Baby Bantam Cochins 6 Weeks Old!

 They are growing like weeds! 

Love These Babies

 

Some of the chicks hatched this year thus far..

They truly have the best dispositions and personalities of any breed I've ever had, or have been familiar with..

Right out of the shell lol.

They really do like to be around their people, and will happily follow you around your yard.

Hot Summer Days

 Even the chickens know that you dip your feet in some cold water to cool down on a hot day. ☀️🌡️

The guys on the breeders academy podcast have taught me so much, and a recent podcast has really important info for these scorching hot days we're going into.

Jeff Mattocks, poultry nutritionist, recommends this homemade chicken "Gatorade" recipe:

2 TBS Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

1 Tsp Salt

1-2 Tsp raw honey or sugar

This is per gallon water, and not all the time, but for the times when your chickens are showing signs of heat stress on the extremely hot days of summer.

Cochin Family

 My family of Cochins are all based on my big boy, "Samson." Here's a look at some examples of the family..

Occasional Brown Chicks

 

I occasionally get some Partridge-looking chicks from my Black Mottled Cochins. 

For anyone who may be interested in them in the future, this is how they grow out, and what they look like when mature. 

Someone that's very experienced explained that it's from pure black breeding somewhere in their gene history, and is red leakage. 

He advised that they be bred to those who don't show it. 

I still wonder if there's Partridge somewhere in there but?! 

They are beautiful all the same.

Cochins-Ancestor Not A Chicken?

 I'm sure it's because of my love for the Cochin breed in part, but this information just amazes me. I've had chickens all my life, and I've never known any breed to be like true, large fowl Cochins. 

Read These Thoughts Robert Anderson of Blue Hour Poultry

Their calm and intelligent demeanor, the regal but friendly way they have about them, and other qualities that really aren't true to the average chicken. 

They learn and know their names, and other phrases like "time to go home," memorize routines, and people's faces and voices, as well as their familial ways..like a herd of mini elephants lol. Samson watches the door and windows for me..so funny. 

Then hens are quiet and never cackle after laying, which I think is smart. Why would you announce to every predator in the neighborhood that it's a great time to come and eat your young? Most breeds do though lol. 

Some theorize that Cochins are actually descendants of the long-gone Dodo, or another ancestor of the past. I would have to agree.

Cheryl

3rd Generation Cochins

 This Spring's hatch are the 3rd generation of my Cochin family, a tiny milestone in the breeding world. 

From the book, "Start Where You Are With What You Have" by Ralph H. Sturgeon..

"This year marks the crucial test for whether or not your system is going to prove successful."

"You are getting the good, the bad, and indifferent qualities not only increasing in numbers now, but increasing variations."

"If you succeed in uncovering the gene pool you seek, this is the time for elation!" 

So..here's to determining by Fall if I'm on the right track and successful thus far lol. I have three girls in particular that I plan to single mate and then track their chicks all the way through to see if I get consistency, and also who's producing the best offspring.

The book mentioned is a gem by the way, I highly recommend it!

LF Cochins Size

 

One thing that I found out first hand years ago, and also hear quite often in person and online, is that the size of Standard Cochins has been diminishing.

That's a shame, and it's due to breeding harry-scary, not making careful selections or following the standard or a deliberate breeding program. 

Every year I will select for many traits, but size will be an important one. 

Hatcheries are mostly in the business of pumping out layers and meat birds as quickly as possible and in large numbers. 

I have no problem with hybrid layers or meat birds being produced that way, but the rare and heritage breeds are suffering in that breeding situation.

Keep that in mind when deciding to obtain birds from a hatchery, or from a private breeder. 

Cheryl

2021 Third Generation Cochins

 

The first babies of the year have started hatching! Now I just have to wait for the girls who were broody over later Winter to start laying again. I've put the birds on specialized supplement to see how that may help vigor, hatchability, and good growth rates. The healthier your breeding birds are, the healthier the chicks as well. When I have a better idea about the results, I will share more about the supplement. 

