I have asked this question in the past, and either was ignored, or got responses that were not really what I was looking for... figured I might try rephrasing the question and try my luck again... here goes..., in the standards that consider them to be separate breeds, like the English standard, what are the differences between a cochin bantam and a pekin bantam?.. I understand that in the american standard there is no difference, or, I suppose more accurately, pekin is considered to be just another name for bantam cochins, but I have been wondering for a while why exactly folks in other countries consider them to be separate breeds...
Pekin bantams are true bantams, meaning they have no large fowl counter part. Cochin bantam are miniatures of standard size Cochin. Not sure that is what you are looking for.
thats what I am wondering... I keep coming across references to them being two separate breeds in other countries, usually followed by the statement that in the US, they are just considered to be 2 names for the same breed... I just cant wrap my head around the idea that they would consider them different breeds unless there was some sort of differences upon which to base that claim...
From what I've read, this issue is actually unclear even amongst the breeders. There is a lot of debate about the existence of differences between the European Pekin, and the US/Canadian Cochins. The only discrepancy between the two that I've seen written about is a 'tilt' in the carriage of the head in Pekins. Supposedly this tilt brings the head closer to the ground and puts the tail feathers at a higher angle. I think for all intents and purposes, they can be considered the same, as I doubt a bird taken overseas would have a judge point at it and decry it as 'gasp! Cochin!'.
