Self-Blue Cochin Bantams

[hschweitzer]

I would love to get in on the lavender cochin project! We have some gorgeous millefleur hens, one black hen and 2 lavender orp roos. What do you do when you cull? We have been selling extra roos and hens, but still can't bring ourselves to terminate anyone, except the meat birds! What do you all do???

 

[ki4got]

Quote:

I would love to get in on the lavender cochin project! We have some gorgeous millefleur hens, one black hen and 2 lavender orp roos. What do you do when you cull? We have been selling extra roos and hens, but still can't bring ourselves to terminate anyone, except the meat birds! What do you all do???

i would suggest starting with some cochins that have good type, and getting at least 1 self blue to breed into the other colors, if you can't start with self blues to begin with. if you can't find decent birds locally, there are usually a number of breeders around the country that are willing to ship birds. and a few even sell eggs. when my incubators are full i might sell some eggs, but can't guarantee hatchability or quality or anything else. all i can say is what birds i have in a specific pen.

i probably wouldn't go with another breed, as you'll have that much more of a long haul to get back to good quality birds.

as for culling, i sell whoever doesn't make the grade at the poultry swaps. if i have excess roos that don't sell at the swaps, then we put them in the freezer. i usually don't tho, since i usually get $5 for a rooster regardless of breed/quality.

for my own self blue pen, i've got some nice blacks that are split self blue (1 roo 2 hens) and 1 self blue girl now... fortunately i can tell her eggs from the others, but the little bugger's been caught eating eggs, and has now gone broody on me! so far i've got 3 chicks hatched from the black splits (all blacks). and i've got about 7 of her eggs growing in the incubator, and she's sitting on some wooden eggs to try and break the eating habit. and i caught both of my black girls taking over the nest yesterday, acting broody too... (i'm checking the nest several times a day to get the eggs before they get snagged).

 

[cochinman2005]

Culling - personal preference really and depends on what your goals are. I can only speak for myself and tell you what I do and why.

Regarding the Self-Blues (note: I don't raise any "L" colored Cochins. The Self-Blue variety is already recognized and IMO throwing the "L" terminology in the mix adds potential confusion.) When I did the first generation cross to Blacks all chicks were Black (Self-Blue split to Black). In the 2nd generation, because I bred Split x Split, the expected resulting percentages are 25% Self-Blue, 50% Splits (Black chicks) and 25% Blacks, since the Splits and Blacks are both Black when they hatch there's no way to tell which one are splits, so I culled them immediately at hatch (cervical dislocation). Same practice for the subsequent generations.

As the Self-Blues mature, I evaluate them for qualities relative to the breed characteristic requirements. If I believe they show progress toward conforming to the breed standard I keep them. If they don't I cull them (again, cervical dislocation). I use the same practice with all my breeds/varieties. I am doing no one any favors by keeping and distributing inferior birds. Certainly my Blacks, Whites, Buffs etc, are much more refined than the Self-Blues and that is taken into consideration when culling. A good breeder is ruthless when it comes to culling. I've caught myself on more than one occasion keeping a bird because I though it might be better than my initial evaluation. I am usually disappointed. Of course you can only cull for so much on younger birds and with Cochins you have to wait until they are fairly mature to make a final decision.

I also realize that not everyone can bring themselves to destroy their birds. There are other outlets such as small animal auctions. I do send some of my culls to the auction but restrict that to only certain breeds.

Tom

 

[Funky Feathers]

But how can you be sure you are not culling a bird that may end up a keeper? I'd hate to think I got rid of a fabulous bird by culling to early.

 

[ki4got]

i keep just about everything until at least 8 weeks old, unless it's eggs from a swap of a breed i'm not interested in for more than selling the chicks...

by then you can usually get an idea of what you're working on, but usually I don't sort them much until about 12 weeks (or more with the dorkings as they grow much slower).

 

[Funky Feathers]

Tom, at what age do you make your culling decisions?

 

[cochinman2005]

I start the process right out of the incubator. Assuming a successful hatch, I am to the point where I'd cull a chick for incorrect foot/leg color. You also have to know your breed/variety and be familiar with correct chick down color, faults that can be determined at an early age etc. Since this is a Self-Blue thread, I'll give you a scenario for this year.

Self-Blue x Self Blue breeding (this is the first time I've bred Self-Blue x Self-Blue). f1 was produced by breeding Self Blue x Black, f2 was produced by breeding f1 splits together, f3 was produced by breeding f2 Self-Blues X Black, and f4 was produced by breeding f3 splits together. f5 is my first generation of Self-Blue x Self-Blue.

I used three females and three males for breeding. One of the males had incorrect leg color (white foot bottoms/blue shanks). His type was better than the yellow legged males I used, and he was out of a yellow legged f3 bird. It is anticipated that I should get some yellow legged offspring from this male as I bred him to a yellow legged Self Blue female.

All chicks 100% were Self-Blue at hatch (as they should be). As newborn chicks, incorrect leg color can not determined unless they were showing willow legs, which they weren't. number of chicks culled at hatch was zero. I won't cull for leg color until later this year. I'd prefer to see how type looks.

I'll grow all the Self-Blues (approximately 30 chicks) out and evaluate at the 3 -4 month timeframe for comb flaws, crooked toes etc. Side sprigs, if any, would be culled. I don't anticipate any side sprigs. It's very likely that I'll keep the entire group through the fall. Especially considering they are a work in progress, and the Self-Blues are ver slow to feather and mature.

Conversely, I can be much harder on my Blacks because the type is fairly consistent. At 3 to 4 months I cull for comb correctness. If I see a comb with 3 or 7 points etc, they are culled. Any body deformities would be culled (crooked back etc). With the Buff Cochins I can cull early for some color issues. Pullets show mealiness in the wing bay at the 3 to 4 month age. It really comes down to knowing your birds and how they develop.

 

[1muttsfan]

Thanks for your insight Tom, it certainly helps to have an idea of what to look for at different ages. I have a lemon blue/brown red pen that so far I have only culled for color issues, as otherwise they look Ok, hoping to cull them down more when they have feathered out - they look pretty rough right now so I try not to look too hard.

 

[blueskyrain]

Hi sorry I did not see your reply, her name is Amanda, I'm in Arkansas now, she sold out, I got the adults and she sold all of the offspring...........I have some of their eggs about to hatch in a week now, they are fertile and growing well! you can see my pics at www.facebook.com/maryschickens

 

[blueskyrain]

Hi, I did not see your question for a week, and then I replied, now I come back and don't see my reply........did you get it? lol