $0.50 each. The good thing about the chocolates is I already have 6 different origins in my black bantam Cochins, so line/inbreeding isn't an issue. I already have diversity. And it's a solid color that's sexlinked! MFCs don't have that.

So. Something has to go. Reason being, I don't have room for so many projects and I can't afford to feed the offspring until they are grown out enough to decide who to keep. Should I sell the MFCs? Sell the chocolate project? Sell both and replace them with a LF breed that will make me a bit of money to help defray the near $200 I spend in feed a month? Oh, money I put in and I get nothing but poo out. Literally. I am not even getting eggs right now. From anyone! Everyone is broody or to young.


All of this makes me wonder how you guys can afford to keep going. And you guys sell your birds for so much more than I could ever get for mine....

ETA:
No one on the MFC thread has ever bought eggs or birds from me. I am not a breeder everyone looks up to or relies on for advancement in the variety. So, me asking you for opinions has a reasoning. Basically, do I add anything to the variety that I should keep them, or should I bow out now? I've had MFCs for 3yrs now and I bet I've only sold 6 dozen eggs to other BYC breeders that whole time. I've hatched many, culled light for 2yrs and now that I have something I feel worthwhile working with, I have finally culled hard for the first time based on pattern/color. Now to wait for the type to come out (since they have no tails).

I have never found making money or ever really paying for the chicken hobby happens for most of us. Even those that get good prices for their chickens usually means they are putting more money in as well.If you buy good stock from good breeders, If you are raising and feeding and caring for 200 chickens to get those few that will advance your breeding program that costs a lot in both money and time. I think it has to be a passion and worth whatever it costs. If not and you are looking for something for an income you could raise a good layer breed and sell the ready to lay pullets and eggs possibly or maybe pick a project that invloves one of the layer breeds so you can play with color and they would be more saleable. I have to keep my numbers small here because I am in a pretty isolated area where chickens dont
sell well and not a lot of population to sell them to anyway. I have both silkies and the cochins and need to keep my numbers around 25 chickens...It will be slow going here lol!

 

[Frizzled Pink]

I will be back down to around 400 birds for the winter. I have some pre-sales that I will be delivering in 2 weeks and we have a swap. Then whatever I have left I will advertise for next month's big Chickenstock. I sell some from the farm but it is hard when people want to come and stay for several hours and I can't get much else done for talking chickens.
I also have a lot of people wanting me to ship some birds and I haven't even gotten around to snapping photos of those that I think would work for them.
We also are having a big Small farmers get together here next month and I thought perhaps to put some birds for sale in some display cages in case anyone was interested that day. And then on a cool day hubby and I will take out a bunch of extra roosters and turkeys to put in the freezer. My numbers will go down a good bit by Nov. Gosh, it would be great to get sown to 300!

think I like this guy best... primarily for his tail/cushion...

x2

I need some advice.


I think there are only a few who look at this as an income producing business, and most just assume the costs just like any other hobby and keep the breeds that we really enjoy most. If you like the MFC, it appears you have made progress and by all means stay with it, if they are not then yes find a breed/variety that are and go that way. I had been researching the chocolates lately, I personally found the double dose color genetics a bit scary when there are already other breeders that have the choc and mauve down and are almost completed with choc mottled and mauve mottled. I find those colors interesting but my heart still is with the MFC, but i can understand how that would be a difficult decision.

I have never found making money or ever really paying for the chicken hobby happens for most of us. Even those that get good prices for their chickens usually means they are putting more money in as well.If you buy good stock from good breeders, If you are raising and feeding and caring for 200 chickens to get those few that will advance your breeding program that costs a lot in both money and time. I think it has to be a passion and worth whatever it costs. If not and you are looking for something for an income you could raise a good layer breed and sell the ready to lay pullets and eggs possibly or maybe pick a project that invloves one of the layer breeds so you can play with color and they would be more saleable. I have to keep my numbers small here because I am in a pretty isolated area where chickens dont
sell well and not a lot of population to sell them to anyway. I have both silkies and the cochins and need to keep my numbers around 25 chickens...It will be slow going here lol!

You and me both....we can be slow and steady together

 

[Twizzlebee]

Just saying, but I am absolutely in love with these birds. I just got my first cochins, and I have to say these are my favorite color

 

[Reyvaughn]

I'm not and never expected to make money off my birds, but I wanted to keep birds that at least came darn close to paying for their selves in egg, chick and chicken sales. In the last year I haven't been very successful at making that happen. I will say, honestly, I don't really have any attachment to my birds. I have one I am fond of and she isn't even part of any project or otherwise. She's an OEGB Dewey named Chippy. She's just there. She's a doll and has been with us since our first year of chickens. Last year Dewey accidentally shut her in the coop door and caused her to prolapse. She just started laying again - almost a year after.

