cochin fertility problems?

o.k i have seen my slc boy go on the girls, and same as the bantam cochin but i am doing a test hatch and none of my slc are developing? a month ago i cracked one open and it was fertile? now the same as the bantams, i put some in the bator with the slc and only 2 of 10 are developing? what the heck?
do i need to trim vents on the boys or something whats with the suckey fertility?

Show quality Cochins Large or Bantams should be artificial inseminated (AI). Show quality cochins have to much feather mass for them to properly mate. If you are not willing to AI them then pluck the feathers around the vent area of both. The males plucking should more on the bottom of the vent and the female on the top. Remove enough feather so a 1 1/2 to 2 inches diameter of feather are removed. Don't trim the feather because the feather stubs that are left will hurt the males and they will not mate after a couple of times trying.

o.k thanks, i will get plucking tomorrow.... this will prob take awhile..LOl that must hurt them no...ouch LOL

No, it does not hurt them much. Just do fast fast fast.

Not having "show" cochins, I have never experienced any issues with fertility with my cochins. Guess their butts just are not fluffy enough to prevent that cloaca kiss as it is called. I still think that my boys and girls have enormously fluffy butts, but guess not as fluffy as the real "show" birds, smiling. Maybe I don't want real show birds, cause I really don't like to pull feathers from butts.

I have watched my flock of cochins mate and I certainly can see that kiss occur, it is surprising how much of the vent protrudes when contact is made, very interesting. I remember one time touching a vent of one of the birds to get off some little hunks o' poo and I was surprised to see what the cloaca did. The vent looked like it was a mouth chewing gum, only way to describe it, guess that is the action that draws the sperm from the male within the body of the female. Kind of gross, but it was kind of funny at the same time. It is good to know what action our birds do, smiling.

Sebas is right about the feathers. I once heard a fellow telling me that he was going to cut the feathers short on the female, in hopes of great fertilization because of the fluffy butts of his wyandottes. Oops. I told him to not do that, you pull them out, if you cut them, it makes the feathers sharp and after a try the rooster will certainly not mate. He has a very tender cloaca too....

When you remove the feathers, also, listen to what Sebas has said, about where to pull the feathers out. When I went back to see this fellow that I had been speaking to about pulling out the feathers, I was kind of shocked at what I saw. He had pulled most of the feathers off the rear of the chicken, she (they) looked pretty bad. Guess he thought it was the entire area that needed to be void of feathers. Very wrong, very wrong. Focus on the feathers, as you were told, the ones above the vent with the females, below the vent with the males. It may make a huge difference in the touching of the parts to allow better acceptance of the sperm. Good luck, would love to hear if you notice a difference.

Remember....DON'T CUT THE FEATHERS, PULL THEM GENTLY OUT.

When I clean the back ends of my cochins, and I do that regularly, to remove poo balls, I sometimes will have to pull out a feather or two, because they just seem like there would be no point in trying to clean them off. I don't even think that the birds notice that feather pull. Thank goodness it is only now and then that there is a necessity to pull out an entire feather, but that is my experience, it doesn't bug them much at all. Don't pull out too many feathers, they still need warmth for their fluffy butts to be warm and cozy. Have a wonderful day, CynthiaM.

well mine are not show birds either not even close, i am just weiging options? i dont like the thought of pulling fethers but>>?

Just remember where Sebas said to pluck, don't leave them bare-bummed , that looks just AWFUL!! I have never plucked the butt feathers for fertility, and don't do a whole lotta incubating in the cold months. TripleJ, I am pretty sure that in the winter (I have read this) that the testes of roosters shrink (just like a man in cold water ) in the wintertime. As the spring fever begins, and that does coincide with warmth and longer sunny days, those testes of the roosters become enlarged (just like when warmth hits the groin, sorry if I am speaking bluntly, perhaps this will be censored, but I am a very down to earth and basic type gal with things I speak about, sorry if I have offended anyone). Larger testes -- more ability to create more sperm. Just a couple of thoughts here, perhaps something to it??? Have a wonderful day, CynthiaM.

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just finished plucking the males "vent"that was not fun...poor guy...i can honestly say if they need this done all the time i wont be getting more cochins! LOl how often does this need to be done? anyone else have to do it?

triplejfarms wrote:just finished plucking the males "vent"that was not fun...poor guy...i can honestly say if they need this done all the time i wont be getting more cochins! LOl how often does this need to be done? anyone else have to do it?

I sure hope this does the trick for you, Triple J!
I have had no fertility issues at all with cochins, so haven't had to do any plucking. But it is good to know the ins and outs of it in case I do come across this problem.

I do think it must be best to do what we can to encourage them to mate naturally rather than resort to AI to reproduce them. I am all for fluffy butts...the more profusly feathered the better!
But A.I. for chickens? I just don't see myself ever going there.

The ability to mate naturally is one of the defining factors of what constitutes a Heritage Breed, according to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. I have to agree with them on that one.

KathyS wrote:

triplejfarms wrote:just finished plucking the males "vent"that was not fun...poor guy...i can honestly say if they need this done all the time i wont be getting more cochins! LOl how often does this need to be done? anyone else have to do it?

I sure hope this does the trick for you, Triple J!
I have had no fertility issues at all with cochins, so haven't had to do any plucking. But it is good to know the ins and outs of it in case I do come across this problem.

I do think it must be best to do what we can to encourage them to mate naturally rather than resort to AI to reproduce them. I am all for fluffy butts...the more profusly feathered the better!
But A.I. for chickens? I just don't see myself ever going there.

The ability to mate naturally is one of the defining factors of what constitutes a Heritage Breed, according to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. I have to agree with them on that one.

i have to agree with you on that one, even plucking in my book is going a lil far.... maybe he isnt quite getitng it yet he is a june 2011 hatch? he looks pretty awkward while doing his deed, maybe i need to give him a lil more time to prefect it...but i def cant see myself plucking all 5 of their bums every few months...its not natural, and if they were in the wild i am afraid they be extinct then if they cant master it naturaly..

When breed standards interfere with either viabilty or fertility, it's time to dump the standard, IMO. The example that bugs me most is the ear-tufts in Araucanas; a mating between two ear-tufted birds results in the death of 1/4 of the chicks before they hatch.

ipf wrote:When breed standards interfere with either viabilty or fertility, it's time to dump the standard, IMO. The example that bugs me most is the ear-tufts in Araucanas; a mating between two ear-tufted birds results in the death of 1/4 of the chicks before they hatch.

Well that is something I never knew before!

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Thanks for that link. Actually, according to Crawford, the percentage for pre-hatch mortality is even higher than that - virtually all homozygotes (~25%) and 20-42% of heterozygotes, so that's 35-46%, total; post-hatch mortality is also significantly higher among tufted birds than non-tufteds.

Also, in ovo mortality is often late in development (up to day 19), so it's not quite the same thing as eating (or otherwise destroying) an unfertilised egg, or even a fertilised egg before it begoins to develop.

I suspect you meant "in ovo", not "invitro" (sic), "in vitro" means in glass.