Their cuteness is undeniable. With fluffy feathers, feathered feet, and a rounded body shape, Cochin Bantams have a distinct low-to-the-ground stance that makes them look like walking puffballs. Their charming appearance, paired with their famously friendly temperament, has won over poultry enthusiasts for generations. A “Surprise Feather Color” Cochin Bantam takes that excitement to the next leve. You’ll not only get their delightful personality, but also the thrill of discovering what unique feather color or pattern your new little companion will grow into.
Feather Colors
Ordering a Surprise Feather Colored Bantam Cochin is like unwrapping a feathered gift. Your chick may mature into one of the classic colors such as black, buff, white, barred, or partridge—or you may be surprised with something far rarer and extra-special, like splash, blue, mottled, or even the highly distinctive frizzle trait, where feathers curl forward for a one-of-a-kind look.
Watching them develop is half the fun—their chick down often hints at possibilities, but the full glory of their adult feathering unfolds as they grow.
Egg Gifting
Gifts 2–4 small light brown eggs per week. Though they aren’t champion layers, their adorable “fairy eggs” are a delightful bonus to their main role as feathered companions.
Personality
Cochin Bantams are iconic for being gentle, friendly, and people-loving, and often the first to hop into a lap or follow you around the yard. Despite their fluffy appearance, they are smaller than they look, with roosters averaging about 32 oz and hens about 28 oz. Their heavy feathering adds to their rounded, low stance, further enhancing their charm.
Cochin Bantam hens are also renowned for broodiness and make excellent mothers, often hatching and raising not only their own chicks but also those of other poultry.
Because of their thick feathering, they do best in cooler climates with dry shelters during winter, though care must be taken to keep their feathers from getting wet or iced. In hot weather, they need extra shade and cool water to prevent overheating. Their short legs and round build mean they are not fast movers, so secure housing and predator-proof runs are essential to keep them safe.
History
Tracing back to their Chinese ancestors imported to Britain and America in the 1800s, Cochin Bantams quickly captivated keepers with their unusual fluff and roundness. Though they are named after their large Cochin relatives, Bantam Cochins developed their own distinct characteristics through careful American breeding, resulting in their compact size, round stance, and unique color variations.
Some carry the fascinating frizzle feather trait, where their plumage curls forward instead of lying flat, making them feathered marvels admired by enthusiasts worldwide.
Sexing Method and Accuracy:
Bantams are generally only offered as unsexed straight runs because their sex is not reliably identifiable until mature, and vent sexing is unsafe for bantam breeds. To assist families, we offer unsexed chicks with our female coverage option or DNA-sexed females. Without DNA sexing, plan for roughly 50% or more of your order to be roosters. Some families order extra female covered chicks to ensure they get the number of girls they want, returning roosters for a store credit to use toward organic feed, more birds, or flock care.
Chick: Bantam Cochin
Most families are attracted to obtaining their chickens from us because we are proud to be completely different than typical feed store/ hatchery industry standards. Industry standard is to sex as accurately as possible and sell as pullets (female chicks) and force customers to accept a >10% chance of an accidental rooster without the ability to accept returns nor refunds. In addition, industry standard is to sell bantams (such as silkies) as straight runs since they are too small for safe vent sexing. We offer multiple sexing options.
Male
If you are lucky enough to have a rooster, our male sexing option is a great way to save money on a wonderful breed.
Unsexed
This option means that the chicks have not yet been sexed and are sold as a straight run. While nature usually averages half girls and half boys in high volumes, families should only order if prepared for >50% possible roosters.
Female Coverage
This is our most economical choice for families seeking a female. We kept city ordinances that restrict rooster ownership in mind. This option is great for families that want to enjoy a backyard flock of ladies. We use traditional sexing methods on the breeds that capable of being vent sexed, home accidental roosters, and issue store credit of original purchased price. To learn more about how we sex baby chicks based on their breed view: How to Sex Chickens.
Depending on the breed, sexing accuracy can range as low as 50% for bantam breeds, 90% for standard breeds, and as high as 95% for auto sexing breeds. Our female coverage option is not a service fee for sexing the chick, it is the cost difference between purchasing a male or a female chicken. We do not believe in grinding males alive nor suffocating them as day olds to enable a profit when selling a stated female chick at ridiculously low prices. Thus, our female pricing takes into consideration the male left behind with each female purchased. Male chicks are typically half the price of a female.
To qualify for rehoming, the rooster must remain in perfect health. If the family decides to return the rooster, a store credit in the amount of original purchase price is provided. As a family, you are welcome to decide to keep any accidental rooster and forfeit the credit.
DNA Sexed Female Chicks
For families that get emotionally bonded quickly and do not want to risk a future discovery of a rooster, we offer DNA sexing. DNA sexing is the only true accurate method of sexing baby chicks. DNA testing is a significantly higher financial investment. In most cases, it is 3x the cost as (1) female sex covered chick.
Balance accuracy with financial investment
The sexing decision is one that needs to be made at time of purchased and the original order cannot be altered once the order is fulfilled. It is important as a family to determine the right balance between sexing accuracy and financial investment for your family’s situation.
We provide as much information on our website as possible to ensure families make an informed decision based on their situation and lifestyle. Some breeds are more accurate in sexing and most families find our female coverage adequate in providing a free home for their accidental rooster (up to $100 savings) and use the store credit towards a replacement or our organic feed. While harder to sex bantam breeds, or families that know they will develop a with strong emotional attachment prefer to invest in DNA sexing.