Bantam chicken egg production?

[GardenBlooms22]

Hi! We're raising a few bantam chicks, and I was wondering what you guys thought about their egg production? Do you find they lay as many eggs as full sized egg layer breeds? How much smaller are bantam eggs than an average chicken egg? Are they any bigger than quail eggs? Do they taste much different from an average chicken eggs?

Thanks for your time,

 

[SilverBirds]

Depends on your breed of bantam. Bantams like to go broody a LOT which can reduce their egg production, but they still lay a fair amount. I'd say around the 100-150 annually for bantams in general .My seramas eggs (which are the smallest breed of chicken) are slightly larger then that if a quail, but the larger bantam eggs can be about half the size of a standard egg. 2-3 bantam eggs equal a standard size egg. And no, they do not taste different.

 

[GardenBlooms22]

Thank you for the information @SilverBirds!

 

[zestokasis]

I think that this is an excellent post and I really hope that it takes off. I've researched bantam egg information and there really isn't a whole lot of good stuff available with regards to size and production. Having raised bantams in the past I do know that 1.The eggs taste exactly like regular full sized chicken eggs. And 2.Some breeds do lay better than others. They are bigger than quail eggs but definitely smaller than a full sized chicken egg. I typically eat 2 full sized chicken eggs per day, but when I'm eating bantam eggs I have three.

My personal breed information: Easter Egger bantams (EEB) were pretty good layers, usually 3-4 eggs a week, as well as my Mille fleur d'uccles, also 3-4 eggs a week. Typical bantam sized eggs. But both breeds did slow down a good bit during the winter months.

I'm currently raising 3 different bantam breeds.
1. Buff Brahma's
2. Rhode Island Reds
3. Barred Rocks
My hope is that by this time next year I will be able to have and share some good reliable egg stats for those breeds.

I hope others with different breeds share their bantam egg stats as well. My goal is to find a good egg laying bantam that isn't broody crazy. I understand that broodiness is a characteristic in bantams, but not all bantams broody the same. lol

 

[WIchickMama]

Awesome post, I am watching as I am looking to add bantams too

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My bantam Cornish lay crazy amounts. They're dead set brooders once they decide to sit, but with 2 brooding and 4 not, I'm overrun with eggs from that group

 

[zestokasis]

My bantam Cornish lay crazy amounts. They're dead set brooders once they decide to sit, but with 2 brooding and 4 not, I'm overrun with eggs from that group

Are they typical bantam sized eggs? And how many per week would you say that they lay?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Are they typical bantam sized eggs? And how many per week would you say that they lay?

Yeah, maybe a smidge larger than typical bantam? They're pretty round too.

When a 6 are laying, I get between 3 and 6 a day, usually 4-5. So 4 or 5 days a week per bird usually? It really is a lot of eggs for that group. If you miss a day or two, it's easy to get over run

 

[zestokasis]

Definitely sounds like it should be added to the good layer list to me. lol

 

[JacinLarkwell]

They're cute too and if you have extra males, they grow out nicely. My current male is almost too big to hold easily when I'm moving him.