Your opinion on 'pretty' bantams

Sjeane

In the Brooder
6 Years
Aug 15, 2013
87
6
43
Evans, Louisiana
OK, i am looking for a good docile, friendly bantam breed. My wife wants them to be "pretty" and i just want them to have a randomness in color variants/pattern when it comes to breeding. Hatching eggs just seems so much more exciting when it comes to randomness in color imo. will more than likely be ordering from a hatchery. i normally deal with Ideal, but willing to look elsewhere based on following posts.

My wife's opinion on "pretty" excludes all silkies/polish. she loves the sebright pattern/look but i just don't care for a flock of birds that all look the same. she thinks silkies and frizzles are ugly. (but i love them
sad.png
)

I was thinking of getting one of the d'uccle varieties but was unsure. What do yall think?
 
D'Uccles and bantam cochins are so sweet. Bantam cochins come in lots of colors and you can of course have them interbreed so your chicks will be various colors.

D'Uccles fly VERY well!! Like little helicopters. However they don't like to stray very far from the coop.

I love both these breeds. The d'Uccle roosters can be ornery.

I thought my Cochin roosters were sweet when I had them but I didn't keep them long enough to really be able to say how nice they are.

Just so you know, the "broody bantams" don't lay very well and when they are broody they stop laying. If they are just pets and eggs are just extra then no worries.

Cochins are VERY broody. They are extremely docile and make great pets. D'Uccle hens make great pets as well.

Easter Eggers come in bantam size as well, and they were decent layers for me, at least in the non-wintertime (I don't remember how well they layed in cold weather.)

So you might consider some bantam EEs to mix in.
 
just the kind of response i was looking for! i have a coop full of standard RiR's for eggs, so these bantams will just be for novelty/breeding hobby. Are EE's close to the same as Ameracaunas? we had some standard ameracaunas last year and they were extremely skittish/crazy acting but loved their colors. My wife is wanting some pretty chickens that she could handle and tend to and wont go off flying whenever she enters the pen. was really considering the cochins, but her dad has standard cochins and she doesnt like their build with their big poofy butts lol. I think she is just too picky :p
 
just the kind of response i was looking for! i have a coop full of standard RiR's for eggs, so these bantams will just be for novelty/breeding hobby. Are EE's close to the same as Ameracaunas? we had some standard ameracaunas last year and they were extremely skittish/crazy acting but loved their colors. My wife is wanting some pretty chickens that she could handle and tend to and wont go off flying whenever she enters the pen. was really considering the cochins, but her dad has standard cochins and she doesnt like their build with their big poofy butts lol. I think she is just too picky :p
Ameraucanas from a hatchery are generally Easter Eggers, unless they are true Ameraucanas (they can only be certain colors and true to type of the breed).

Some EEs are friendly and calm, and others very skittish. My bantams were pretty calm but didn't seek out human contact.

The standard cochins just aren't as attractive as the bantams IMO. I tried them as well and didn't like the "lines" of the breed. To each his/her own LOL. She really might be pleased with the disposition of them.

You may wish to try all the breeds you are interested in at once and then sell off the ones you don't want to keep. If you order them all at once they will get along with each other and there is nothing wrong with barnyard mixes unless you are trying to be a breeder.
 
Last edited:
Great idea :) thanks for the info! going to try to find some local d'Uccles and if i cant i think will order the EE/ d'uccle combo. not really looking to be a breeder. but would love to breed some out that were suitable enough to show in the fair.
 
Went to a poultry swap this morning. traded off my white with black tailed japs for 3 golden neck d'uccle's and 2 black silkie bantams haha. my wife dont know about the silkies yet :p maybe she wont kill me. fingers crossed that with the d'uccles atleast 1 is a cockerel and 1 is pullet.
 
Went to a poultry swap this morning. traded off my white with black tailed japs for 3 golden neck d'uccle's and 2 black silkie bantams haha. my wife dont know about the silkies yet :p maybe she wont kill me. fingers crossed that with the d'uccles atleast 1 is a cockerel and 1 is pullet.

I've had Mille Fleur D'Uccles and they are a beautiful and friendly breed. Another breed that comes in a number of color varieties and are very friendly and gentle are Cochin (Pekin) Bantams. My children easily made lap pets of our Cochins Bantams.
 
I've had Mille Fleur D'Uccles and they are a beautiful and friendly breed. Another breed that comes in a number of color varieties and are very friendly and gentle are Cochin (Pekin) Bantams. My children easily made lap pets of our Cochins Bantams.

Thanks for the information! My first time to be owning some D'uccles and these chicks i got are only around 2 weeks old and their little wings are already so well defined and they are trying to fly around my brooder lol.


OOhhh congrats!

thanks!
 
Thanks for the information! My first time to be owning some D'uccles and these chicks i got are only around 2 weeks old and their little wings are already so well defined and they are trying to fly around my brooder lol.



thanks!

You're welcome. Good luck with your bantams.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom