Many farmers have kept decorative chickens on their farms in recent years. Cochinchin is one such breed. These birds have not only great looks, but also excellent taste of meat. A detailed description of the breed and photos of its varieties can be found below.
General description of the breed and conditions of keeping chickens
Cochinchins are beautiful chickens with an original appearance. Body type these birds are large and massive, which distinguishes them from other breeds. Another feature is the chic and lush tail of the roosters, and the legs completely covered with feathers. The head of these birds is small, the transition from the neck to the shoulders has the form of a strong bend. Beak color is yellow.
Chickens of this breed are calm, and do not cause trouble for farmers, whose reviews can be viewed below. Cochinquins cannot be found in large poultry farms. More often they are kept in household plots as decorative chickens.
The Cochinchins, just like the Orpingtons, do not know how to fly, so they need not build high fences.... These chickens winter well in non-insulated poultry houses. Make sure that there is no high humidity in the room, as this will negatively affect the condition of the feathers on the legs. These chickens live quietly in cages, but farmers hardly use such content of the Cochinchin breed.
Growing productivity characteristics
The main direction of the Cochinhin breed is meat. Here the main characteristics of the productivity of chickens:
- females reach a weight of 4 kg, males - 5 kg (dwarf Cochinchins weigh no more than 1.2 kg);
- one chicken per season gives up to hundreds of eggs, and in the winter, egg production increases;
- middle weight of each egg - about 55 grams, the shell is colored light brown.
Thanks to the hard work of breeders, there are currently several varieties Kokhinkhinov. Let's consider in more detail the description of each of them.
Yellow (fawn)
Chickens with this color are most common. The plumage has a bright and rich yellow color, therefore they are often called fawn cochin, but the tail is slightly darker. The beak should have the same shade as the feathers of the bird. Any white, black or other blotches are considered marriage, such chickens do not take part in breeding.
Blue
Blue Cochinchins - unusual and beautiful chickens... Feathers and tail are evenly colored. Wings, neck, head may be black. White down is allowed. The beak is yellow. The presence of white markings in the tail and a yellowish tint of feathers is considered a marriage.
The black
Black color is widespread in the Cochinhin breed. The entire nib, including the shaft, should be black with a slightly greenish tint. Purple tint is undesirable. The color of the down can be white, but only if it is not visible from under the main feather. Birds have yellow or dark beaks. A brownish feather tint is considered a marriage.
Partridge
Chickens of this variegated color are less common. The head of roosters is striped, colored brown-red. Feathers on the neck should be rich golden. Each feather has a black longitudinal stripe. Flight feathers should be brown on the outside and black on the inside. The chest, tail and belly are black-brown, the down is gray.
Chickens are not so richly colored. Their plumage should have a uniform brownish-golden color. Each feather has a border that repeats its outline. The neck and tail are darker than the main color (closer to black).
The marriage of partridge is considered the presence of a red or red color in color (in roosters), the absence of characteristic edges on the feathers, white blotches, light belly and chest.
White
Cochinchins of this color must have a completely white plumage. Any extraneous inclusions are unacceptable. Individuals that have feathers of a different color are necessarily excluded from breeding. Beak and metatarsus of white Cochinchins are yellow.
Dwarf cochinchins
Dwarf Cochinchin is a separate independent breed. Such chickens are considered decorative. Like standard Cochinchins, these birds have a strong build, lush plumage and various colors: white, black, birch, striped, brown, marble.
The maximum weight of an adult rooster is 1.2 kg, hens - 800 g. Dwarf Cochinchins carry only about 80 eggs per year, and the weight of one egg does not exceed 30 grams. The shell, like the standard Cochin, is light brown.
Features of breeding and nutrition
Chickens of this breed adapt to any conditions of detention, so there are no new requirements for home improvement. Cochinchins winter well in ordinary non-insulated rooms. There is only one feature - the perches should not be high, since these chickens cannot fly.
The diet of the Cochinquin does not differ from the diet of other breedshowever, farmers should remember that these chickens are prone to obesity due to their calm disposition. If your birds are gaining excess weight, you should limit their food intake.
If chickens are fed with compound feed, it should be in the feeders constantly. In summer, the bird eats green food with pleasure, in winter it is replaced with chopped hay. It is useful to give sprouted grain to chickens. Give the bird boiled carrots (can be replaced with pumpkin), potatoes.
The diet also includes the following ingredients: cake, flour (meat and bone, fish, bone), grain (crushed and whole), feed yeast, bran. Be sure to have gravel in a separate bowl near the feeders for adult birds.
IMPORTANT! With a deficiency of protein and minerals in the diet, chickens grow slowly, gain weight poorly. Feathers begin to fall out of the bird, skin diseases develop, and productivity sharply decreases.
The cultivation of the Cochinchin breed is currently aimed at maintaining and improving the existing livestock. Only the brightest representatives are used in breeding work.
Treatment of diseases
Chickens of the Cochinquin breed, like any other bird, are susceptible to many diseases. The most common ones are:
- Salmonellosis... Symptoms: indigestion, weight loss, decreased egg production. The disease is treated with antibiotics, sick birds are isolated, the premises are treated with disinfectants.
- Tuberculosis. Symptoms: loss of appetite, lethargy, paralysis of the limbs, decreased productivity. Tuberculosis is rarely treated because the drugs are expensive.
- Pasteurellosis... Symptoms: intense thirst, lethargy, refusal to eat, feces become greenish-yellow with bloody, foam may come out of the nose. Young animals die a few days after the first signs appear. For treatment, chickens are injected with antibiotics and hyperimmune serum.
- Colibacillosis. Symptoms: lethargy, refusal to eat, mucous membranes become bluish, birds begin to choke. There is no cure. Sick chickens are sent to slaughter, and healthy chickens are given a solution of furacilin and antibiotics as a preventive measure.
- Parasitic diseases. The main sign of the presence of parasites is diarrhea, sometimes with an admixture of blood. Such diseases are treated with antiparasitic drugs.
Advantages and disadvantages of the breed
The advantages of a bird include: excellent taste of meat, unpretentiousness and endurance, increased egg production in winter, developed instincts for incubating eggs, minimum requirements for the size of the run, beautiful and original appearance.
There are not many disadvantages of the Cochinchin breed. These include: a tendency to obesity, late maturity, difficult breeding work (it is almost impossible to keep the breed qualities at the required level at home, therefore, most likely, you will not have to sell chickens), the high cost of young.
Reviews of poultry farmers
Farmers celebratethat Cochin Khin chickens are similar to the Brama breed, but have a slightly higher weight. Low egg production is a significant disadvantage for many poultry farmers. Due to the fact that there are very few chickens of this breed, it can be difficult to find a truly thoroughbred bird. Farmers advise to acquire chickens only on breeding farms.
Chickens of the Cochinchin breed will become main decoration your personal subsidiary farm. They are unpretentious, calm and peaceful, moreover, their meat has excellent taste.