Mille Cochin Info

[WestKnollAmy]

Quote: re: the growing puppy... only one thing to say about that... enroll in obedience classes NOW! if you haven't already. the command 'leave it' is the most important one any of my dogs have ever learned. it can apply to chickens, questionable food items, other people... pretty much anything you would ever want your dog to ignore. (and some things you would have never thought of until it occurs.)

no training is instantaneous, but a constant day-to-day thing, each day reinforcing what they learned on previous days. you have to be consistent and persistent. one of my instructors at the equestrian school i went to said "every time you interact with an animal, you are training that animal. whether you realize it or not." and that is very true of puppies. if you let something slide once, it's learned. it is 10 times harder to unlearn it.

Sunny, my going on 3 year old standard poodle, has a VERY high prey drive (catches rabbits possum and squirrels regularly). as a pup, that applied to the cats, other dogs, and pretty much anything that moved. as a service dog (in training), I use 'leave it' and 'look' way more often than probably any other commands when we're in a new situation and he gets distracted.

when i first got chickens he was just a year old, and had already had 6 months of puppy class, beginner obedience and had gotten his CGC. so he knew 'down' 'stay' and 'leave it' quite well. when i got chicks, 'leave it' was the primary command when he got too focused on watching those tasty morsels run around the brooder. when they went outside into a pen, again 'leave it' told him it was NOT ok to try to whop them with a paw thru the wire. and once they were free ranging, it went to a down, stay, with leave it if the chickens went too near him. only once did he try to 'whop' a chicken with his paw, and an immediate NO! BAD DOG! and leave it! and he got the idea. not long after i was able to trust him to free range with the chickens without problems. but it took months of daily training to get to the point where he considers the chickens part of 'pack' now not 'prey'. (AND the dogs are fed raw, with a large portion of their diet chicken. but they don't associate the feathered variety with the cold cut up pieces-parts. for more info on that you can PM me or click here for some basic info on the model i follow.- BARF aka Biologically Apropriate Raw Food / Bones And Raw Food)

though to this day he can't resist running thru the middle of a group just to watch them scatter, and jumps over any that don't move fast enough. LOL

Very good info!
However, I don't do obedience classes anymore. I have put a few CD's on dogs so been that route many times. He is a good puppy but still a puppy. He runs through the chickens and ducks and finds it very entertaining to watch them flutter but is still learning what "drop it" means. Our house dog knows her commands though so few people train their Dachshunds. I figure this workign puppy will catch on but I hate going through it all yet again.
And yes, know about BARF, fed it occasionally when I had time. And still feed it when we take out our birds but not feathers.

He is a puppy and that is the hard part. I didn't want to go that route again and the person I got him from fed him chickens, feathers and all as a pup so we are relearning some things. He hasn't ever attacked the chickens but I sure don't trust him with them and he is tied to me when I am out there so we can work on things together. I turn him loose to run and play before the chickens are let out and after they are closed up so he can have freedom to sniff and smell.

Thanks again!

 

[Blarneyeggs]

Wow, Amy! I am going through something VERY similar! We got our LGD on Sept 19th. I too am NOT into training a puppy again. (or teenagers either, but that's a story for another thread). BUT.... the fox, OH the fox!!

I thought, 'I've got to bite the bullet here and get a dog, or my chooks are never going to be able to free range again". And THAT is just not an option. Anyways, I feel your pain.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program.....

We are showing 2 MF Cochin Bantams in Sussex this weekend. These are my 13 yr old DS's birds. They are just 3 months old (not nearly ready to be shown, but he just loves them and wants them there with us while he shows his Marans). Sooooo, I need my MF Cochin peeps to send good vibes our way this Saturday. Thanks!!

Yes, I know what you're thinking.... how dare I not post pics... Sorry. Will try to get some tomorrow

 

[Fancy Feathers]

Yes, I know what you're thinking.... how dare I not post pics... Sorry. Will try to get some tomorrow

Good luck Saturday!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Wow, Amy! I am going through something VERY similar! We got our LGD on Sept 19th. I too am NOT into training a puppy again. (or teenagers either, but that's a story for another thread). BUT.... the fox, OH the fox!!

I thought, 'I've got to bite the bullet here and get a dog, or my chooks are never going to be able to free range again". And THAT is just not an option. Anyways, I feel your pain.

