White Cochin

There are hundreds of different varieties of chickens out there to choose from, so figuring out the right one for your needs can be a bit daunting.  This week, I'm going to highlight the pros and cons of the chicken breeds I've had personal contact with.  I hope you'll chime in and let me know your favorite breed(s) and why you love them.  Are they good pets, wonderful mothers, prolific egg-layers, great meat birds, or something else entirely?

I'm going to start off the week with a bit of a dud.  Two years ago, we went in on a somewhat random assortment of chickens with a friend.  We brought home Golden Comets, Barred Rocks, and a White Cochin, the last of which was our least favorite by far.

First, I should mention her good point --- she's very, very broody.  At one year of age, our White Cochin decided it was time to become a mother and she started sitting on the nest.  Since we don't have a rooster in our flock, this broodiness went for naught.  All summer, we pushed her out of the way to take out the eggs, but she just kept sitting.  Finally, we gave in and got some fertilized eggs from another friend for her to sit on.

Here's where the White Cochin showed her mettle --- even after trying to brood for months on end, she sat on that nest all day and all night.  Finally, the chicks started hatching...and our broody hen pecked them to death.  Apparently, our White Cochin was smart enough to realize that the black chicks coming out of those eggs couldn't possibly be her offspring, but that intelligence made her pretty worthless to us since we couldn't even use her as a brood hen.

Except for her tendency to go broody, our White Cochin seems to have no clue how to live on a farm.  While her tractor-mates are busily scratching in the weeds to find bugs, she usually hops up on a perch and takes a nap.  Her eggs are a slightly different color than everyone else's, so we can tell that she rarely lays.  Actually, as I write this, I can't quite realize why we haven't eaten her yet.  I would recommend a White Cochin only to someone who wants a gentle pet with no redeeming livestock features.

Have you had experience with a cochin and disagree?  Leave a comment and let me know!  Meanwhile, check out our homemade chicken waterer, enjoyed just as much by a broody cochin as a hard-working egg-layer.