Name: Cochin, popularly known as Cochin-China, Cochin Bantam are also called: Pekin.
Varieties: Black, blue, buff, cuckoo, partridge, grouse, and white,
Chicken Weight: Cochin Male Chicken Standard weighs: 3.6–5.9 kg; Bantam weighs: 900 and Female Bird Standard weighs: 3.2–5.0 kg; Bantam: 800.
Eggs: Produces 150 – 180 Eggs Annually.
Cost: A Wyandotte chick costs: 5 to 20 $.
Rarity: Common.
Purpose: Ornamental Breed.
Egg Laying: Low.
Egg Color: Brown.
Egg Size: Medium.
Comb Type: Single comb.
Feathered Legs: Yes.
Number of Toes: 4.
Cold Hardiness: Hardy in winter.
Heat Tolerance: Not especially heat hardy.
Breed Size: Medium/Heavy (6-8 lbs)
Broodiness: Yes (Frequent)
Personality: Cochin is a calm, docile and friendly bird.
Uses: These chickens are ornamentals.
Introduction to Cochin Chicken:
The Cochin chickens are famous chicken breed, these chickens are the inspiration for many people who are planning to own a pet chicken or breed chickens. The Cochin chickens are one of the largest domestic breed chickens. It has very large feathered-legged chickens are from China brought to Europe and North America in the 1840s and 1850s. These chickens are reared mainly reared for the exhibition purpose. And Chickens are commonly known as Cochin-China.
The Cochin chicken has a huge body with plenty of feathers. These birds are calm and friendly, which makes an ideal chicken breed for pet lovers. Cochin chickens are not good layers, but they are good mothers.
Cochin Rooster.
Cochin chickens have originated in China. And from there they are exported to America and Britain in the 1850s, they referred to as a “hen fever” in these countries. People are inspired by their beauty and behavior and they decided to own and breed chickens of their own. The demand for this chicken grew quickly during this time.
And the Cochin chickens stayed as favorite hobbyists’ chicken all the time. These chickens are easy to keep, and they are even suitable for free range because they don’t fly, you can easily them in a low height fence. Cochin chickens are not good foragers, and their friendly personalities allow them to quickly endear themselves to their owners.
These Cochin chickens are hardy in the winters and they are disease resistant. And there is no wonder the Cochin chickens are the most popular breed.
Read: Biofloc Technology Aquaculture System Information.
Origin of Cochin Chicken Bree:
Cochins are native to China in the early 1850s, and there they are known as the Shanghai or the Cochin-China. The original Cochin chickens are honored by Queen Victoria, which made them very popular. In the early days, it is believed that Cochins are raised by the Chinese for using their profuse feathering for filling duvets. We don’t find any sharp angles in Cochins and they are very rounded in appearance. They are the largest of the heavy breeds and male chickens weigh around 12lbs. Cochins are broad birds and they have an enormous number of feathers. They have soft plumage with a short broad feather.
In the early days, they are known as “Shanghai” birds and later called “Cochin-Chinas”. Due to their large size and attractive appearance of Cochins, there is an increase of interest in poultry-breeding in Western countries and during those days these is referred to as “hen fever”.
The Cochin was added in the first edition of the Standard of Excellence in Exhibition Poultry, which is listed by William Bernhardt Tegetmeier in the first Poultry Club of Great Britain in the year 1865. Cochins will be different colors, buff, black, cinnamon, grouse, lemon, partridge, silver buff, silver cinnamon, and white. And the Bantam Cochins are not recognized.
The original Cochins are good layers and mothers. And later human specifications made them the ‘The Fancy’ breed. These specifications produced a prettier Cochins, which lay very less number of eggs and became a huge meat producer.
We cannot really make out which breed birds are crossbred with the Cochin. It can be some European or Western breed or British breed which is used to crossing with Cochin to produce a more attractive fancy Cochin breed.
Cochin Chicken Behavior:
When compared to other chicken breeds, Cochin chickens are lazy. They have a lazy lifestyle and a huge body with feathers can affect their health. Cochins often suffer from metabolism and heart problems. They easily in a short fence and they usually don’t go onto longer vegetation. Even the longer vegetation can damage the fluffy feathers to make their feet dirty.
They can stay even in a small compact room, even with large body size. They can happily tolerate the confinement, but you should avoid putting them into cold. They just a fence of height 2 to 3 fee as they don’t fly. And you should take good care to protect them from the predators. These breed chickens are very friendly, calm with a maternal nature. They are very good brooders and are not good layers. They lay medium size brown colored eggs (approximately 150- 10 eggs). They lay an egg for every 4 hours approximately. And Cochins take 22 days to hatch their eggs and Cochin chicks are very strong. Cochin chickens can behave very obedient when kept with other aggressive chicken breeds. They need high-quality feed and the maturity period is high when compared to other breeds. Approximately they take two years to mature. Cochins are very good pets and have an average lifespan of 8-10 years.
