Are bantams more delicate?

[Erin80]

Obviously they’re smaller, but are they more delicate health wise than standards? I have a mix of babies here and to me, the standards seem more robust and energetic than the bantams. The bantams seem to sleep more and just don’t seem as energetic....but maybe that will change. They all have their energy bursts but I just see a difference between the two.

 

[Chicalina]

perhaps in a mixed group with LF, they aren't getting first dibs on food and water, the best warm sleeping spots etc. They are competing for resources with bigger siblings.

Just a thought.

 

[Mellowmalt]

ok reading your post I have had to make some assumptions that you have baby bantams for the first time as chicks. Thee's a big difference between a bantam chick and a fully grown bantam. They can be very energetic and feisty for such a small bird but when they are chicks it is a completely different story.
Like regular chicks are strong on their feet as soon as they are born, need a bit of heat to start with but then grow and feather up fast and can even be taken out of the brooder at 4 weeks if it is warm enough outside.

Bantams on the other hand are a little bit different raising them in my limited experience. Like with bantams I expect them to mainly just sleep and need more warmth than a regular chick. I would compare a 1 week old bantam chick to having the energy levels of a bigger breed chick when it is first born.

So first week, lets of sleeping is normal imo and they need heat far longer then a regular chick in my experience, then once the feathers are fully formed they can handle more extremes. At 8-10 weeks old they can go outside so they need twice as long in the brooder than a regular chick imo.
I did not realize this when I started with bantams and I don't see it as an issue as bantams stay smaller and I might just be pampering them but they start shivering much more easily so I give them twice as long to grow up, once they are grown up they are very robust strong birds imo but they do stay in the chick stage of needing heat and sleep more intially.

 

[Erin80]

perhaps in a mixed group with LF, they aren't getting first dibs on food and water, the best warm sleeping spots etc. They are competing for resources with bigger siblings.

Just a thought.

I’m sorting them tomorrow, so standards will be with standards and bantams with bantams in separate brooders. I’ve only had them for a day

 

[TheCrochetChick]

I have 2, 2 week old bantams and 2, 4 day old bantams in with a mix of 4,3 +2 week old regular chicks in my brooder and i have had no problems at all. Actually, the bigger chicks are taking care of the runts! Its so cute! But, yeah i do think bantams are delicate- right now i have on the size of a grape- NO, I'M NOT KIDDING, A GRAPE. She is so small! She wouldnt even tip the scale when i tried to weigh her! OMG! And she is one os my most spicy birds- she bosses all the other big chicks around like she doesnt even know she is a midget! Its unbelieveable.

 

[Coops Dad]

I have a few 3-week old Silkies that we got as day-olds and they're in with 14 standards that we hatched out a few days before we got the Silkies, so they're definitely pint sized in comparison. They don't know it, though, and are as food motivated as any chicks I've ever had, and are willing to get into the feeder by coming in UNDER the larger chicks. That said, they seem mellower when they're not starvin' like Marvin. They're also less skittish and a lot friendlier than the others.

I generally don't like bantams but I like these little bundles of personality.