# Cochin chicken

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Breed of chicken

"Cochin Chinas" redirects here. For the historic region, see [Cochinchina](/source/Cochinchina).

Cochin Partridge cock Conservation status FAO (2007): not at risk[1]: 155 Livestock Conservancy (2020): recovering[2] Other names Shanghai Cochin-China Country of origin China Use ornamental Traits Weight Male: Standard: 3.6–5.9 kg[3]: 92 Bantam: 900 g[4]: 115 Female: Standard: 3.2–5.0 kg[3]: 92 Bantam: 800 g[4]: 115 Egg colour brown Comb type single Classification APA Asiatic[5]: 12 ABA feather legged[5]: 8 EE yes[6] PCGB soft feather: heavy[7] Chicken Gallus gallus domesticus

The **Cochin** is a [breed](/source/List_of_chicken_breeds) of large domestic [chicken](/source/Chicken). It derives from large feather-legged chickens brought from China to Europe and North America in the 1840s and 1850s. It is reared principally for [exhibition](/source/Poultry_show). It was formerly known as the **Cochin-China**.

## History

Like the [Brahma](/source/Brahma_(chicken)), the Cochin derives from very large feather-legged chickens brought from China to Europe and North America in the 1840s and 1850s. These were at first known as "Shanghai" birds, and later as "Cochin-Chinas".[3]: 89 The large size and striking appearance of these birds contributed to a sudden large increase of interest in [poultry-breeding](/source/Poultry-breeding) in Western countries, sometimes described as "hen fever".[8][9]

The Cochin was included in the first edition of the [*Standard of Excellence in Exhibition Poultry*](/source/British_Poultry_Standard), prepared by [William Bernhardt Tegetmeier](/source/William_Bernhardt_Tegetmeier) for the first [Poultry Club of Great Britain](/source/Poultry_Club_of_Great_Britain) in 1865. The colours described are buff, black, cinnamon, grouse, lemon, partridge, silver buff, silver cinnamon, and white.[10]: 5–12 [Bantam](/source/Bantam_(chicken)) Cochins were not listed.[10]: 4

The Cochin, both full-sized and bantam, was included in the first edition of the *[Standard of Excellence](/source/Standard_of_Perfection)* of the [American Poultry Association](/source/American_Poultry_Association) in 1874.[8][5] The original colours were white, partridge, buff and black; other colours were later added.[5]

## Characteristics

The most distinctive feature of the Cochin is the excessive plumage that covers leg and foot. The skin beneath the feathers is yellow.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

In the United Kingdom the recognised [colour varieties](/source/List_of_chicken_colours), for large fowl only, are black, blue, buff, cuckoo, partridge and grouse, and white;[3]: 90–93 Cochin bantams are not recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain.[3]: 89 However, the [Entente Européenne](/source/Entente_Europ%C3%A9enne) treats the [Pekin Bantam](/source/Pekin_Bantam) as equivalent to the bantam Cochin. The [Entente Européenne](/source/Entente_Europ%C3%A9enne) lists the same nine colours for large fowl, and twenty-four for the bantam; any of the bantam varieties may be [frizzled](/source/Frizzle_(chicken_plumage)), with the feathers curling outwards.[6] The American Poultry Association recognises nine colours for the full-sized bird – barred, black, blue, brown, buff, golden-laced, partridge, silver-laced, and white; the same colours are recognised for the bantam, with the addition of four more: birchen, Columbian, mottled, and red.[5]

## Use

The Cochin has been bred principally for [exhibition](/source/Poultry_show), at the expense of productive characteristics.[3]: 89 It is a good layer of very large tinted eggs, and lays well in winter.[3]: 89[8] The hens are good [sitters](/source/Broodiness) and good mothers, and may be used to hatch the eggs of turkeys and ducks.[8] The meat tends to be coarse in texture and excessively dark; [capons](/source/Capon) slaughtered at an age of 12–16 months provide a good large table bird.[8]

## Gallery

		- White hen

		- Blue hen

		- Buff cock

		- Partridge bantam hen

		- Black cock

## References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Cochin (chicken)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Cochin_(chicken)).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-barb_1-0)** Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). [List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources](https://web.archive.org/web/20200623201209/http://www.fao.org/3/a1250e/annexes/List%20of%20breeds%20documented%20in%20the%20Global%20Databank%20for%20Animal%20Genetic%20Resources/List_breeds.pdf), annex to: [*The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture*](https://web.archive.org/web/20170110125634/http://www.fao.org/3/a-a1250e.pdf). Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9789251057629](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789251057629). Archived 23 June 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-tlc_2-0)** [Heritage Poultry Breeds: Chickens](https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/conservation-priority-list#Chickens). Pittsboro, North Carolina: The Livestock Conservancy. Accessed July 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-roberts_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-roberts_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-roberts_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-roberts_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-roberts_3-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-roberts_3-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-roberts_3-6) Victoria Roberts (2008). [*British poultry standards: complete specifications and judging points of all standardized breeds and varieties of poultry as compiled by the specialist breed clubs and recognised by the Poultry Club of Great Britain*](https://books.google.it/books?id=nAfyUHY42u0C&hl=en). Oxford: Blackwell. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781405156424](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781405156424).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ekarius_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ekarius_4-1) Carol Ekarius (2007). [*Storey's Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds*](https://archive.org/details/Storeys_Illustrated_Guide_to_Poultry_Breeds_Complete/mode/1up). North Adams, Massachusetts: Storey Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781580176675](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781580176675).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-apa_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-apa_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-apa_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-apa_5-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-apa_5-4) [APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012](https://web.archive.org/web/20171104135004/http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/PDF%20Forms/APA%20Recognized%20Breeds%20and%20Varieties%20Sept2012.pdf). American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-ee_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-ee_6-1) [Liste des races et variétés homologuée dans les pays EE (28.04.2013)](https://web.archive.org/web/20130616062803/http://www.entente-ee.com/deutsch/sparten/gefluegel/dateien/2013/Verzeichnis%20R%20F%2028042013.xls). Entente Européenne d’Aviculture et de Cuniculture. Archived 16 June 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-pcgb_7-0)** [Breed Classification](https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143235/http://www.poultryclub.org/img/Breed%20Classification.pdf). Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-albc_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-albc_8-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-albc_8-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-albc_8-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-albc_8-4) [Cochin Chicken](https://web.archive.org/web/20161003121357/http://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/cochin) The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 3 October 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-smith_9-0)** Smith, Page; Charles Daniels (2000). *The Chicken Book*. University of Georgia Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8203-2213-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8203-2213-1).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-teget_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-teget_10-1) William Bernhard Tegetmeier (editor) (1865). [*The Standard of Excellence in Exhibition Poultry, authorized by the Poultry Club*](https://archive.org/stream/standardexcelle00tegegoog#page/n4/mode/2up). London: Groombridge and Sons, for the Poultry Club.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cochin chicken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochin_chicken) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochin_chicken?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.