What kind of bantam Cochin looks like this?

[mlheran]

Four and a half weeks ago I picked up six Cochin Bantams from the feedstore, making my choice based on day-old chick pics from hatcheries and Feathersite. I wanted two blue, two black (or blue), and two gold laced since these chicks were a "Bantam Chochin assortment" from Ideal and that is what I was hoping to get from their stock.

Now that they've feathered out (and grown red wattles!) I'm wondering what exactly I have! The two that I thought were the gold laced have white specks all over -one much more than the other. Is that normal for gold laced, or are they something different? And if so, what?

They are adorable though, whatever they are. I'm worried the heavily speckled one is a roo though, and since the black one already has unmistakenly established himself as a roo (even starting to crow) and is much more amenable to handling I'm going to keep him. So fingers crossed that everyone else is a pullet!!

What kind of Cochin am I?

This is the other one, who only has a few white flecks here and there -mostly on the breast.

Please be pullets, please be pullets...

LaRue! I'm sure that probably means "the street" or something, but I kept calling him li'l roo, and it sounded like LaRue, so...

This is what they (except LaRue) looked like four weeks ago...

I was so surprised at how fast they developed -my standards took me at least six weeks before I suspected a roo -LaRue was candy-apple red at three weeks!

Thanks so much for any thoughts!

 

[arwmommy]

Ok, total newbie to chickens here, but I swear that looks like a Mille Fleur D'Uccle (which is NOT a cochin!!! )

See photo:

 

[Picco]

The plumage pattern is called mille fleur and can appear in several breeds, even cochins. The body looks very cochiny to me so I guess you got lucky and got a mille fleur cochin! I can't tell from the pic if its a roo or not but lets pray to the chicken gods for a pullet!

 

[arwmommy]

See, that's why I prefaced my post with I was a "total newbie!" Thanks Picco for setting me straight! She did luck out-- I LOVE the Mille Fleur patterning!

 

[Carole AM]

Cool! Hang on to them--- they are pretty rare in that color.

 

[mlheran]

Wow, I thought they looked rather Mille Fleur, and I did find one pic of a Mille Fleur Cochin Bantam on Feathersite, but Ideal doesn't carry them. Maybe they outsourced?

Thanks so much for the replies everyone, I'll be thrilled if they turn out that nice as adults. I'm already hatching plans for keeping them (even if one is a roo), all it requires is modifiying my coop plan to have two separate runs... but what's a little extra work with these cuties?

 

[Picco]

Maybe Ideal is starting the breed but doesnt have enough to advertise them. Sometimes hatcheries do this for assortments so sometimes you get a good deal.