Cochin ancestors first originated in the United States after the Chinese
chicken, which was tight-feathered and had moderate to no feathers on
their legs, was brought to the eastern coast around 1845. They soon
became a hit, and Shanghai lovers took the fluffiest and most feather
legged chickens to breed them for those traits exactly. Their result was
very nice, with the fully feather-legged and fluffy chicken we now call
the Cochin. This began what was known as the “hen craze,” which
stretched from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, when people around the
world bred chickens purely for their looks, rather than to create a
better egg layer and such.
The Cochin today is a very large, fluffy
feathered bird with fully feathered legs and feet. Their very fluffy
cushion and short, fluffy tail give them a unique look, with their
short, curved-looking back as a result. The cochin chicken is a hardy, friendly,
and docile chicken. Cochins also will adapt very easily to confined
spaces or open range. Cochin hens are fairly broody and good mothers,
however, they are slow to mature. This breed was admitted into the APA
in 1874. There are 18 colors of the cochin chicken, six of them being
birchen, blue, buff, gold laced, red, and white. The standard-sized
cochin is of the Asiatic class, and the roosters weight 11 pounds, while
the hens weight 8.5 pounds. The bantam version of the cochin is of the
feather legged class. The bantam rooster weighs on average 32 oz, while
the hen weighs a smaller 28 oz. A male’s comb should be of medium zise,
with five points that stick straight into the air. He should also have
round and long wattles and earlobes. The female has a rather small comb,
which conforms to their head. Their wattles and earlobes are small as
well.
As above, the most distinctive feature of the Cochin
is the excessive
plumage that covers leg and foot. The skin beneath the feathers is
yellow and the egg colour is brown. Eggs are also medium in size. Their
standard weight is 11 pounds (5 kg) for a cock, 9 pounds (4 kg) for a
cockerel, 8.5 pounds (3.9 kg) for a hen, and 7 pounds (3.2 kg) for a
pullet. Colour varieties include buff, black, partridge, blue, silver
laced,
splash, golden laced, and white. Cochins also come in a variety called
frizzled, in which the feathers are turned outward. Cochins are well
known as good mothers, even as foster mothers for other breeds, and they
can lay many eggs, but usually not for extended periods of time.
Cochins are also known to be good pet hens for the garden, as they are
tame and regarded as one of the most 'friendly' chicken breeds. Cochins
are quiet chickens. They scarcely crow or cluck, only when laying eggs.
