The Cochin Bantam Male (Feather Legged Class)
The Cochin Bantam Male (Feather Legged Class)
Text of the Bantam Cochin Breed Standard is owned and copyrighted by the American Bantam Association (‘Bantam Standard’), and is used here solely for educational purposes with their permission.
Cochin Breed Characteristics
Bantams - Shape of Male
from the American Bantam Association Bantam Standard
Origin: Imported to England from China in the 19th Century.
Weight:
Cock: 30 oz Hen: 26 oz
Cockerel: 26 oz Pullet: 24oz
Shape of Male:
COMB: Single - medium size, straight and upright, set firmly and evenly on head. moderately and evenly serrated, having five regular and distinct points, neatly arched, front not to extend beyond point half way between nostrils and point of beak, but extending well over back of head, with tendency to follow shape of neck.
BEAK: Short, stout at base, curving neatly to point.
FACE: Fine in quality, free from wrinkles folds or bristles.
EYES: Prominent, large in comparison to size of bird.
WATTLES: Large, pendant, rather long, fine in texture, free from wrinkles or folds.
EAR LOBES: Medium size, elongated oval, about two thirds length of wattles, fine in texture, free from wrinkles or folds.
HEAD: Short, broad, deep, well feathered over eyes, juncture with neck well defined, carried so that line drawn parallel with top of tail will bisect eyes, beak slightly back of line drawn perpendicular with breast.
NECK: Short, well proportioned, gracefully arched from back to rear of head.
HACKLE: Extremely long and abundant, flowing gracefully and plentifully over back, shoulders and fronts, forming closely joined cape in front of neck.
BACK: Short, broad from shoulders to saddle, quite rounded in entire length.
SADDLE: Rising from back at base of hackle or cape, very broad and round, convexed from side to side, plumage extremely long and profuse, lower saddle feathers flowing over tips of wings and mingling with fluff and underplumage of tail.
TAIL: Short, well spread at base, filled underneath with an abundance of soft feathers which are overlapped by coverts and lesser sickles, the whole forming one unbroken duplex curve with back and saddle.
Main Tail - Feathers very broad, soft and without hard quills.
Sickles and lesser sickles - broad, soft, rounded, without hard quills.
Coverts - abundant, concealing main tail feathers.
WINGS: Small, closely folded, carried very high, above thighs.
Shoulders and fronts - concealed by hackle and breast feathers.
Bows - smooth, exceedingly well rounded.
Coverts - Broad, prominent.
Primaries - Moderate length, concealed by secondaries.
Secondaries - Broad, closely folded, tapering convexly to stern, tips and part of wing bay concealed by saddle feathers.
BREAST: Carried well forward, extremely full, well rounded, of great breadth and depth, heavily feathered.
BODY AND STERN:
Body - medium length, broad, deep, well rounded from point of breast to abdomen; abdomen carried well down between the legs, broad and well rounded from breast bone to tail, depending more for fullness on length of feathers than muscular development.
Stern - very full; fluff, soft and abundant.
LEGS AND TOES:
Legs - short, but not so short as to permit breast feathers to touch the ground where there should be an inch of clearance, stout, parallel to each other without bowing or knock knees, hidden by plentiful fluff, standing out in globular form.
Lower Thighs - moderate length, stout at top and tapering to hocks; plumage, long, soft, outstanding, extending well down the shanks, and covering knee or hock joints.
Hocks - covered with soft flexible feathers, curving inward about the hocks, free from vulture-like feathering.
Shanks - short, stout in bone, nicely scaled; plumage, long beginning just below the hocks and covering front and outsides of shanks, from which it should be outstanding, the underpart growing out from under thigh plumage and continuing into foot feathering. There should be no marked break in the outlines between the plumage of these section; they should merge naturally into each other and blend together.
Spurs - small short, set high.
Toes - four, straight, well and evenly spread, middle and outer toes completely feathered to ends.
APPEARANCE: Bold, rather forward and low; the head very slightly higher than the tail.
DISQUALIFICATIONS:
Vulture hocks - Bare middle and/or outer toe - Bottoms of feet showing complete absence of yellow in all varieties - Shanks and toes of a color other than hereinafter described under the particular variety.
DEFECTS:
Comb that is oversized, twisted or lopped - High carriage of head - Breast so low that feathers touch the ground - Low wing carriage - Stiffness in tail feathers - High carriage of keel - Crooked breast or keel bone - Overall appearance of being a creeper - Concave surface in any section - Lack of down fiber in underfluff - Any semblance of stiltiness.
Bantams - Shape of Male
from the American Bantam Association Bantam Standard
Origin: Imported to England from China in the 19th Century.
Weight:
Cock: 30 oz Hen: 26 oz
Cockerel: 26 oz Pullet: 24oz
Shape of Male:
COMB: Single - medium size, straight and upright, set firmly and evenly on head. moderately and evenly serrated, having five regular and distinct points, neatly arched, front not to extend beyond point half way between nostrils and point of beak, but extending well over back of head, with tendency to follow shape of neck.
BEAK: Short, stout at base, curving neatly to point.
FACE: Fine in quality, free from wrinkles folds or bristles.
EYES: Prominent, large in comparison to size of bird.
WATTLES: Large, pendant, rather long, fine in texture, free from wrinkles or folds.
EAR LOBES: Medium size, elongated oval, about two thirds length of wattles, fine in texture, free from wrinkles or folds.
HEAD: Short, broad, deep, well feathered over eyes, juncture with neck well defined, carried so that line drawn parallel with top of tail will bisect eyes, beak slightly back of line drawn perpendicular with breast.
NECK: Short, well proportioned, gracefully arched from back to rear of head.
HACKLE: Extremely long and abundant, flowing gracefully and plentifully over back, shoulders and fronts, forming closely joined cape in front of neck.
BACK: Short, broad from shoulders to saddle, quite rounded in entire length.
SADDLE: Rising from back at base of hackle or cape, very broad and round, convexed from side to side, plumage extremely long and profuse, lower saddle feathers flowing over tips of wings and mingling with fluff and underplumage of tail.
TAIL: Short, well spread at base, filled underneath with an abundance of soft feathers which are overlapped by coverts and lesser sickles, the whole forming one unbroken duplex curve with back and saddle.
Main Tail - Feathers very broad, soft and without hard quills.
Sickles and lesser sickles - broad, soft, rounded, without hard quills.
Coverts - abundant, concealing main tail feathers.
WINGS: Small, closely folded, carried very high, above thighs.
Shoulders and fronts - concealed by hackle and breast feathers.
Bows - smooth, exceedingly well rounded.
Coverts - Broad, prominent.
Primaries - Moderate length, concealed by secondaries.
Secondaries - Broad, closely folded, tapering convexly to stern, tips and part of wing bay concealed by saddle feathers.
BREAST: Carried well forward, extremely full, well rounded, of great breadth and depth, heavily feathered.
BODY AND STERN:
Body - medium length, broad, deep, well rounded from point of breast to abdomen; abdomen carried well down between the legs, broad and well rounded from breast bone to tail, depending more for fullness on length of feathers than muscular development.
Stern - very full; fluff, soft and abundant.
LEGS AND TOES:
Legs - short, but not so short as to permit breast feathers to touch the ground where there should be an inch of clearance, stout, parallel to each other without bowing or knock knees, hidden by plentiful fluff, standing out in globular form.
Lower Thighs - moderate length, stout at top and tapering to hocks; plumage, long, soft, outstanding, extending well down the shanks, and covering knee or hock joints.
Hocks - covered with soft flexible feathers, curving inward about the hocks, free from vulture-like feathering.
Shanks - short, stout in bone, nicely scaled; plumage, long beginning just below the hocks and covering front and outsides of shanks, from which it should be outstanding, the underpart growing out from under thigh plumage and continuing into foot feathering. There should be no marked break in the outlines between the plumage of these section; they should merge naturally into each other and blend together.
Spurs - small short, set high.
Toes - four, straight, well and evenly spread, middle and outer toes completely feathered to ends.
APPEARANCE: Bold, rather forward and low; the head very slightly higher than the tail.
DISQUALIFICATIONS:
Vulture hocks - Bare middle and/or outer toe - Bottoms of feet showing complete absence of yellow in all varieties - Shanks and toes of a color other than hereinafter described under the particular variety.
DEFECTS:
Comb that is oversized, twisted or lopped - High carriage of head - Breast so low that feathers touch the ground - Low wing carriage - Stiffness in tail feathers - High carriage of keel - Crooked breast or keel bone - Overall appearance of being a creeper - Concave surface in any section - Lack of down fiber in underfluff - Any semblance of stiltiness.