These breed chickens are one of the friendliest chickens toward humans. They go aggressive, very rarely, easily handled even by the kids, and they don’t grow anxious and tolerates confinement. Cochin is an easy bird to keep and have in the back yard.
Cochin is one of the best broody chicken, so they just protect their egg stash in your yard instead of their nesting area or a chicken coop. They will sit on their egg-laying area very often to protect the eggs.
Cochin is the ideal chicken breed for children for its calm and easily handled and is known to be one of the quietest breeds.
Physical Characteristics of Cochin Chicken:
The Cochin chickens’ varieties that are listed in the Standard of Excellence were white, black, and partridge and some more varieties are added in the following decades. The Cochin chicken developed the feathers very slowly, and they look very beautiful when they form completely.
Cochin has feathered rumps and with feathered legs and toes.
Cochins are large chickens; their extra plumage makes them appear larger. And feathers of this Cochins are very light feathers, they have a soft and fluffy feel. Some Cochins are frizzle variety, with feathers facing outward.
Cochin Varieties:
In the United Kingdom, only large fowl Cochins are recognized they are black, blue, buff, cuckoo, partridge, and grouse, and white Cochin bantams are not listed by the Poultry Club of Great Britain.
In the Entente Europeans list there are nine varieties of full-sized Cochins, and in Bantam there twenty-four listed; and some bantam varieties may be frizzled, with the feathers curling outwards.
The American Poultry Association has listed nine colors for the full-sized Cochin birds they are barred, black, blue, brown, buff, golden-laced, partridge, silver-laced, and white; the same colors are recognized for the bantam, some additional colors listed are birchen, Columbian, mottled, and red.
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Cochin Chicken Egg Laying
Cochin is not good egg layers, but they lay an egg approximately for every 48 hours. They lay 150-180 eggs per year; original Cochin is very good layers.
Cochins are seasonal hardy and lay eggs around the year. Cochin eggs are medium sized eggs in brown color.
These birds are known to be good mothers. They sit on eggs from other chickens, ducks, and turkeys.
Cochin Chicken with Baby Chickens.
Cochin Chicken Personality
These chickens are one of the friendliest chickens toward humans and other birds. They don’t behave aggressively, these birds comfortably held, and they can handle confinement without growing anxious.
Cochin is generally an easy bird, you can easily keep and have in the yard.
Cochin is famous broody chickens, so they will just egg stash in the yard, instead of their nesting area or a chicken coop to keep them protected. They visit and sit on their egg-laying area frequently to keep them safe.
The Cochin chicken makes the best backyard fowl with its personality. It is the best bird for the children for their calm, friendly and easily handled and is known to be one of the quietest breeds.
Health and Care of Cochin Chicken
The Cochin is a healthy chicken and their hardy makes them easy to grow. There is some special feature that makes the best backyard fowl, one is their novice nature and obedient behavior toward human and other chicken breeds.
When compared to other breed chickens, the feather growth is very slow than other bird. This feature may worry the owners when their chicks and pullets begin showing feathers very slow.
Another major health issue in the Cochin breed chickens is obesity, many chickens are susceptible to obesity. If given overfeed, they may grow large, which can cause major health problems like liver disease. For this reason, you need to take special care to feed your Cochin, provide them with lots of greens and healthy food.
And special care should be taken due to their heavy feathering, we should keep them in a pretty dry area. If the chicken gets wet or damp, the plumage can stay wet and make the chicken cold or sick. Even though Cochin are hardy to winter, they should be kept in a dry place and always dried.
Cochin Chicken Breed Purpose
The Cochin is mainly reared for exhibition purpose, at the expense of product characteristics. Original Cochins are a very good layer of very large tinted eggs and lay well in winter. The female Cochin is good sitters and good mothers and are also used to hatch the eggs of turkeys and ducks. The meat of Cochins tends to be coarse in texture and excessively dark; capons slaughtered at an age of 12–16 months provide a good large table bird.
Advantages of Cochin Chickens
Cochins are Great Pets, they clam nature make them very good pets. Not only the best pet, but the way expresses also love themselves makes them very special. And another is their beauty which proves that the chicken keeping can be more than just a hobby, but that you can be passionate about it.
These chickens are highly adaptable, they get adopted quickly and they get easily adjusted perfectly in the pecking order.
Cochin chickens are excellent brooders, which makes them a great mother. Their behavior as a pet makes them good mothers because they can teach their chicks to be better chickens.
These chickens are very affectionate to their owners.
These birds are calm, dedicated, friendly and cuddly.
Their look is awesome with their fluffy feathers.
Submissive when kept with other aggressive breeds
Cochin chickens are cold hardy.
Easily handled.
Disadvantages of Cochin Chickens
Cochin chicken is very lazy birds.
They don’t lay more eggs.
Their heavy body and bushy feather make sick if you don’t take proper care.
