Cochin Chicken Behavior

If you're just getting into the joys of chicken-keeping, the cochin makes a good introduction to poultry. These beautiful birds, often found at ornamental poultry shows, are easy to tame and quite personable. Their calm behavior allows children to handle them, under supervision. Well-cared for cochins can live as long as 10 years.

  1. Temperament

    • The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy credits the cochin with inspiring more people to keep poultry as a hobby than any other breed. That's because the cochin isn't just a large, impressively feathered bird, but quite docile in temperament. Few cochin roosters behave aggressively, while the hens are downright sweet. If you've ever considered keeping a house pet chicken rather than a yard bird, a cochin fills the bill.

    Confinement

    • Cochins can't fly. That means you don't have to worry about them heading over the fence if you let them free-range, but they also don't forage as well as other chicken breeds. If you do let them out for short periods, they won't scratch up your yard or garden to an excessive degree. They do well in confinement, as long as there is ample room to move around. Cochins aren't a particularly active breed, but they're quite hardy. Prone to fat, make sure your cochins don't become overweight in confinement.

    Broodiness

    • Cochin hens are great mothers. If you want to raise chicks naturally, cochins are a good bet. They will even hatch the eggs of other species, such as ducks or turkeys, if you want them to raise these offspring. If you strictly want eggs, that broodiness might become a problem. You can break the broody cycle by constantly removing eggs from the nest or by caging the hen separately for a day or two. Cochin hens lay large, brown eggs, although they aren't the best egg producers in terms of quantity.

    Noise

    • Cochins don't make a great deal of noise. Even the roosters don't crow as often as other breeds -- but they do crow. If you live in the city or suburbs and want to keep a few hens, that's another reason to choose the cochin. They're less likely to irritate the neighbors -- unless you let them free-range, your neighbors might not even realize you keep chickens.