Why is it that under your main headline of BREEDS you do not have Pekin Bantams listed?

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Hi - The Boyfriend's a bit rough looking

As in - 'Don't mess with me'.....................


This is for - Howfunkyisurchicken.

Ha, ha. That rooster is the biggest baby ever. He loves to have his "hair" played with, my daughter carries him around like a baby and he'll sit on my feet if I ignore him

He takes good care of his girls though.

I found some pics of my LF Cochins, so I thought I'd share. VERY pic heavy, sorry about that.

Black rooster.

Buff hen.

Splash hen.

Blue frizzle rooster with an Easter Egger in the background and a Silver Pheonix hen peeking in on the right side.

Cuckoo pullet.

Two partridge and a black enjoying the sun.

Same cuckoo pullet from above, a little older.


Frizzled blue partridge pullet.

Frizzled black cockerel.

Same blue partridge pullet as above, a little older, with a blue laced red Wyandotte pullet (she is the splash variety).

Mixed colored pullet, she came from the black rooster and buff hen above.

I had all these^ pictures of my standards, but couldn't find any pictures of my bantams. They were much more typey, like this:

NOT my picture, but a beautiful example of a white hen, in my opinion. My standards weren't as good, obviously, but they were a work in progress. I started with the best birds I could find, which weren't great. But the offspring I kept back from them (the frizzled blue partridge, frizzled black cockerel, some cuckoos and others, I had lots of colors) were much, much better.

 

[ScottyChic]

Hi - Thanks for all your pictures - I adore your Mixed colored pullet, which came from the black rooster and buff hen above. Just lovely.

Your Standards are much higher off the ground/longer in the legs than our Pekins.

They are a wonderful breed. We've kept hens for years but I only 'noticed' the Pekins at a National Competition/Show 1.5 years ago and decided to buy.
I bred some last year but they were not up to 'Show Standards' unlike my 2 Blacks - which came from a Top Judge/Breeder in England.
I aim to breed with them and hopefully cross them with my 2 Blue Pekins.

It's so funny because I actually posted a thread regarding my Black Cockerel as he did not know how to mate and within days he got the hang of it rather quick
and is having a 'whale of a time' now.

He is a good bird though. Easy to handle and good natured, whereas his girl is a little feisty and will occasionally try to peck you and does not like to sit still when you take her out to handle her.

How many years have you had your birds for? (maybe you mentioned this before?).

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Yes, they were very leggy. That was something I was working on, along with cushion size and overall stance.

You should totally put the blacks with the blues, just swap the roosters. Your blacks do have better type, which will help carry where the blues are lacking. Mixing the blue and black will give you blue and black chicks. The blues together will give blue, black and splash, but they're chicks will likely carry their parents faults. So, I would take the blue offspring and mate them back to the blues to get better typed splash (I hope that made sense).
Blue, black and splash are my are my favorite colors. I feel like they give you a lot more to look at than a one color flock. All of my b/b/s run around together, but that's difficult to do when you're dealing with more than one rooster.
I've had chickens for nearly 10 years now. I started out with a small flock of layers for eggs and it just sort of expanded from there

 

[ScottyChic]

Hi - Thanks for the advice.

I sold my Blue Pekin Bantam Cockerel in October to make way for my Black Cockerel - so only have the one Cockerel.
I hope to get some reasonable good offspring from him as he is exactly as a Pekin should be - his comb could be a little better but in the Showing world - the head only amounts to 10% of the points system. So not a problem really.
My 2 Blue girls are reasonably ok but they do not have a lot bushy foot feathering.

They are my 'babies' though and I am very proud of the 4 of them.

Infact tomorrow we head off Island to a Poultry Sale. My Husband is eager to buy Barnevelders - a breed we have not had before. The reviews written about them look positive I may say.
These will be his birds. I take charge of the Pekins and he has other hens - Rhode Island Reds, Light Sussex, couple of Hybrids, Silkie Cross Maran..........

So very excited to see what he ends up buying.

Well apart from the cockerel he wants too!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Good luck at the swap! Ice never had Barnies, but a friend of mine has a small breeding flock and she really loves them.

Your little cockerel should help carry the hens faults, just be real selective with foot feathering (only keep back chicks that are exceptional).

I'd love to be able to keep up with your progress, if you don't mind sharing.

Also, this thread has inspired me to get back into bantam Cochins again! I picked up a single partridge chick today. One isn't alot, but its a start. I probably would've brought home a few more if I wasn't so darn picky!

 

[ScottyChic]

Hi - Just arrived home tonight.

My Husband bought 5 Barnevelder Hens at the Sale and our good friend is going to source us a quality B/Cockerel.

I shall be putting 6 wee eggs from the Pekins into a friend's incubator tomorrow. These are from the Blue Pekin girls X my Black P/Cockerel. Will be interesting to see what the chicks will be like.

I was going to buy a White Pekin Hen yesterday but for the money that they were selling for, I can get a better Hen sent up from England. at a cheaper price but better quality.
It was a great day out with every bird under the sun selling.

It's nice to hear that you have decided to 'get back into the Bantam Cochins' again. They are delightful birds. I adore mine. I fuss over them numerous times throughout the day.
I clean them out at least twice a day. My other 'Poultry friends' think that I am nuts but I want them to be clean and very comfortable. They are due a bath very soon too.

Let me know how you get on with your birds and I hope you manage to source some good ones. Do you buy from a Breeder or do you have friends who will give you some chicks?