32 



THE BANTAM FOWL. 



A GROUP OF COCHIN BANTAMS, 



Buff Cock 1st at Boston owned by Dr. Wm. Y. Fox; White Hen the property of the same owner; Black Hen owned by 

 Baldwin Bros., and Partridge Cockerel 1st at Boston. 



CUCKOO COCHIN BANTAMS. 



Cuckoo Cochin Bantams are of late production, starting 

 from sports of Blacks, Buffs and Whites bred together and 

 strengthened by birds of the Cuckoo color Imported from 

 China. We give you a description of them as written by Mr. 

 Entwisle, the greatest breeder of Bantams in England. He 

 said: 



"Cuckoo Cochin Bantams should have very sound orange 

 yellow legs, and orange beaks are generally preferred, 

 though personally we do not dislike a little dark marking on 

 the beak of a Cukoo Cochin Bantam, as it seems quite in 

 harmony with the feathering. And now we must try to 

 describe the color and markings of the Cuckoos. These 

 points vary very considerably from a pale, almost white 

 ground, with cloudy and indistinct markings, to a beautiful, 

 soft French grey ground, with dark slate bars. The more 

 clearly defined andi the finer the markings the tetter. Not 

 only does the ground color vary, as well as the color of the 

 bars or markings of the feathers, but also in different birds 

 the pattern of the markings varies considerably. There are 

 Cuckoos shown with the same pattern of markings as the 

 Dark Brahmas and Partridge Cochins — concentric circles of 

 penciling, one with the other, i. e., in the hen^ — ^but tliis is 

 not correct. The markings we require in Cuckoo Cochin 

 Bantams are a series of clearly defined bars (we prefer nar- 

 rowones)acrosseachfeather,fromthe head) down the hackle, 

 breast, thighs, wings, back, saddle and tail, and, in fact, 

 each feather throughout the whole bird, both cock and hen, 

 must have this distinct barring, or series of bands, across the 

 feathers. In some birds we have counted nine bars across 

 the hackle or saddle feather of a cockerel, but seven bars 

 make the feather look well. A less, number would not be 

 so good. In hens, across the saddle feathers, five bars are 

 sufficient, and as feathers on other parts of the body are not 

 so long, a proportionately less number of bars is required. 

 The same description of markings is required on the feather- 

 ing of the legs, feet and toes, and the more distinct the 

 better. 



"A common failing of Cuckoos is to have some of the 

 wing feathers white, or with a good deal of white in them, 

 and also in the tail feathers. This is a grave fault, and is 

 reproduced in the chickens most persistently. If the fault 

 is seen in the brood cock, it will noft do to run hens with him 

 having the same fault. If the cock bird is perfectly sound in 

 color, less anxiety need be felt about a little white in the 

 hens' flight feathers. Never breed from any — either cocks 

 or hens — that are broad, coarse or irregular in their mark- 

 ings." 



Since the above was written I have bred some very good 



Cuckoo Cochin Bantams from a cross between solid Whites, 

 and Blacks crossed in with some very poor Cuckoos. These 

 Cuckbos had by far the best color in the males, many of the-, 

 females coming too dark— some clear black. One female-; 

 from the Cuckoos came pure black, and has since won prizes 

 in a number of shows. We cannot encourage the breeding; 

 of this variety, for they will never become popular because- 

 they breed so untrue. This same fault is mentioned by the 

 English writer whom we quote above. 



Cuckoo Cochin Bantams should be the same in shape as. 

 are other Cochin Bantams, and have the color and barring 

 the same as our Barred Plymouth Rocks. The English call 

 it the Cuckoo coloring, we call it Dominique color. If we 

 might have these Bantams of the same rich color and bar- 

 ring as is seen on some of the best Plymouth Rocks, they 

 would be both bdautiful and attractive; but so far the obtain- 

 ing of such color with them has outwitted all who have tried 

 to produce it. From some unknown cause they seem to 

 grow darker in color every day, and some of them show 

 considerable red in plumage. Just why this should be we 

 cannot say. 



MATING COCHIN BANTAMS. 



The profitable breeding of Cochin Bantams depends upon 

 the quality that may be produced. Poor quality that may 

 be sold at low prices is far from profitable; and to produce 

 the best quality is a study for the fancier, and almost beyond 

 the reach of the amateur, unless he has the advantage of thet 

 knowledge and experience of others. 



The most profitable of all are the Cochin Bantams — and 

 the Buffs hold the lead in these. More Buff Cochin Bantama 

 are produced each year we presume than of any other, if 

 not all other kinds; and but few of these are high class. It is, 

 astonishinghow very inferior some of them are — even among, 

 the entries at our larger shows. In fact, at times we won- 

 der why the entrance fee is paid on some that are shown. 

 This should not be, for any one who knows a Cochin Bantam 

 by sight, knows that it should be true Cochin in shapa^ 

 and golden buff in color. When neither of these demands, 

 are present in the specimens shown, they should be cast 

 aside as not competent to compete in the classes they are 

 shown in. If this might be, the chances are, we would soon 

 have better quality in the show room at least. To aid those 

 who may be interested in having high quality Cochin Ban- 

 tams we shall give in one the combined experience of our 

 best producers of the Cochin Bantams as their guide to 

 success. 



The mating for shape is the same in all varieties, and of 

 vital importance. More by far depends upon the female than 

 is usually accredited to her. Never can you hope to gain the 



