Cochin Bantams

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I have a love-hate relationship with Barred varieties.  I get all excited and work on them for a while, then "Squirrel" and I send them packing.  A little while later, I feel the itch to work with them again.  At this time I am not able to share any of my Barred Cochin bantams.

Birchen are one of my oldest non-frizzle varieties.  I took a break from them a while back, but in the past couple years, have rekindled my flame for them.  My main focus at this time is improving Type while maintaining good hackle and neck coloring.  

For some breeding purposes, a Black x Black bird is required.  My  breeding flocks are made up of Black males and Black females.  Although I rarely exhibit smooth blacks, they still make me proud.  I have two flocks of Black Cochin Bantams. Frizzle males over Smooth females, and Smooth males over Frizzle females.

I absolutely love the soft soothing color of Blue birds.  Blue Cochin Bantams are one of the varieties I have been working with the longest.  I have been focusing on improving type, feather width, and lacing.  I have also noticed that the feather quality issues often found in the Self-Blue variety can be seen in Blue and Splash Varieties as well.  It is something I am mindful of, but know it's possible.  My Blue flock is set up with a Smooth Splash male over Blue Frizzle females.

While the Bobtail females are captivating, the males resemble dirty dishwater, and are rather drab.  Bobtail Cochin Bantams seem a bit more fragile than the other varieties and are more challenging to work with. Currently, my Bobtail are just a "for-me" project, so I am not able to share at this time.

Such a striking color combination and one of the varieties I enjoy the most.  One of the things I am working on in the Brown Red variety is wings.  

Buff has always been a challenging variety to get just right.  As soon as you think you've fixed one thing, something else fades, or goes astray.   While working on type, I do have to keep color in mind with Buff.  One of the things I'm working diligently on, is to balance out the buff color overall.  In my Buff Cochin Bantams, I am working on wings and feather width.   I have two flocks of Buff Cochin Bantams. Frizzle males over Smooth females, and Smooth males over Frizzle females.

Chocolates have always been just a "fun" variety for me, but in 2024, I decided to get them out there for people to see.  I started focusing on improving type and phasing out the Mauves and Chocolate splashes.  While not yet up to snuff, I have seen tremendous improvement in the past couple years.  Although not an accepted variety, I regularly exhibit my Chocolate Cochin Bantams.

One of the more fun versions of Chocolate, is the Chocolate Mottled.  Much like their Black and White mottled counterparts, Chocolate Mottled has always been a challenging variety to get just-right.  While SOP calls for "white tipped feathers," it's always been a struggle not to have too little, or too much white.  Although not an accepted variety, In late 2024, I decided to get my Chocolate Mottled out there for people to see.  Much like the Chocolates, I started focusing on improving type, while phasing out the Mauve Mottled and Chocolate Splash Mottled.  

I'm not sure what it is about Columbian that has always caught my attention, but there is definitely something that draws me to them.  The biggest challenge I have is to keep the color crisp and clean.  Columbian is a challenging variety to work with, and has a high-cull rate when working towards perfection.  I have two flocks of Columbian Cochin Bantams. Frizzle males over Smooth females, and Smooth males over Frizzle females.

A more subtle contrast than Silver Laced, is the Gold Laced.  Maintaining clarity of the pattern without losing type is one of the biggest challenges.   I have two flocks of Gold Laced Cochin Bantams. Frizzle males over Smooth females, and Smooth males over Frizzle females.

For me, Lemon Blue was something I had little interest in, until I spent a little time studying genetics.  I saw some in person at a show, and decided that it might be fun to experiment with the different genes that make up the pattern.  Not to be confused with a blue brown red, the Lemon Blue has an extra gene that lightens the red of the hackle, neck, and saddle feathers.  At this time, I am not able to share my Lemon Blues.

Mottled has always been a challenging variety to get just-right.  While SOP calls for "white tipped feathers," it's always been a struggle not to have too little, or too much white.  My Mottled are all over the board, and I am still working on what my own preference is, while striving to improve type.  At this time, I am not able to share mottled.

While not as challenging as Silver Penciled, the Partridge are one of the most enjoyable varieties to work with.  The pattern on the females is memorizing.  I am working on pattern crispness in the females, while trying to get a handle on type & stance of the males.  I am only working with smooth Partridge at this time.

My Salmons were originally intended to be a way a friend could share my love of Cochin Bantams, while not being extreme-competition.  Unfortunately, she decided they weren't for her, and I ended up with the flock.  They are still a project, but a fun variety to work with and exhibit.  At this time, I am not able to share my Salmons.

Much like my deal with Barred, I have an on-again / off-again relationship with Red Cochin Bantams.  I was doing well with them until late spring 2025, when a family of raccoons decided to have a free-buffet on my dime.  Unfortunately, I had already shared my breeding flock, as I thought I had plenty of suitable grow-outs.  Although this guy isn't anything to write home about, I was very fortunate that he was available, and close-by.  I have high hopes that he can give me a start on rebuilding years of lost work.  At this time, I am not able to share any Reds. 

Creamy and dreamy come to mind when I think of Self Blues.  My biggest focuses on my Self Blues are type and smoothness of coloring.  I have been trying to improve the overall type, while working to eliminate fretting and uneven coloring. Feather quality is always a challenge with  Self Blues, and is something I am mindful of. 

Probably the most contrasting variety with the exception of the Brown Red, Silver Laced is another one of the varieties that intrigues me.  In 2025, I created Frizzle Silver Laced and have been focused more on the Frizzles than the smooths.  The most difficult aspect of Silver Laced is to maintain the crispness and clarity of the pattern, while not losing type.  

For me, Silver Penciled are the Elanor of varieties.  They take the challenge of type vs pattern to a completely whole new level.  Two flocks are required as for exhibition purposes, as one needs a male line and a female line.  At this time, I am only working with an all-smooth female line.  Because SP are extremely rare and challenging, I am unable to share at this time.

In my Splash Cochin Bantams, I have been focusing on improving type, feather width, and wings.  I have also noticed that the feather quality issues often found in the Self-Blue variety can be seen in Blue and Splash Varieties as well.  It is something I am mindful of, but know it's possible.  My Splash flock is set up with a Smooth Splash male over Blue Frizzle females.

Wheaten is one of the varieties I enjoy working with in several of my breeds.  The exact coloring varies by breed which is one of the things that makes it interest me.  While Wheaten Cochin Bantams are still in the project stage, I do enjoy the challenge of perfecting color and improving type.  At this time I am not able to share my Wheatens.

White frizzles are probably the variety that I enjoy working with the most.  So beautiful when in condition, so challenging to keep that way.  I have two flocks of White Cochin Bantams. Frizzle males over Smooth females, and Smooth males over Frizzle females.

With the soft cottony feathers of a Silkie, but in a Cochin Bantam package!  Silken feathered Cochins only share the silken feathering gene with Silkies, and are 100% Cochin.  I currently work with BBS, White, and Buff Silken Feathered Cochins.  My main focus on this variety is improving type.