Characteristics and description of the Cochin chicken breed, maintenance rules

Decorative breeds of poultry are bred mainly for their excellent external qualities. Such are the Cochins - a breed of large, beautiful chickens, distinguished by luxurious, bright plumage. Cochins are favorites of owners of private farmsteads for their docile nature and beauty. In addition, these birds have good productivity on a private farm scale: they produce very tender and tasty meat, and young chickens are quite egg-laying.

Origin of Cochin chickens

The homeland of Cochin chickens is the area of ​​the same name in southeastern Indochina. Modern Cochins were obtained by crossing representatives of the local breed with European meat chickens.

Thanks to their good decorative qualities, the birds quickly gained popularity in European countries and repeatedly won at international exhibitions. Cochins were brought to Russia at the end of the 19th century.

The decorative and productive qualities of birds interested many breeders, who willingly began to work with them, developing meat and egg production. New meat breeds appeared, bred on the basis of Cochins (Brahma). Subsequently, the breed lost its industrial significance - now it is bred only for its excellent decorative qualities.

Description and characteristics of the breed

Cochins are much larger than other chicken breeds. These are birds with a noble posture, a wide body and high-set wings. The graceful small head is decorated with a straight comb with well-defined teeth. The entire body is shrouded in rich, colorful plumage, including the metatarsus and toes. The neck is equipped with a luxurious mane.

The peculiarity of the breed is a short bushy tail, which makes the whole figure look massive and squat. The weight of a rooster can reach 5.5 kilograms, and a chicken – 4.5 kilograms.When assessing the degree of compliance of an individual with the breed standard, one of the most significant criteria is the spherical shape of the body.

Appearance and varieties

The standard allows for the existence of several intra-breed types that differ in color. Each of these types has special characteristics that determine the purity of the breed. A common feature is lush and elegant plumage. Among the Cochins, the value is mainly for decorative qualities, so the suit is given special importance.

Blue

The plumage of blue Cochins is gray with a blue tint. Feathers and tail should be colored evenly. The presence of light fluff and small dark inclusions in the main background is allowed. White markings on the tail and wings are a defect of the breed.

Silver-edged

The coloring of silver-edged birds is very interesting - white and silver feathers with black edging around the edges.

Fawn

The color of Cochin birds with brownish plumage with a mustard tint, a bright yellow beak and yellow-red metatarsals is called fawn. The tail may be a little darker, and the beak must be colored to match. Dark inclusions in the fawn color are considered a defect; such birds are not allowed for breeding.

Black

This is the most common color, formed by black feathers with a green and blue tint. The beak must be yellow. The color of the metatarsus is yellow and green. A feather that has a brown tint indicates that the breed is unclean, and such an individual is discarded.

White

Birds of white color have snow-white or white plumage with a silvery tint. The beak color is always yellow. The presence of feathers of a different color is the reason that the bird will not be allowed for breeding.

Partridge

These chickens have very beautiful motley plumage.Roosters have a dark red or brown chest and belly, turning yellow on the tail, wings and neck. The head is brown-red, striped. Females have brown plumage, with a golden tint throughout the body. Another decoration is the golden border along the edge of the feathers.

Dwarf

Dwarf Cochin differ in smaller sizes. The maximum weight of a cockerel is 1.2 kilograms, and a chicken is 800 grams. Accordingly, birds carry small eggs, and their egg production is also somewhat lower. They have very soft plumage, most of them golden in color.

Differences between a rooster and a chicken

When they are young, Cochin hens and cockerels look almost the same. The first signs indicating belonging to one sex or another will appear when the birds reach one and a half months. A rooster at this age already looks more massive than a hen. It has darker plumage, and its crest is large and bright. The neck and chest are decorated with long braids.

The distinctive features of chicken are:

• she looks stocky and has a very short tail;
• she has denser plumage in the lumbar region, shins and metatarsals;
• her body is slightly tilted forward;
• the head and comb look small and neat.