Back on topic... I'm not sure what I want to do. I just know one of the projects have to go. I really like the idea of a chocolate Cochin. And mottled chocolates... Like chocolate snowballs with vanilla creme dots... Mmm. Yummy Cochins. Honestly, I appreciate this thread, too. Everyone here is much more likeable than a few other breed threads I have been on.

 

[Reyvaughn]

Maybe I should have a photo day tomorrow since I cleaned out nearly all the boys and only kept the ones I thought were worth keeping. I also moved the younger babies in with the rest of the birds. You know, take 15 out, put 25 back in. I have come to the harsh reality that Byron threw a DQ in his babies. Almost all of his boys (and himself) are missing their outside toe nail. I kept 2 that had them to see what their type looks like later on. One is more all one shade of buff and the other has the red on his shoulders like dad. Aren't Buff Columbians supposed to be one shade of buff and not multiple? I know solid buffs are supposed to be one shade.

Maybe posting pics will make me want to keep them. Then again, the pics may make me realize I am further behind that even I realized. If I just had my 14x50' shed w/ attached runs, I would be able to keep everyone.

 

[mibirder]

In terms of hobby breeding, I think there are two basic foundations. 1) With today's economy, your hobbies - regardless of what that might been - has to be within your financial budget. Its the old, you can't drink fine wine on a beer budget.. 2) I think having a solid plan/expectation(s) is critical. For example, I don't think nonrecognized varieties will ever demand the rewards of the recognized varieties. The big monies are in showing and breeding exhibition quality not eye candy (which is not to say one is right and the other wrong).

I have a few small project colors (nonrecognized) and larger pens of rare colors like Brown reds and Lemon Blues. My expectations are to raise many more of the recognized varieties rather than the project (nonrecognized) ones. I could afford to raise tons, but it just doesn't make sense as there just isn't the value, demand, or rewards in them. Regardless of which group, I don't care if I sell any of them, they are for me and my enjoyment. In the end, in fact I sell more of the recognized varieties than the nonrecognized ones.

So, long story shorter, if you can afford them, enjoy them, and don't think of them as a bother, then go ahead and keep them. If you can't afford them, are only so-so on them, and see them as a bother more often than not, maybe its time to at least cut way back and take a break for a while.

 

[ki4got]

i'm fortunate that we have swaps here just about every other week, and easter eggers tend to sell very well, even at $5 each at 3-4 weeks old, I usually make at least enough to cover feed for the chickens and horses.

 

[County Boy]

Maybe I should have a photo day tomorrow since I cleaned out nearly all the boys and only kept the ones I thought were worth keeping. I also moved the younger babies in with the rest of the birds. You know, take 15 out, put 25 back in. I have come to the harsh reality that Byron threw a DQ in his babies. Almost all of his boys (and himself) are missing their outside toe nail. I kept 2 that had them to see what their type looks like later on. One is more all one shade of buff and the other has the red on his shoulders like dad. Aren't Buff Columbians supposed to be one shade of buff and not multiple? I know solid buffs are supposed to be one shade.

Maybe posting pics will make me want to keep them. Then again, the pics may make me realize I am further behind that even I realized. If I just had my 14x50' shed w/ attached runs, I would be able to keep everyone.

That's to bad about your Byron boys. Usually when I see Buff Columbians they are multiple shades of buff with there wing being the darkest.

 

[County Boy]

Tuba off the nest to eat- she still broody on nothing. I don't have any of my Cochins laying any eggs



Max and Tuba's chick- it's a boy


Rafael



I don't have a name for this guy yet-


I'm not sure what to do now- I don't know if I should hatch from Chipper and Tiffany with Max. I want to get a darker boy but it doesn't seem to be happening. Rafael is still so young and I haven't got the slightest idea if I will be keeping him. Nigus is a solid red/ orange and if I do use him it would be only with Tuba. I am still sure he will have good type. But I don't know what to as far as Chipper and tiffany go. Any ideas? If it wasn't August I would go looking for another boy since I have the money now.

 

[chooketychook]

Hiya here are my new milli fluer pekins,any opinions on what would you breed them with in the future (there only 8 weeks) to get the best from them? Another milli or a red roo? Thanks guys and girls.