Mille Cochin Info

Aaaaaaaacckkkk...I get to join in this thread, instead of just drool now!!!! LOL I GOT 3 MILLIES!!!!! *happy millie dancin*

This was just a quick picture I took, with my cell phone, after getting them home and settled....so not the best quality. I'll get some more pics tomorrow with my camera. Are there any pics anyone has posted of their MFs from baby to adult. I'm anxious to see what they might look like, and I have dial up so it takes forever for me to look through all these pages...so if anyone could link to the pages (or tell me what page, esp for any chicks that look like the dark one does..I would greatly appreciate it.
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Now to name them.
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I picked up my 7 millies this evening!!! They are less than 1 day old and very precious <3

Are colors a grab bag? I was surprised at how many different colored chicks there were!

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I know there is a lot to go through with this thread and the previous MFC thread.. you'd have to do some searching to find it. BUT, the info is priceless. You can click on the link in my signature page for my "Mille Progress Page" which will lend a lot of insight.

Basically, we are using many different genes to blend together to make mille fleur which only began some 3-4 years ago for most of the lines you're seeing on these pages. What that means is that all those ingredients manifest themselves in different levels in our chicks. Our job as breeders, when starting a new variety, is to select the best birds to move forward with to benefit the variety. Some of those darker birds maybe shouldn't be used but, they are a side effect of our main goal. If you're just looking for speckled beauties for your backyard, then these darker babies may work. They will sill grow out to be beautiful with speckles and splashes of color and some prefer them but, if you're looking to improve a breeding program, then purchasing hatching eggs is a crap shoot. ... a blend of all the ingredients popping up every which way. For me, particularly, (I know Lynne has better patterned specimans than me so you will have better luck getting nicer colored birds from her) but.. for me.. Im STILL hatching 70% dark chicks in some clutches... some clutches it was 50/50. Mottled was used in my line just two generations ago and I still have one Mo girl with brassy hackles... so... the chances of me getting an excellent patterned mille is relatively low. I plan on hatching nearly 150 this year (would've made it sooner if I didn't lose nearly 100 in a 120 degree temp spike this week:( but, I'll have to do a lot to make an improvement and go into my 2012 breeding season with new, better birds. I didn't accomplish that last year. Seriously. I kept 1!!!!! bird from last year. That's how difficult this new variety is. MF is said to be THE most difficult variety to get right and, after a couple of years, you'll understand why
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all this jibber jabbering and I still didn't answer the question... the white ones are "wheaten" They are the most condusive to the "mahongany" gene and the boys will be vibrantly colored and may have better chest presentations but will lack black on the tips of the hackle and saddle feathers. The wheaten females I've hatched have been dissapointing.

The chipmunks seem to be the best patterned.. for me. They have a rich background color where the wheaten females seem to be washed out. They seem to have more speckles too.

dark orangey/red chicks with black on the back are taking after their buff columbian parentage and will be restricting black from the breast. Females most likely won't show much pattern.

dark black chicks with white breasts are mottled and may have brassy hackles and saddle

dark gray chicks will be lighter than the black mottleds and display brighter colors but will have too much black like hackle black, tails black, breasts black mottled, etc.

dark reddish black chicks like the one pictured above have been one of my favorites to watch mature. They are dark but, most are really brilliant colored when mature. One of my favorite hens was a tad bit lighter than that one and is COVERED in speckles each with a black band. She is too dark for correct mille but, I am still using her. I am balancing her with a buff columbian male. And, I am eagerly waiting their babies to mature.

Any of these chicks have the genes so, when putting birds with.. say the columbian restrictor gene to a dark gray chick with a black mottled breast MAY give you nice mille chicks! It's a soup.. .just get the ingredients in there.

Good Luck with all of your programs. It's been the most rewarding for me. As they change fast and are... by far.. the most beautiful of bantam when you get it right
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My 1 day old millies from K7 Menagerie

Any ideas on what the first one is classified as? I'm not sure of her color but she does have chipmunk stripes

Chick #1 and my favorite so far (reeeally hope it's a girl!)
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Chick #2
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Chick #3
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Chick #4, another favorite
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Chick #5
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Chick #6
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Chick #7
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I had posted a picture of a hen I hatched from bantyman's eggs when he bred to partridge to increase type. Here's a pic of the one roo I kept from that hatch. He doesn't have mottling but should produce all mottled chicks when bred to a mottled hen. I think he's gorgeous
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Ok.. so I had a little accident and either my mille fleur cochin roo got with a wheaten rosecomb hen or visa versa... this happens now and again at Casa de la Msbear
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and I usually freecycle them but.. these guys are pretty interesting. Im still going to find homes for them at an upcoming swap but thought it really neat how they are turning out... like the best milles I have
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The female is on the right... the lighter one
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sooo... it seems I was right about the wheaten roos being more vibrant but look at that chest pattern on that female which I thought would be washed out and not be very striking... hmm... it appears AGAIN that I know a whole lot less than I thought I did. Im still not saying wheaten is the way to go.. I've been bad mouthing that for way too long so I'll take the partridge train til the end
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eta: Im not completely sure which wheaten gene (wild type, etc.) my rosecombs have. They "popped up" in a line of bbreds about 10 or so years ago in another gals flock... so, not sure putting your milles to a wheaten cochin would have the same effect
 
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GOOD INFO. I am seeing alot of wheaten in my hatches and so far the females do seem too light. I've got to update my photos. School will be out next week and then it is "Cochin Time".
 

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