Character and temperament of birds

Cochins have a balanced character, calm and phlegmatic in any situation. They rarely run, preferring to walk or sleep. They become strongly attached to their owner, so changing the chicken coop and familiar environment makes them suffer. These features are especially characteristic of the dwarf variety of the breed. Due to these qualities, many farmers keep them simply as pets.

Birds get along well with representatives of other breeds.Cockerels are not aggressive, and several males can live in one chicken coop at the same time.

Chickens have a well-developed brooding instinct. Having laid a clutch, they diligently hatch the eggs, and then become caring mothers to the hatched offspring.

Breed productivity

Birds of the Cochin breed have an average egg production, which ranges from 100 to 130 eggs per year. Birds mature quite late - puberty occurs at 8-10 months. In the first year they usually lay no more than 80 eggs.

The main direction of the Cochin breed is meat. Poultry meat is tasty, tender, with moderate fat content.

Advantages and disadvantages of Cochins

The breed has significant advantages that outweigh its disadvantages. This allows birds to be used not only for decorative, but also for practical purposes.

The positive qualities of Cochins are:

• give a large amount of tender meat;
• unpretentiousness, preservation of livestock in unfavorable conditions;
• egg production does not decrease in winter;
• strong instinct to incubate eggs and raise offspring;
• there is no need for large walking areas;
• get along well when kept in the same room;
• have a spectacular appearance.

The following are significant disadvantages of the breed:

• long period of sexual maturation of birds;
• at home it is difficult to preserve the breeding qualities of chickens;
• high cost of eggs and young animals.

Care and maintenance

The breed is unpretentious; keeping and caring for it is not difficult. When organizing them, you need to become familiar with the character traits of the birds and their main breed qualities.

Thick plumage is a reliable protection from the cold, so the birds feel good even in the harsh winters of Central Russia. But young Cochins fledge slowly, and until this time they must be protected from the cold.

Arrangement of poultry house and walking area

The ideal chicken coop for Cochins is a spacious, clean, dry, warm room with perches located within maximum accessibility for the birds. The bars should be thin and strong so that the birds can sleep comfortably while sitting on them. They will feel uncomfortable on the floor.

The floors in the chicken coop should be made of wood or concrete, with a bedding of straw or sawdust. The poultry house does not need to be insulated, but you need to make sure that there is a normal level of humidity in the room (otherwise the feathers will suffer).

Birds are not demanding about their walking space. In winter they don't need it, but in summer it can be kept small. It must be built on a hill where there is no chance of rainwater stagnating. The area is covered with sand or hay, and a container with an ash mixture (ash and sand in equal proportions) is placed to clean the feathers and protect them from parasites. High fencing is not required as the birds do not attempt to fly due to their large body mass and weak wings.

It is recommended to keep roosters and hens in separate rooms to keep the mating process under control. If this is not done, the wings and combs of the birds may be damaged.

Feeders and drinkers

The diet of a rooster should be different from the diet of a chicken, and this must be taken into account when arranging feeders. If birds are kept together, then feeders for them are arranged at different heights. For a chicken, it is fixed at a height of 2 centimeters above its chest. This way the bird will be less likely to tear up the food and pour it onto the bedding. This feeder is covered with a mesh on top so that the rooster does not have the opportunity to peck food that is not intended for him.

For a rooster, the feeder is placed higher - at head level. This way the chickens won’t be able to get someone else’s food. It is recommended to install several feeders so that the feeding process for the birds takes place simultaneously. Plastic drinkers are used for liquid food, and wooden feeders are used for dry food.

The water bowl is installed at the level of the bird's chest. Water is added three times a day in the summer and twice a day in the fall and winter. It is necessary to ensure that the water is always fresh, because the amount of liquid birds drink is 2 times more than the volume of food eaten.

Planned herd replacement

It is recommended to periodically replace the number of birds, since keeping laying hens for more than 4 years is not recommended. Aging birds begin to lay eggs worse. In addition, they become susceptible to infections as the body's defenses become lower.

