Mille Cochin Info

[Coyote Night]

The frizzle is all the way on the left

 

[miohippus]

so cute, I had a Molted cochin roo and silver laced polish that had chicks together

my OEGB hatched them this is what they look like as chicks

this was the dad ^

this was the mom^




half grown






fully grown

 

[Reyvaughn]

Well, I finally made a decision. Kind of... I think. Maybe.
On Tuesday I took birds to the auction - every bird I took was part of my MFC project. I took 17 and I have a mere 11 left. I kept 9 girls, 2 boys. I need new blood and badly, but I am not willing to create new space for this project anymore. I have them all in one pen now. Basically, the MFCs have taken a backseat to the chocolate/black project. I actually wanted to sell them all, but Devon (son) had a fit when I told him. Funny thing is, he's the one that wants me to get rid of the chickens. Anyways, I actually have a couple more girls to weed out but I can't decide who yet. Millie and Mildred where my first two girls from Erin and they are now over 4yrs old - I decided they can stay forever. I have quite a few babies in the brooder, but I will not be setting any more MFCs after the end of March. If the new chicks don't look good by June/July, I am selling the rest of the project and walking away. I have seen you ladies work on this project for 4yrs. Erin has made great strides in type, but lost some pattern. I have seen others get the pattern, but lost type. ...Some people have them just as yard candy and don't even bother with type and keep putting less than quality birds out there for others to breed. I have seen some people posting their bantam Cochins (mainly, but not just MFCs) as SQ and they are not even BQ! Some of you have been doing this project for 7+yrs and still are no where near SOP in type or pattern.

Point is, unless I have some great type develop this year, I am eliminating this project. I found I was one of those that had an idea of type, but was still breeding against it. My flock still has a serious issue and for what I hear, I'd need to get all new birds to correct it. I am not going through that after the time I have spent on the project. I am ready to take my chocolate bantam Cochin project seriously now that I have the breeding stock to do so.

 

[Chelsey]

Reyvaughn - Do you have a thread somewhere for your chocolates? I've got a pair and am starting this project as well

 

[Reyvaughn]

Reyvaughn - Do you have a thread somewhere for your chocolates? I've got a pair and am starting this project as well

No I don't. I really just got started. I have had a hard time getting this project going. In 2/12 I got my first chocolate Orps and found they are the medium (to big for bantam and to small for LF) birds I couldn't use. While looking for new birds, I found someone less and an hour and a half away with the small bantam Orps, so I went and bought 6 to get me started. I hatched and kept every one I could. I only got 8 girls that made it through my brooder pnuemonia or whatever it was last year. One just pasted today... She went broody and wouldn't get off the nest. She's been there over a month sitting on nothing. She ran herself down to far and I couldn't get her pumped back up. I have another in my 'patient pen' who did the same thing. I have 2 chocolate Orp cockerels over 8 black bantam Cochins and I had my black bantam Cochin over 6 chocolate Orps. Now, he only has 4 girls. I still have the original 6 chocolates and finally the fertility is good and I have some chicks from them. I have 2 quads of black/blue bantam Cochins, but I need to cull 2 of the girls in the one quad and take 2 from the chocolate project pen. On top of all of this, this winter has been hell on my shed. I set my shed up to make chores easy and put all birds under one roof - mostly all the birds. All the bantams. I knew ventilation was an issue in there. There is only one small vent and I have the back window cracked. My son keeps dumping water in the pens and every 3-4 weeks we have to clean the pens. OMG... The floors are so soaked. My black bantam rooster and a couple of the chocolate girls now have 'colds' because of the wet and lack of ventilation. They have some clear nasal discharge while some others are just sneezing. I can't wait for this winter to be over. I had birds in the shed last year and I had no issues because I could open the big door more often.

Point is, I have had major setbacks and for 2yrs I have struggled to hatch my first F1 chicks. I finally have some. This cold has not been kind to the babies and I have lost quite a few. So, more hurdles.

 

[FarmerJessie]

Questions about breeding Mille Fleur Cochins...

1) Can you breed Mille x Mille through the generations or will you slowly lose the pattern if you do this?

2) It seems crossing black mottled or buff Columbians into your mille program is popular. What does everyone suggest?

 

[Reyvaughn]

Questions about breeding Mille Fleur Cochins...

1) Can you breed Mille x Mille through the generations or will you slowly lose the pattern if you do this?

2) It seems crossing black mottled or buff Columbians into your mille program is popular. What does everyone suggest?

I am not a genetics guru, for starters.

From personal experience...
I am crossing Mille x Mille right now. I am not losing pattern, but if you have birds with no breast flowers, you will continue to get birds with no breast flowers. Since our Milles are not true Milles, many don't breed true anyways. So one pair can give you an array of patterns and colors. Using Buff Columbian inhibits the breast flowers, but you need them for the wheaten base. I was lucky to get a black tailed buff looking hen with no color in her hackles and I have gotten a few daughters from her that are the same. I culled them all but this year's hatches so I really have no idea what I have to work with now. To help with the breast flower issues, I threw in some partridge based birds to get the breast flowers back. Of course, now the black on the feathers are wrong. I crossed mottled with Mille and got all dark birds - mottled with red hacks, basically. I would stick to Mottled x BC crosses. I had a Mille x BC (still do, actually - that was the cross that made my black tailed buff looking girl) and they hatch out looking BC and as they feather in they have sporadic white feather tips. When grown, they just look BC.

The issue isn't really just color - it's type, too. I know you have to work towards both, but so many people with decent pattern are lacking in type. To get the type back, you usually ruin the color. I was told recently... "Why worry about painting the barn first when you still have to build the structure?"

 

[wava1vaughn]

In 1 pen I have a rooster with 2 hens also in another pen I have 1 Mottled rooster over a Millie hen.

 

[wava1vaughn]

I'm hatching plenty of chicks.

 

[NosiphoChooks]

adorable! [COLOR=0000CD]I'm hatching plenty of chicks.[/COLOR]