Cochin (chicken) Totally Explained

Everything about Cochin Chicken totally explained

The Cochin Chicken or Cochin China, was originally known as the Chinese Shanghai. The name Cochin came from its original Chinese name 九斤黄(in pinyin: jiujin huang, pronounced joo-chin hwong), meaning nine jin yellow, where jin is a traditional Chinese measurement of weight(see catty). This chicken was originally bred in China and later exported to Britain and America in the mid 19th century. As a very distinctive breed of chicken, it apparently created a bit of a craze among poultry lovers in the English-speaking world. Not only was this breed one of the largest seen, with cocks weighing up to 11 pounds (5 kg), but also the soft and plentiful plumage makes the bird quite conspicuous by exaggerating its already large size. Once in the United States, the breed underwent considerable development into its current state. A bantam form was also developed, which goes by the name of Pekin bantam (named after the city Beijing) outside of America, where it's simply known as the Cochin Bantam. There is also a bantam hen called Pekin Bantams which are actually different, although superficially similar.
Cochins in Australia Up until about 15 years cochins in Australia were all but extinct, until a small group of breeders started to recreate the breed, the first colour to be recreated was the buff cochins, a lot of the work was done by the mercieca family. Colours such as white, black, blue, partridge, silver laced and golden laced have also been recreated, buff is the most common colour with the laced, pencilled and partridge birds being harder to find.
Characteristics
As above, the most distinctive feature of the Cochin is the excessive plumage that covers leg and foot. The birds are therefore often kept penned on days of poor weather to avoid ruining their lower feathers (assuming they're kept for ornamental purposes, which is almost always the case). Apparently their thick feathering can even lead to problems with fertility due to sexual organs being literally buried in plumage (though this can be remedied by clipping back the feathers). The skin beneath the feathers is yellow and the egg colour is brown. Eggs are also medium in size. 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 outword. 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.

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