Bantam breeds pro and cons

[JosieMaeChickens]

We currently have over 100 regular size hens and 2 bantams (1 Seabright and 1 Old English.) I want to add more bantams but would like some insight from y’all. I really like the idea of having only “true bantams” but I’m open to the other bantams.

Which breeds lay the most eggs?
Which breeds to avoid if egg production is important?
We currently sell eggs from our home and at a farmers market. I’ve taken 18 packs of bantam eggs before and people loved them. But with only 2 bantams it takes a while to get 18 eggs

From my understanding “true bantams” are smaller than other bantams. Is that true? How about egg size- do both types produce roughly the same size egg?

Lastly, breeding. I may breed these birds down the road. I’ve read Seabright roosters can only reproduce in warm weather- any truth to that? I’ve also read the Japanese bantams carry the “creeper” gene.

I am not looking to raise show quality birds just a small backyard flock. Any insight, breed pros and cons? Please share y’all’s experience with me. Pictures of y’all’s cuties is most definitely welcome!

 

[Egg Snatcher]

True bantam only means they did not originate from a standard bird, it is a myth that true bantams are smaller than non true. Sebrights and OEGBS are not true bantams, an example of a true bantam breed would be Millie Fleur DUccle. Both true and non true bantams lay about the same and have the same egg size. I have two sebright hens but not a rooster so I dont know about the weather. I would recomend not useing a sebright rooster, sebrights are very fragile as embryos and are hard to hatch. Japanese do carry the creeper gene (I raise japanese) You will only have an issue with this gene if you breed short leg to short leg (japanese x japanese). If you have any othr questions about bantams Id be happy to answer.

I love the bantam breed! They are so fun to watch. They eat less than my small fock of standard chickens, lay a whole lot better and are wonderful moms. Con with bantams, if they can find a spot to get out the will. Other than that I would not trade them for the world. I currently raise, 3 verities of Japanese bantam, 2 verities of D’Uccles, 6 verities of OEGBs, 2 verities of silkies, 2 verities of bantam Brahmas, Millie Fleur booted bantam, mixed bantams and several bantam projects colors.

 

[Rose Quartz]

The only thing i can input is all the bantam roosters i've had thought they were bigger than my standard size roosters and thought they could take them on. Constantly starting fights. It may have just been the personality of the bantams i had though.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I would highly recommend D’Uccles. I have both Porcelain and Mille Fleur. Mine are hardy as they come and the best foragers. I had a storm blow my steel man-door right off of the frame and a coyote took full advantage of it. I lost quite a bit of my flock, but not a single D’Uccle was injured or killed. Every single one flew up into the trees and barn rafters out of reach. They can fly better than any of my other breeds which might not be ideal for some, but for someone like me who free ranges it is a huge plus. I live where it goes sub-zero temperatures every winter and it has gotten up to 109F here in the summer. My D’Uccles really seem to handle extreme temperatures better than my other breeds. Mine go broody which is a huge plus for me since I prefer to let the hens hatch instead of dealing with an incubator. I get 3-5 eggs a week or around 200 a year (even when it was below zero I was still getting eggs from them). I love them so much that I am using them in my breeding project to create the perfect hardy compact dark brown egg layer that is perfect for someone who wants to raise chickens more naturally and free range. They don’t lay dark brown eggs obviously, but they possess many of the other characteristics that I want for my project. If they did lay dark brown eggs i probably wouldn’t need my project This is “little lemon” who is my absolute favorite chicken.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Try Cornish bantams. Mine lay a ton, though they do try to brood a lot too.

 

[NatJ]

Which breeds lay the most eggs?
Which breeds to avoid if egg production is important?

A hen does not lay eggs while she is broody. So you should get more eggs if your hens do not go broody. Some breeds are known for going broody frequently, others not so much, but each breed will still have some hens that go broody more than others.

Some hens take the winter off from laying, others do not.

If you want lots of bantam eggs you might get a bunch of bantams, then pay attention to which ones go broody and which ones stop for the winter. You can rehome or butcher the least productive birds, and buy or raise more of the most productive kinds.

You might try some Easter Egger bantams. If you order bantams from a hatchery, the hatchery is selecting for certain traits in each kind of bantam. With the Easter Egger bantams, they will be selecting mostly for colored eggs and laying ability. With the other breeds of bantams, the hatchery should be selecting for the correct feather color and pattern and comb type and body shape and so forth, which means they pay less attention to egg production.

