Breed of chickens Cochinhin: description and characteristics, content, egg production, varieties

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

The origin of Cochin chickens

The birthplace of chickens of the Kochinhin breed is the area of the same name in the southeast of Indochina. Modern Cochinchins 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. Cochinchins were brought to Russia at the end of the 19th century.

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

Description and characteristics of the breed

Cochinchins are much larger than chickens of other breeds. These are birds with a noble posture, formed by a wide body and high-set wings. A graceful little head is decorated with a straight comb with well-defined teeth. The whole body is shrouded in rich, bright plumage, including the metatarsals and toes.The neck is equipped with a luxurious mane.

The peculiarity of the breed is a short fluffy tail, which makes the whole figure look massive and squat. The weight of a rooster can reach 5.5 kilograms, and that of 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 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 a lush and elegant plumage. The Cochinchins value mainly decorative qualities, so the suit is given special importance.

Blue

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

Silver-bordered

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

Fawn

The coloration of Cochinchin birds with a brownish plumage with a mustard sheen, with a bright yellow beak and yellow-red metatarsus is called fawn. The tail may be slightly darker, and the beak must be colored in tone. Dark blotches in the fawn color are considered a marriage, such birds are not allowed for breeding.

Black

This is the most common suit, formed by black with green and blue feathers. The beak must be yellow. The color of the metatarsus is yellow with green. A feather that shimmers brown indicates the impurity of the breed, such an individual is culled.

White

Birds of white color have snow-white or white plumage with a silvery sheen. The color of the beak is definitely 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 colorful plumage. In roosters, the chest and belly are dark red or brown, turning yellow on the tail, wings and neck. Head - brown-red, striped. Females have brown plumage, with a golden sheen throughout the body. Another decoration is a golden border around the edge of the feathers.

Dwarf

Dwarf Cochinchins are smaller. The maximum weight of a cockerel is 1.2 kilograms, and that of a chicken is 800 grams. Accordingly, the birds carry small testicles, their egg production is also somewhat lower. They have very soft plumage, mostly dyed golden.

Differences between a rooster and a chicken

In adolescence, 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 chicken. It has darker plumage, and the crest is large and bright. The neck and chest are decorated with long braids.

Chicken features are as follows:

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

Character and temperament of birds

Cochinchins have a balanced character, in any situation they are calm and phlegmatic. They rarely run, prefer to walk or indulge in sleep. They are strongly attached to the owner, so the change of the chicken coop and the familiar environment makes them suffer. Especially these features are inherent in the dwarf variety of the breed. Thanks to these qualities, many farmers keep them just as pets.

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

Chickens have a well-developed brooding instinct. Having made a laying, they diligently incubate the eggs, and then become caring mothers to the hatched offspring.

Breed productivity

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

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

Advantages and disadvantages of Cochinchins

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

The positive qualities of Cochinchins are:

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

Of the shortcomings of the breed, the following are significant:

• long puberty in birds;
• at home it is difficult to preserve the breeding qualities of chickens;
• high cost of eggs and young.

Care and maintenance

The breed is unpretentious, keeping and caring for it is not difficult. Organizing them, you need to get acquainted with the characteristics of the character of birds and their main breed qualities.

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

Arrangement of the poultry house and the area for walking

The ideal Cochin coop is a spacious, clean, dry, warm space with roosts located as close as possible to the birds. The crossbars 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 bed of straw or sawdust. The poultry house can not be insulated, but it is necessary to ensure that the room has a normal level of humidity (otherwise the feathers will suffer).

Birds are not picky about the room for walking.In winter, they do not need it, and in summer it can be made small. It must be equipped on a hill, where there is no likelihood of stagnant rainwater. The site is covered with sand or hay, a container with an ash mixture (ash with sand in equal proportions) is placed to clean the feathers and protect against parasites. A high fence is not required as the birds do not try 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 crests of birds may be damaged.

Feeders and drinkers

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

For a rooster, the feeder is placed higher - at head level. So the chickens will not be able to get someone else's food. It is recommended to install several feeders so that the feeding process for birds takes place at the same time. For liquid food, plastic drinkers are used, and for dry food, wooden feeders.

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

Planned herd replacement

Periodically it is recommended to replace the number of birds, because keeping laying hens for more than 4 years is not recommended. Aging birds begin to rush worse. In addition, they become susceptible to infections as the body's defenses become lower.

Seasonal molt and lay break

In autumn, chickens begin the season of changing plumage. Along the way, the skin is cleaned. This period lasts about a month. The organism of birds is experiencing a kind of stress, therefore, vitamin and mineral complexes are included in their diet. At this time, the chickens stop laying. This is a physiological norm, with the end of the molting period, egg production is fully restored.

Features of breeding and nutrition

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

Adult birds

The best option for them is high-quality compound 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 stomachs.

Chickens

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

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

Bird Breeding

Bird breeding is easy. Thanks to the strong instinct of incubation, the hens themselves take care of the offspring. If there is 1 rooster for 4 hens, then the development of the herd will be constant and systematic.

For the mating period, the herd is necessarily divided into families. This action helps to increase the number of fertilized eggs, because all the hens in the herd will rush. At this time, the birds need enhanced nutrition.

Frequent illnesses

Birds are very worried about parasites and infectious diseases.

Especially dangerous:

• fleas;
• pincers;
• poohed.

Prophylactic examinations should be done regularly to detect infection at an early stage. Ash baths are of great importance in the prevention of parasitic infections. Birds use them to 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 proceeds with damage to the lungs.

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

Tuberculosis

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

Among the signs are intestinal upset, the development of anemia, a decrease in egg production, deterioration in appearance. Treatment is complex, so therapy is used only in relation to rare breeds of birds. They quarantine and prescribe strong antibiotics.

Pasteurellosis

Pasteurellosis is dangerous for two-three-month-old chickens. In an acute course, a massive loss of livestock is observed. Chickens become lethargic, lethargic.

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

Prospects for breeding in Russia

Currently, Cochinchins are used only in households. Beautiful majestic birds adorn the poultry yard or summer cottage. Insufficient egg production and long weight gain make commercial breeding impractical.

You can buy chickens in private poultry farms. The price of a hatching egg is up to 200 rubles, a Cochinchin chicken is up to 300 rubles, and the cost of an adult bird reaches 2,000 rubles, depending on the region.

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