Australian Spotted vs Mini Silver Appleyards (Silver Bantams)

[fogbubble]

I'm going to revisit an older discussion. Does anyone have Autralian Spotteds? I'm looking at Calls, Black East Indies, Mini Silver Appleyards from Holderreads (Silver Bantams is a more accurate name, I've been told), and of course Australian Spotteds. The main reason I like the Spotteds is the facial stripes on the females - I just love that and the Holderread's Appleyards don't seem to have them. I'd also like somethong that could maybe hatch out some call eggs for me later.

Are Spotteds good natural mothers that can hatch their own eggs? How do they compare to other bantam breeds? That's very important to me.

Shannon

 

[giffy]

Quote:
Shannon - Holderreads does carry true Australian Spotteds..........they are normally good mothers (will set). I have found the Silver Bantam also to be good mothers, the BEI's and Calls are hit or miss.

giffy
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[goosedragon]

Quote:
Well I happen to believe Mr. Appleyard deserves the honor of having the breed he developed named after him. Silver bantam could apply to any small silver duck. If you looked on Holderread's website you might have noted that he recommends both appleyards and Spotted for hatching call eggs. I have raised Spotteds and they do nicely in the laying and hatching departments. I have not raised appleyards.
Sorry giffy, If I had seen your post I wouldn't have answered.

 

[CityChicker]

It sounds like the Australian Spotteds are what you would like. I have kept both breeds for the last several years and both are great. Both breeds will go broody pretty easily as well. If you like the look of the eye stripes, Australian Spotteds are the one you would like. As you already know, what we call "Miniature Appleyards" in the US are actually Silver Bantams. They are dusky based, which obscures the eye stripes. There is a true Miniature Silver Appleyard (and actually the original Silver Bantams had the Appleyard color as well, they just don't now), but if we have them in the United States, I have never seen them. The closest thing we have in appearance to the true Miniature Silver Appleyards are Greenhead Australian Spotteds (not all of which are harlequin phase, the ones that are light phase, li/li, can look almost identical to Appleyards, even though they technically are not).

Anyway, I hope this helps! If you want a broody duck, either breed will work. If you want the eye stripes, go with the Aussies. I love both breeds. The Mini Appleyard/Silver Bantams though are my favorite ducks. I have been in love with that breed since my very first experiences with them when Holderread's sent me five of them as ducklings several years ago. They will always be a part of my flock. I like them that much. This year, I even got a few new pairs as adults and even those are extraordinarily tame despite not being handled. You can't go wrong with the Aussies though either. Those are a very close second as far as my favorites go.



Now Goosedragon... Silver Bantam only applies to *one* small silver duck, LOL. The ducks created by Appleyard from a White Call and Khaki Campbell. I do totally get what you are saying though as I almost found it insulting the first time I heard the name "Silver Bantam". Part of the confusion as well is that "Appleyard" has become the name of a color (light phase restricted mallard), not just a breed. There is, to me, a whole other element with this since it was the man's name. It is hard to name or un-name something when you are talking about a human being's name (at least, to me it makes the situation different). Anyway, I guess it is not really that big of a deal, but I do agree that Appleyard should get credit for the Silver Bantam (although, I doubt he would find that to be important). In reading some of his writing, I think he looked on duck breeds very differently than many of us anyway to begin with. There is also the fact that the original miniatures (or at least some of the better ones) developed by Appleyard *did* appear to be the same color as their larger counterparts. The color changed over time to the Snowy color being the predominate (or only) version. It is the Snowy birds that became known as "Silver Bantams" since they were different from the large Appleyards. What Tom Bartlett did was basically recreate the Silver Appleyard in a true miniature form, something that had apparently vanished by that time. So, in effect, Appleyard's original bantam duck does still carry his name. It is just not available in the US.

The Silver Bantam simply became its' own breed (probably because the birds with the correct coloring were few and far between even in Appleyard's flock) and Appleyard is still credited with creating those birds as well. I think in the future, I may start calling the bantams here in the US, "Appleyard's Silver Bantam". Maybe that will be less confusing.

 

[fogbubble]

I'm wondering about personality and friendliness. How do Holderread's Mini Appleyards compare to Spotteds? Is one breed more charming, as a whole, than the other? I know that's a subjective question.
I'm leaning toward the Spotteds because I like the eye stripes (as I mentioned earlier), and also because they're less confusing to talk about! But I'm still considering others.

Thanks,
Shannon

 

[wb7qni]

Shannon,

We have a flock of 30+ Australian Spotteds and can sell you some hatching eggs if you'd like. We love these ducks and have found they make excellent mothers. Check out our BYC site, which has photos and more descriptions of these ducks.

James Li
Friendship, Maine