Cochinchins

Pros of the cochinchina chicken breed

Native to Asia, the Cochin or "Shanghai hen" was bred for its large size and sufficient egg production for meat production. Initially, Cochinchins were not so heavily feathered and beautiful - selection was carried out exclusively for a fast maturation rate, so that when properly grown, the bird was ready for slaughter at 12 weeks. And today, with proper cultivation at slaughter at 16 months, the weight of the carcass will be approximately five and a half kg. Broiler chickens can be slaughtered as early as 6-7 weeks of age. Simply put, to get a good cochinchin carcass, you will have to wait a year and a half. That is, when they write that “Cochin is a simple meat breed of chickens,” this is not entirely true in terms of the time spent growing to slaughter weight.

Is it worth waiting so long? In Chinese folk medicine, the dark and rough-textured meat of cochinchin is considered beneficial for health and digestion. Since the bird grows more slowly and usually receives a lot of herbal supplements in order to save the diet (cochinchins are good for grazing, do not fly to neighbors and peacefully peck greens), the meat also has an increased content of all kinds of useful substances. The taste of meat also differs from broilers in richness and aroma. It is more festive than an everyday dish, similar to goose. Accordingly, farmed cochin meat will be sold at a premium price compared to broiler meat.

The Cochinchin breed is resistant to cool weather and does not like extreme heat, which is suitable for most Russian regions. Due to their slow growth, strong constitution and magnificent plumage, Cochinchins are not afraid of frost and winter well even in a cool chicken coop, spend a lot of time walking.

Cochinchins are not overfed due to their tendency to become obese and with the help of an experienced poultry breeder you can make a very economical diet.

Cochinchins are very friendly to their owners and don't mind being cuddled, so this is a good option for a family with small children. As is the beauty of the Cochinchins, whose feathers are truly impressive in colors ranging from brownish-gold to bluish-marble, black and speckled cuckoo. However, pygmy cochinchins are not distinguished by the friendliness of their full-sized counterparts and, according to reviews, often suffer from the “Napoleon complex”.

Regardless of color, Cochinchins have a dense mass of fluffy feathers covering the entire bird. Even the legs are fully feathered, making Cochinchins visually appear larger than they really are. There are varieties with curly feathers. The feather of these birds curls outward due to the curly gene.

Cochinchin chickens are one of the most caring hens, they adopt "abandoned" chickens and successfully replace the incubator, incubate eggs of other breeds of chickens, as well as eggs of ducks and even turkeys.

Cons of the cochin chicken breed

Cochinchins' own egg production is a stumbling block. Reviews of poultry farmers in this sense are unflattering.

On average, Cochinchin hens begin laying eggs at eight to nine months of age, compared to most egg breeds where hens begin laying at four to six months of age. The eggs are medium or small, but even this is not the main problem.

Cochinchins are notorious for their unpredictability when it comes to laying eggs. Some hens of this breed stop laying during the hot summer months, but in winter they may stop laying for their own reasons. In the case of Cochinchins, installing additional lighting in the chicken coop in winter does not work, chickens will rush when they please. And only two or three years (average annual egg production is not more than 150 eggs per year), in the third year there will be fewer eggs.

So when you are suddenly informed about the excellent egg production of Cochinchins, in practice you will most likely encounter the opposite.

Being large hens, Cochinchins face leg health problems, especially when overfeeding. In the chicken coop for this breed, only low perches are installed to avoid injury.

Thick feathers are a wonderful refuge for lice and mites. Therefore, checking fluffy chickens for parasites will be your regular pastime. For cochinchins, it is imperative to organize a place for dust baths with a good dose of diatomaceous earth.

Conclusions. Cochinchins, whose eggs are incubated even by roosters, are a suitable option for those who breed poultry out of love for the process itself, for whom children help in poultry farming and who have someone to maintain chicken beauty, who want to sell premium healing meat. For those who want to be engaged in streaming and stable production of chicken eggs and meat, without much trouble about washing chicken legs after walking in dirty snow, it is better to choose a different breed.