And now back to our regularly scheduled program.....

We are showing 2 MF Cochin Bantams in Sussex this weekend. These are my 13 yr old DS's birds. They are just 3 months old (not nearly ready to be shown, but he just loves them and wants them there with us while he shows his Marans). Sooooo, I need my MF Cochin peeps to send good vibes our way this Saturday. Thanks!!

Yes, I know what you're thinking.... how dare I not post pics... Sorry. Will try to get some tomorrow

So wonderful! I will be sending the best of vibes your way this Sat.! I wish him the best of luck!

And yes, that darned old fox! I do have a 5 year old Great Pyr but she has become near to worthless this past year. Last year I found dead foxes, raccoons and possums in the woods but now she has taken to climbing over the fence (4 ft hog wire with 4 strands of barb wire on top) and going off to the neighbors or roaming the area while the fox comes and claims his dinner. I chain her and she gets PO'd and just lays there. So no matter what, she has turned useless to me. A fox nabbed a prize Araucana lady 20 ft from her and she never tried to do anything. The dog can bust the chain if she so pleases but has just taken to doing nothing.

So now, onto a puppy that has working parents with hopes of a better tomorrow! LOL

 

[Fancy Feathers]

OH! Were you guys waiting for me to put up more pictures?

Seriously.. I really don't want to hog this thread, I hope no one feels like I am.. I really love looking at everyone's photos.. I wish everyone would post more pictures!
This is Kipper, July 3rd hatch.


Still need to work on getting the chevrons on the breast. I think I'm going to put her with Dinner or another young roo I have, Macho, to see if I can't improve there.

And, aren't these the cutest little pullet eggs??!

My young girls have started to lay!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

You are NOT hogging the thread! It is fun to see all of your little beauties!!!

Here is a photo of some of mine I snapped yesterday. I was running through the pens trying to feed, water and collect eggs so I tried to remember the camera, too. However, I kept leaving it on the top of tractors as there isn't a good way to carry it until jacket season.

These are some of my girls I am watching for next spring breeding except for the one on the far left. She is already laying a decent sized egg and is just over 7 months old so I may hatch from her with the roo that is in with her now. I will post him in the next shot. Everyone was going to bed so I was able to get group shots!



The buff looking girl closest to the camera is going in my Frizzle pen with Shazam for pretty color kids. But I like this little roo and have been watching him. Still uncertain if he is a true keeping one or not and will make a decision by next March, if not before. But I really like him and need to get better shots of him.



Two baby girls going to bed together. They are only about 12 weeks old.



I have always liked this roo but he has way too much red. I have got to get away from so much red! However, the MF/Mot girl beside him has a lot of white tipping and black so I may pair them in the spring.



Here is a top shot of him. I like to see them the same width all the way through, if possible. He is still under 6 months old so I am watching.



My adorable Xavier going to bed with 2 of his 8 girls. He is in with MF/Mot ladies.



Next door to him is Schmoozle and his MF girls.



One of the hens in with Schmoozle.



And here is a sneak peak of a boy I think will be typy. He still has all that darn red in him. Funny how I keep breeding in Mottled but wind up with so many red boys! I get plenty of dark girls but my boys want to pop out red quite often.




And that is some of my boring photos. I am afraid you have seen most all of mine except for the youngsters and some better shots of the good ones. I will keep trying but as I say, I often forget what day it is and when I see all of your beauties that y'all post then I get inspired to go snap some of mine.

 

[County Boy]

I don't think anybody hogs the thread. We just like to share a lot.

Awesome birds. I hope next year I can have my flock as nice as all yours. I also hope I can get my probs with BYC fixed so I can post my own pics. If not I may make my own website.

 

[Fancy Feathers]

Amy I love looking at your birds too. I see where mine get their fantastic foot feathering from! I think one of these I'm going to have to ask you to sell me some Shazam babies

Mike I hope you get it worked out. I miss seeing your kids! Did you try the combatability icon, on the address bar, to the right of where you type the URL.. looks like a broken box? That's what fixed it for me.

 

[County Boy]

It worked Nancy. Thanks. I'll get pic s of all mille's today and update the progress page on Rem's chicks.

 

[County Boy]

Amy, Xavier has the exact same comb as Sunshine Roo. I'm charging up my batteries to go get pics.