A little about our backyard chickens, Mottled Cochins, the ruffliest members of our backyard flock! When I first ordered our Mottled Cochin chicks this past summer it was almost on a whim. I needed a minimum order of baby chicks for them to ship and so at the last minute I picked these because they were available. They have turned out to be the most beautiful birds in our flock, just don’t tell the others I said that!
They are the most beautiful balls of fluff, with black and white feathers layered like multiple petticoats. Their personalities are so sweet and they make more of a honking noise than a cluck. This gal is named Popcorn:
The Mottled Cochins have the softest feathers imaginable. When I pick them up I can tell that they are about half the size that they look because of all the plumage. They have feathers that fan out from legs and out around their feet too. This is Palmer, named after Arnold Palmer:
Our two gals are just beginning to get their combs:
That saying: birds of a feather flock together? It’s so true. We have eleven chickens and six different breeds. Every time I look out in the yard they are paired up by breed, except for Rey who is a little bit of a loner ever since Whittle died.
Our chickens tend to stay with who they grew up with. The mottled cochins were babies with our white silkies and so I always know that I can find them all together in the yard. Foshizzle our Polish Crested will mingle between the two group (that’s why her middle name is Switzerland). One of our silkies…this is Twinkle…she has the brightest blue ears:
The Mottled Cochins originated in China and they do great in the cold weather because they have the thickest down coat on. Like our other chickens we have bantams which means they are much smaller than a standard chicken, and great with kids. To tell them apart? Popcorn has more black on her head and her comb has reddened:
Palmer still has more of a peach colored comb and more white feathers on her head:
If you are looking for a good chicken source and can’t find one locally I’ve purchased all of our chicks in separate batches from My Pet Chicken. All of our chickens have been healthy and beautiful. This isn’t an advertisement just a business I support on my own.
To read stories about our chickens click here for the Chicken Chronicles!
They certainly are all beautiful birds. Isn’t it amazing how God made so many variations in their colors! Just like the rest of His creatures, including us. Thank you for sharing your days with us. You are in our daily prayers. Blessings to you!