Cochin

The Cochin is a large, soft-feathered chook that started out in China. It's one of the most easily spotted ornamental breeds, with a round, cushiony shape, thick fluff, and feathers running right down the legs and over the toes. A grown bird looks far heavier than it actually is, because so much of its bulk is feather rather than flesh.

The breed reached Britain and the United States in the mid-1800s and helped spark the wave of poultry obsession known as hen fever. Cochins drew big crowds at the earliest poultry shows and are still a ribbon-winner on the show bench today.

In an Australian backyard the Cochin earns its keep through company and looks rather than egg output. Hens lay a modest run of brown eggs and go broody often, sitting patiently and hatching chicks, including eggs from other breeds left under them.

Who it suits

The Cochin suits keepers after a quiet, easygoing bird rather than a big producer. Its placid nature makes it a solid pick for families with kids and for anyone keeping chooks for the first time. The heavy feathering copes fine with a cold snap but hates wet ground underfoot, so the breed does better in a clean, well-drained run than a boggy yard after rain.

The Cochin traces back to large, feather-legged fowl kept in China. The earliest imports went by several names, Shanghai among them, before Western breeders settled the type into its present form.

Birds of this kind reached Britain in the 1840s. One group was linked to Queen Victoria, and that royal connection drew plenty of attention and helped the breed take off early on. Demand for large, unusual Asian fowl grew fast during this period.

Across the 1840s and 1850s the Cochin, alongside similar imports, helped fuel the craze known as hen fever, when prices for breeding stock shot up and poultry shows pulled large crowds. The breed reached the United States around the same time and became a regular at American exhibitions.

Over time breeders selected for the rounded shape and heavy foot feathering seen now. The Cochin was among the first breeds written into early poultry standards and has been kept mainly for show and as a pet ever since.

The Cochin has a deep, broad body and a low stance that give it a rounded, almost ball-like outline. The plumage is soft and loose rather than tight to the body, which makes the bird look bigger than its actual frame. A short back, full breast, and a generous cushion of fluff over the rear are typical of the breed.

The stand-out feature is the feathering on the legs and outer toes. The comb is single, of moderate size, with matching red wattles and earlobes. Both a standard size and a bantam version are bred.

Coat and colours

The feathering is what defines the breed. It's plentiful and downy, which holds warmth well but also traps moisture and dirt around the feet, something to watch closely through a wet spell or a run of rain. Buff is the best-known colour, and the breed also comes in black, white, blue, and partridge among several recognised varieties. For the show bench, colour should be even and the foot feathering full and clean.

The Cochin is about as calm as chickens get. Birds are gentle and docile, put up with handling, and often turn tame enough to be treated as pets. This easygoing streak is a big reason the breed gets recommended for kids and beginners.

Around people the Cochin is trusting and slow to spook. Around other chickens it tends to sit low in the pecking order, since it's unhurried and not pushy, so it usually mixes fine with other quiet breeds. More active or bossy birds can crowd it out at the feeder, worth keeping an eye on in a mixed flock.

Hens go notably broody and make attentive, dependable mothers. They'll often sit on eggs from other hens and raise the chicks as their own. The breed isn't especially noisy, though hens still announce an egg the way most chickens do.

Cochins are low-maintenance in temperament, but their heavy foot feathering needs looking after. The main care tasks come down to keeping the bird clean and dry.

Grooming

• Check the feathered feet and legs regularly for mud balls, droppings, and matting
• Look for scaly leg mites, which hide more easily under foot feathers
• Trim nails and spurs if they overgrow
• Provide a dry dust-bathing spot to help keep external parasites down

Exercise

• The breed isn't very active and needs only room to walk and forage
• A secure run with space to move about is enough; there's no need for free-ranging over distance
• Keep perches low, since heavy birds can hurt their feet jumping down from height

Environment

Cochins handle the cold well thanks to their thick feathering, but they struggle with wet ground and with the heat of an Australian summer. Give them a clean, well-drained run, dry bedding, and solid shade once the temperature climbs. Their feathered feet make a muddy or soiled pen a particular headache, so good drainage matters as much as shade.

A complete poultry feed should make up most of the diet. Use a chick starter for young birds, a grower for juveniles, and a layer feed for hens in lay. Because Cochins are calm and not very active, they pack on weight easily, so portion control matters more here than with busier breeds. Keep clean water on hand at all times, and check it more often in hot weather, since chooks drink far more once the mercury climbs.

Treats and supplements

Keep treats to roughly a tenth of the diet so they don't throw the feed out of balance or pile on weight. Offer insoluble grit if the birds eat anything beyond complete feed, and provide a separate calcium source, such as crushed oyster shell, for hens in lay. Leafy greens and small amounts of grain make sensible occasional treats.

The Cochin is a solid, robust breed with a typical lifespan of about 8 to 10 years when housed and fed well. Most problems are preventable and come down to the foot feathering, a tendency to put on weight, and parasites common to all poultry. Good husbandry, a dry run, and regular checks head off most issues before they start.

Preventive care

• Check feet, legs, and vent area on a regular schedule
• Keep housing dry, clean, and well ventilated
• Provide a dust-bathing spot for parasite control
• Quarantine new birds before adding them to the flock
• Follow a vaccination and worming plan suited to your region, worked out with a vet

Cochins are heavy, ground-loving birds, so housing should keep them dry and cut down the height they need to climb. A solid coop with good airflow but no direct draughts suits the breed in most Australian climates, from cool southern winters to humid northern wet seasons. Because the birds are poor flyers, low fencing is usually enough to pen them in, though a covered run guards against predators and weather. The priority is dry, clean footing to protect the feathered feet.

Setup checklist

• Dry, draught-free coop with decent ventilation
• Low, wide perches that are easy to step onto and off
• Nest boxes with clean bedding
• A covered, well-drained run
• A dust-bathing spot
• Predator-proof fencing and secure closing overnight

Cochin eggs follow the standard chicken incubation period of about 21 days. The breed's strong broodiness means a hen will often sit on a clutch and hatch it out naturally, which is why Cochins are popular as natural incubators for other breeds' eggs. Eggs can also be set in a machine incubator using the usual chicken settings. Stop turning the eggs a few days before the hatch date and let the chicks come out in their own time.

Hatching steps

1. Set clean, undamaged eggs and let them come up to incubator temperature
2. Hold temperature and humidity steady and turn the eggs daily
3. Candle around day 7 to 10 to check development
4. Stop turning at about day 18 and raise the humidity for lockdown
5. Leave hatched chicks in the incubator until dry, then move them to a warm brooder