Are these all roos!?

[redinator]

They're SO adorable. I looked in to those too but as much as I just LOVE my chickens, they are primarily for eggs for my family. I have to remind myself of that lol

I plan to breed and sell chicks, farm fresh eggs and hatching eggs . . .but I'm not sure if crossing bantams and standards would be a good idea.

Ideally they'd be medium sized, friendly chickens suited to a small yards that lay a decent sized eggs . . .but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, lol.

 

[SJsChickies]

I plan to breed and sell chicks, farm fresh eggs and hatching eggs . . .but I'm not sure if crossing bantams and standards would be a good idea.

Ideally they'd be medium sized, friendly chickens suited to a small yards that lay a decent sized eggs . . .but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, lol.

That would be cool! Wish you lived in AZ cause I'd get some from you!

 

[redinator]

That would be cool! Wish you lived in AZ cause I'd get some from you!

I'm looking into getting NIPP certified next year once all my girls are laying consistently, so still possible, lol.

 

[MROO]

I'm thinking of getting some bantams since they require less space. I'm on the fence since they're purely ornamental/pets but they're so friggin cute it makes my eyes water

There are lots of bantams that are good for egg production! I keep/raise Nankin bantams. There's never a shortage of eggs except the usual times - molting and dead-of-winter. The eggs are a bit smaller (three eggs replace two standards,) but the birds are much smaller, too. Four Nankins replace two standards, so I'm actually ahead of the game by almost half-an-egg!

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

I already posted about these babes and there’s still no definitive conclusion on breed (prob barnyard mix even though they weren’t supposed to be) but in the last week, the two light ones’ combs have pinked up like crazy! And I was told the red one was a roo already. The light ones are 9 weeks old and the red one is 7 weeks old. These were the best pics I could get this morning. They were full of energy lol

All are pullets. They’re hatchery mixes but not true accidental mixed breeds. The first two are either Rainbows or Calico Princesses. The last one is a Cinnamon Queen. This is a sexlinked cross and males are silver

 

[redinator]

There are lots of bantams that are good for egg production! I keep/raise Nankin bantams. There's never a shortage of eggs except the usual times - molting and dead-of-winter. The eggs are a bit smaller (three eggs replace two standards,) but the birds are much smaller, too. Four Nankins replace two standards, so I'm actually ahead of the game by almost half-an-egg!

OMG, you should not have told me this! (but i'm glad you did) Do you have standard sized birds too, or just bantams? Do you cross them? I have sooooo many questions, lol.

 

[MROO]

I plan to breed and sell chicks, farm fresh eggs and hatching eggs . . .but I'm not sure if crossing bantams and standards would be a good idea.

Ideally they'd be medium sized, friendly chickens suited to a small yards that lay a decent sized eggs . . .but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself, lol.

Clue: That's how most of today's bantam breeds started out! There are few "true" bantam chickens. Most were bred down using bantam out-crosses!

 

[MROO]

OMG, you should not have told me this! (but i'm glad you did) Do you have standard sized birds too, or just bantams? Do you cross them? I have sooooo many questions, lol.

I started out with all Nankins, but since they were so rare (Critically Endangered when we started) I couldn't bear to eat the eggs. It felt like I was eating bald eagle eggs! We hatched out a LOT of chicks those first few years, growing the flock and sharing with other 4H families. I hope we're at least a small part of why Nannies are now off the "Critical" list and are now listed as "Threatened!"

So - the first "outside" additions were bantam EE's. That way I could easily tell which eggs were "safe" to eat. We still have one of the original EE's and several of her half-Nankin younger ladies, all laying beautiful light-aqua eggs.

The next additions were unintended. The elementary school where I worked was trying to rehome chicks from their classroom hatching project. Have you ever tried to say "No" to seventeen earnest six-year-old faces when they pleadingly ask you to "Please, rescue our babeez!" No? I didn't think so, or you would also have a flock of teeny tiny bantams, a New Hampshire Red and a VERY large BJG! I called them my "Kindergarten Dropouts" and they obviously learned the class' "sharing" and "kindness" lessons. They were real sweethearts.

The mixed flock did so well together that, when Herman the House Rooster (his story here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/is-there-a-rooster-in-the-house.74089/) finally discovered girls, we ended up with "Boo," hatched Halloween, of course! Boo's mama is the BJG. She's a big, charcoal girl with floofy feet and she gets along just fine with the smaller birds.

So ... the current flock consists of about a dozen Nankins, three mid-sized EE hens, Boo(the gentle Giant cross) and a lone Sapphire Gem rescue. The only issues I usually have revolve around chick integration - and those involve my sassy little top hens, not the "Big Girls!"

I will note that you'll need to make sure that any roosters you keep with a mixed flock are bantams. Standard males can seriously injure smaller hens when mounting. When Herman was out with his ladies, I kept them separate so he wouldn't "lovingly" hurt my really small hens. Both of my current roosters are full Nankin.

 

[redinator]

I started out with all Nankins, but since they were so rare (Critically Endangered when we started) I couldn't bear to eat the eggs. It felt like I was eating bald eagle eggs! We hatched out a LOT of chicks those first few years, growing the flock and sharing with other 4H families. I hope we're at least a small part of why Nannies are now off the "Critical" list and are now listed as "Threatened!"

So - the first "outside" additions were bantam EE's. That way I could easily tell which eggs were "safe" to eat. We still have one of the original EE's and several of her half-Nankin younger ladies, all laying beautiful light-aqua eggs.

The next additions were unintended. The elementary school where I worked was trying to rehome chicks from their classroom hatching project. Have you ever tried to say "No" to seventeen earnest six-year-old faces when they pleadingly ask you to "Please, rescue our babeez!" No? I didn't think so, or you would also have a flock of teeny tiny bantams, a New Hampshire Red and a VERY large BJG! I called them my "Kindergarten Dropouts" and they obviously learned the class' "sharing" and "kindness" lessons. They were real sweethearts.

The mixed flock did so well together that, when Herman the House Rooster (his story here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/is-there-a-rooster-in-the-house.74089/) finally discovered girls, we ended up with "Boo," hatched Halloween, of course! Boo's mama is the BJG. She's a big, charcoal girl with floofy feet and she gets along just fine with the smaller birds.

So ... the current flock consists of about a dozen Nankins, three mid-sized EE hens, Boo(the gentle Giant cross) and a lone Sapphire Gem rescue. The only issues I usually have revolve around chick integration - and those involve my sassy little top hens, not the "Big Girls!"

I will note that you'll need to make sure that any roosters you keep with a mixed flock are bantams. Standard males can seriously injure smaller hens when mounting. When Herman was out with his ladies, I kept them separate so he wouldn't "lovingly" hurt my really small hens. Both of my current roosters are full Nankin.

I was discussing getting bantams with a friend and laughed at the idea of being challenged/tested by a bantam male. I would probably just laugh at his bravado and carry on with my day. I have one small pullet (supposed to be standard, but just runty) that my males don't seem to have an interest in. Of course she's my favorite and I really want chicks from her, so I started looking at getting a bantam male (and possibly pullets) to put her with. Time to start looking for bantams

@SJsChickies sorry for hijacking the thread

 

[MROO]

@SJChickies, Please keep us posted on your youngsters. I have my fingers crossed for a flocklet of little ladies for you!