bantam modern game questions

Yes they do.   If you pay attention to them, they will become very fond of you, eating from your hand and landing on your shoulder and such.  Lovely little breed.

Yes, you can keep them outdoors in winter, but they need a coop that can be closed up and a heat lamp on at all times.  We had ours in a 6x6 A-frame coop, with a red heat bulb inside the coop, and a white heat bulb in the run.  They did just fine with that, and it did get very cold here in Ohio that winter.   I believe it went down into the 20s.

Sharon

Nonsense! I've kept them here in upstate NY where 20 below zero isn't uncommon. Never kept them under a heat lamp or any other heat source & they were fine. I have friend much further north who also keeps Modern Game Bantams over the winter w/o supplimental heat. They are as hardy as any other chicken I've ever owned.

Actually, their coldhardiness can vary depending on several factors.  Some varieties of game birds have extremely large combs, which are prone to frostbite.  However, this breed is normally dubbed (comb removed), and is then extremely hardy in cold weather.

If you decide to keep your bird, I would recommend dubbing in order to safeguard it's health. (a lot of people are against it, but dubbing does have it's place beyond cosmetic or cruelty related reasons).

I bought my Modern Game bantams at a poultry show in Columbus, a few Novembers ago.  The fellow who sold them to us was from a southern state, where it was always warmer.  He recommended to us that we provide a heat lamp for them, since our Ohio winters can get very chilly.  So that's what we did.  We noticed that the little bantams shivered almost uncontrolably without the heat lamps. 

They seemed much more comfortable when we put the lamps in, and I don't think it's NONSENSE at all, due to the fact that these particular bantams weren't  born and raised in a cooler climate.

So that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!   I wouldn't lie to ya. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishsticks 

I recently received 40 birds from ideal poultry. 20 old english, 15 cornish, and 5 modern game. I had five of the 40 chicks die wich acceptable losses. I fear that I lost my moderns. So I guess my question is do moderns have green legs? If so I have two left. Here is a pic.

Depends on the variety. BB Reds have willow-green legs.