Some breeds (bantam or otherwise) have crests on their heads, that can block their vision. I think muffs on the face can partly block vision as well, but not as badly as big crests do. Feathered feet can get muddy, and I've read that they have a higher chance of getting scaly leg mites. Silkie or frizzle feathers do not provide as much weather protection as normal feathers. You might consider whether any of those traits are important to you: some people love to have chickens with those traits, some people avoid them, some people don't much care either way.

Lastly, breeding. I may breed these birds down the road. I’ve read Seabright roosters can only reproduce in warm weather- any truth to that? I’ve also read the Japanese bantams carry the “creeper” gene.

Japanese bantams: yes, the creeper gene can be an issue. If you breed two birds with that gene, about 1/4 of chicks will inherit it from both parents, and will die before they hatch. Breeding one creeper to one not-creeper will give about half and half creeper chicks and non-creeper chicks, with none that inherit two creeper genes & die of it.

Frizzles should not be bred to each other either. Two copies of the frizzle gene make a frazzle. Frazzles have poor feather quality and often have other health issues as well.

Sebrights have the rose comb gene. A rooster with two rose comb genes is less fertile than a rooster with one or no rose comb genes. So there is a tradeoff when breeding them: either the rooster is giving a not-rose gene to some of his chicks, or he is less fertile. I don't know about the weather part of it (maybe, maybe not.)

If you are willing to breed mixes, maybe start with bantams of several different breeds, and see which hens lay how well. Then raise a son from the best-laying hen, and breed him with the other good layers. Each time you need a new rooster, keep a son from one of your best layers. That is a basic way to increase egg production in any flock, no matter what size or kind of chicken they are. You could do the same thing within a breed, so if you want purebreds that lay well, you could try several breeds and then continue with the one breed that had the most good layers.

You could also mix them with some standard breed that lays well, to increase egg production. Maybe breed a bantam with a Leghorn or a Sexlink (will probably give medium-sized chickens), keep a son from that cross, and breed him with bantam hens. That generation will probably include some medium-sized chickens and some small (bantam) ones. Raise a bunch of chicks, choose the bantam-sized ones, and then see how well they lay.

Which breeds lay the most eggs?
Which breeds to avoid if egg production is important?
We currently sell eggs from our home and at a farmers market. I’ve taken 18 packs of bantam eggs before and people loved them. But with only 2 bantams it takes a while to get 18 eggs

You might also try a few Hamburgs. They are small chickens (but not actual bantams), and they lay small eggs (not as small as bantams lay, but smaller than the common large egg breeds.) Hamburgs tend to be fairly good layers.

 

[Amer]

True bantam only means they did not originate from a standard bird, it is a myth that true bantams are smaller than non true. Sebrights and OEGBS are not true bantams, an example of a true bantam breed would be Millie Fleur DUccle. Both true and non true bantams lay about the same and have the same egg size. I have two sebright hens but not a rooster so I dont know about the weather. I would recomend not useing a sebright rooster, sebrights are very fragile as embryos and are hard to hatch. Japanese do carry the creeper gene (I raise japanese) You will only have an issue with this gene if you breed short leg to short leg (japanese x japanese). If you have any othr questions about bantams Id be happy to answer.

I love the bantam breed! They are so fun to watch. They eat less than my small fock of standard chickens, lay a whole lot better and are wonderful moms. Con with bantams, if they can find a spot to get out the will. Other than that I would not trade them for the world. I currently raise, 3 verities of Japanese bantam, 2 verities of D’Uccles, 6 verities of OEGBs, 2 verities of silkies, 2 verities of bantam Brahmas, Millie Fleur booted bantam, mixed bantams and several bantam projects colors. View attachment 3880352View attachment 3880353View attachment 3880354View attachment 3880355View attachment 3880356View attachment 3880357View attachment 3880358View attachment 3880359

Sebrights are actually a true bantam breed.

 

[Amer]

I’ve heard Dutch bantams were bred for egg production by serfs because the large eggs went to the lord but they could keep bantam eggs for themselves but I have no idea if they still lay what is considered a good number of eggs.

 

[Amer]

Sorry my bad, Dutch, not Nankins.

 

[Amer]