I still have some chicks hatching out a partridge color. They will feather in mottled, their black being a little more matte than the others, and after the first molt, they may have just a little brownish color here and there, mainly the cushion/tail. The girl above hatched brown, and this is how she looks now at a year old.

I asked the others members on the Cochins International group if anyone had a clue about where the brown is coming from. One longtime breeder advised that he believes the original parent birds were crossed to pure black at some time, and the color is leakage from that cross. 

He said it's fine to keep and breed them if they are very good quality otherwise, but to only breed them to birds that do not have the brown leakage. 

More video of the Cochins..

The Cochins This Morn..

Thus far I'm thrilled with my second generation juveniles! They are growing well and have great size and type. My girls from last year and big daddy Samson are in various stages of moult. Samson looks ridiculous with basically no tail to speak of lol. When he goes through moult I swear his personality changes..he's gripey and offstandish. His first moult took forever to get through.
The hens are getting a lot more white mottling, as they will each year. So pretty!

Spring 2020 Grow-out Pullets

They aren't babies anymore but, they're my babies lol. They are six months old now.

How the chicken yard is looking..

LF Mottled Cochins -July 2020

I've decided not to offer any eggs or chicks this year, and not sure if I will in the future.

After I grow them out through Spring and Summer I may make some older juveniles and adults available late Fall. This way I can better assess if they are pet or breeder quality, and choose which ones I will keep.

Thanks to everyone for your interest. Feel free to check with me in the Fall.

Cheryl

Roosters Wounding Hens?

Scroll if you don't want to see a healing hen's wound...

Let me tell you guys, this photo does no justice to the horrific wound this girl had. I was always a person that thought hen saddles were ridiculous..maybe not.
This is one of my big cochin girls. I noticed her hiding and deathly afraid of the rooster. When I checked her over, I discovered that her right side under the wing was torn wide open. You could literally see muscle tissue and gaping skin...omg, I felt so bad for her.
It was an injury from the rooster mating with her. Sometimes their spurs can cause this. I've never had it happen so I wasn't expecting it.
I almost put her down immediately, but my Cochin girls are not only valuable, they are my pets. She was still eating, drinking and moving around, so I decided to try and give her a chance.
I boiled out the wound with peroxide in case any flies had gotten in there and to kill bacteria ect. It was a pretty clean wound. I had my husband grab this blue kote type of spray and I've treated her with that now for several days.
She's doing amazingly well and healing up!
This stuff is great. It kills bacteria and seals wounds.

Sharing with you all in case you ever have this happen. I've decided to keep my hens separate from the rooster from now on except for short breeding periods.
I don't and haven't ever had this issue with other breeds.
Speaking of my own, they have soft loose feathering that comes out easily and their skin can easily be torn by these large heavy roosters.
Hope you never have to experience it, but I'll always have some of this spray on hand for wounds.

2020 Chicks

Some of the cutest little teddybear chicks I ever saw! So proud to see the next generation hatching,  Samson's grandchildren.

Hoppers

Most websites will tell you that LF Cochins are non-flyers and are easily contained by 2ft tall fencing...i will even tell you that. 

They do not however say that Cochins are non-hoppers LoL!

There's always an exception to the rule, and his name is Samson. 😄 

He wanted to look out the window.

How Cochins Have Changed..

My toes are frozen! I'll be glad to see this weather-in-the-teens stuff move out of here. The winterizing of coops paid off. The water had a tiny bit of ice but weren't frozen..success lol. 

Someone posted this drawing in a poultry group, and mentioned how breeds have change over the years and asked how people felt about that..

I have mixed feelings about it. I love how good quality Cochins and Silkies of today look. But, it seems like the quest for breeding living balls of feathers has not only changed how the breed looks over time, but has also affected fertility, function ect. to some degree. I guess each breeder has to decide if they will stick to current trends, or prefer to breed back to what we know of the breeds hundreds of years ago.