Seasonal molting and break in egg production

In autumn, chickens begin their plumage change season. At the same time, the skin is cleansed. This period lasts about a month. The bird's body is experiencing a kind of stress, so vitamin and mineral complexes are included in their diet. At this time, the chickens stop laying eggs. This is a physiological norm; with the end of the molting period, egg production is fully restored.

Features of breeding and nutrition

The Cochin diet should be as balanced as possible, since the tendency to obesity should be taken into account. Ideally, the menu will be compiled separately for each group of birds, taking into account age and egg production. It is recommended to choose regular feeding times and stick to them.

Adult birds

The best option for them is high-quality feed. A balanced diet includes meat and bone meal, grains of various crops, crushed chalk, and vegetables.When compiling a diet, you need to take into account that for normal egg production, chickens, unlike roosters, need a large amount of calcium-containing minerals.

Adult birds are fed three times a day. They also need fresh grass or hay to cleanse their stomach.

Chickens

In the first days of life (up to 7 days), the chicks are given liquid food every 2 hours - mash based on broth or milk. This type of feeding stimulates the rapid development of young animals. Until 16 weeks, chicks require proteins to develop properly.

In the second week of life, dry grains (ground corn, semolina, rolled oats), boiled eggs, cottage cheese and vegetables are added. Calcium-containing minerals are added to the food: chalk, crushed shells. The number of feedings is gradually reduced, bringing to 30 days up to two feedings per day.

Bird breeding

Breeding birds is not difficult. Thanks to their strong brooding instinct, hens take care of their offspring themselves. If there is 1 rooster for every 4 hens, then the development of the herd will be constant and systematic.

During the mating period, the herd must be divided into families. This action helps to increase the number of fertilized eggs, because all the hens in the flock will lay eggs. At this time, birds need increased nutrition.

Frequent illnesses

Parasites and infectious diseases cause great concern to birds.

Particularly dangerous:

• fleas;
• mites;
• lice eater

Regular preventive examinations should be done to detect infestation at an early stage. Ash baths are of great importance in the prevention of parasitic infections. With their help, birds protect themselves.

In addition, birds can be susceptible to severe infectious diseases. Very common:

• salmonellosis;
• tuberculosis;
• pasteurellosis.

Salmonellosis

Salmonellosis is a dangerous bacterial infection to which small chickens are susceptible. Infection occurs through food or contaminated water. The disease occurs with damage to the lungs.

Main signs: drowsiness, lethargy, lacrimation, difficulty breathing. Diarrhea and severe intoxication may occur. Mortality is 15-30% of the population. Chickens that have recovered from the disease remain carriers for some time and are dangerous to surrounding birds.

Tuberculosis

A fairly rare pathology in chickens. Transmitted to humans. The source of infection is usually infected manure. The severity of the course depends on the initial state of immunity. Granulomas (tubercules) develop on the affected organ, which lead to its enlargement and rupture.

Signs include intestinal upset, the development of anemia, decreased egg production, and deterioration in appearance. Treatment is complex, so therapy is used only for rare breeds of birds. Quarantine is established and strong antibiotics are prescribed.

Pasteurellosis

Pasteurellosis is dangerous for two to three month old chickens. In acute cases, mass mortality of livestock is observed. Chickens become lethargic and apathetic.

Main signs: refusal to eat, thirst, liquid foamy stool with blood, foamy nasal discharge. The disease affects birds mainly in the autumn-winter period.

Prospects for breeding in Russia

Currently, Cochins are used only in households. Beautiful majestic birds decorate a poultry yard or summer cottage. Insufficient egg production and prolonged weight gain make their breeding on an industrial scale impractical.

You can buy chickens from private poultry farms.The price of a hatching egg is up to 200 rubles, a Cochin chicken is up to 300 rubles, and the cost of an adult bird reaches 2 thousand rubles, depending on the region.