The latest discovery is that some of the ones I thought were Cochins are not. They're Belgian d'Uccles. I've been wondering why some were feathered differently. The Cochins are round, soft and fluffy. It's referred to as "soft-feathered". The others are sleeker with longer stiff upright tails and hard feathers. This includes the 2 oldest Black Mottleds and the 3 gold/black (shown below) that I haven't identified the color for sure yet. Yesterday, I realized that the scruffiness on the heads of these was the d'Uccle "beard".
This shot shows one of the Buff Cochins with the 3 newly identified Belgian d'Uccles. These 3 have changed from Gold-Laced to Mottled Buff Columbian (when they were Cochins), and now I believe they're Mille Fleur since that's what this color is called in d'Uccles. The Feather Site says the breed is affectionately referred to as Millies because of this common coloration. I think that's what I'll call them.
This is a Buff Cochin and older Mottled Black d'Uccle to show the difference in body style and feathering. The next photo is a close-up of the Mottled to show the "muff" on the face.
I've been calling these 2 blacks "Owly". Yeah, both of them. The markings on their heads reminds me of an owl and has since they were new chicks.
This Cochin is till up for debate on color. I thought it was a Silver-Laced but now it's looking like Columbian. Actually still up for debate on breed as well since it came from the same source as the others. It's looking more hard-feathered so I'll have to wait a few more weeks to be sure I guess.
I was trying to catch the 2 little Mottled Cochins (positive ID) but Spiffy decided to join the shot and sent them scurrying. These are the cutest little things! They are the youngest of all, and I have to watch where I'm going. They dart around and between my feet like little puppies. Their black feathers are displaying the green iridescence like Spiffy's tail. The Mottled d'Uccles don't have this iridescence, they're flat black.
I mentioned in an early post that Spiffy likes to sit on my arm and surprised me when he flew up on his own. I've now trained him to do it on command. Sorta. It's still depending on his mood. I hold my arm out, call his name, and wiggle my fingers. He eagerly flies up and then crows proudly.
This seed bell was a big hit! I found them for $1.50 each at a discount store and bought several. Rigged a way to hang it yesterday. I'll pick up some more the next time I hit that store if they still have them in stock.
In this shot: Self Blue Old English Games, Rhode Island Reds, Black Mottled d'Uccles, and Spiffy the Spangled OEG. The light colored head to the far left behind the Blue is the one that's still unidentified. I'm going with Easter Egger until proven otherwise. She's a mottled light buff color.
So all in all, I got the pretty and varied flock of bantams I wanted. How or if I raise them for specific breeds remains to be seen. For now, I'm just enjoying them.
tnt
