Bantam chickens.. a friendly discussion about all pure and mixed breeds.

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I have order sexed bantams multiple times from My Pet Chicken and they are always sexed correctly. I find it's worth the extra money to get the females if that's what I want. Straight run is definitely cheaper, but than I end up with a bunch of adorable roosters I gotta figure something out for.

That's good to know! Especially since I've been eyeballing those bantam Barred Plymouth Rocks for a while now... Not that I would be getting those any time soon on top of the OEGBs and Moderns I want to get in the very near future.


What all do you have from them?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That's good to know! Especially since I've been eyeballing those bantam Barred Plymouth Rocks for a while now... Not that I would be getting those any time soon on top of the OEGBs and Moderns I want to get in the very near future.


What all do you have from them?

About 10 years ago I had gotten silkies from them. Than through the years a few bantam cochins, frizzle and their mottled, as well as d'uccle.

Last year I tried some bantam Easter eggers. Next year I want to get a couple more of the bantam Easter eggers, a couple of bantam welsummer, and a bantam barred rock rooster. He will run with my standard flock.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Nice! I've gotten Mottled Cochins and one (smooth) Frizzled Black Cochin through Meyer Hatchery, which I understand is where MPC gets some of their chicks, and love them to bits, the little stinkers! How are the bantam EE hens for personality? I've gotten bantam EEs a couple times, also through Meyer's, but only ever got cockerels and they're flighty, aggressive little buttheads.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Nice! I've gotten Mottled Cochins and one (smooth) Frizzled Black Cochin through Meyer Hatchery, which I understand is where MPC gets some of their chicks, and love them to bits, the little stinkers! How are the bantam EE hens for personality? I've gotten bantam EEs a couple times, also through Meyer's, but only ever got cockerels and they're flighty, aggressive little buttheads.

The roos are a pain. The hens aren't super friendly, but I don't handle my chickens much. I do like the little green eggs from them. Meyers and MPC share incubators and the stock I believe is the same. I like MPC because of their great website, and customer service.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Ah, yeah, I wondered if that was the case based on the cockerels I've gotten. I don't need my birds to be clingy or anything, but I like to be able to handle them when I want or need to without them losing their minds.

I've gone through Meyer's mostly because it's within driving distance and my preference is not to have chicks shipped if I can avoid it. I wonder if they'd let you pick up a MPC order at Meyer's, though? Having that kind of access to sexed bantam pullets whenever I feel like may get me in even more trouble!

 

[MysteryChicken]

I just want to clarify something... I've seen a LOT of Silkies from Hoover's. That's where most of the feed stores around here get their chicks. They don't actually have some special large fowl line, they just have poorly bred bantam Silkies that are too large as per the standard, among other DQs. They're probably large enough you could get away with calling them large fowl, but truthfully, it's just a lack of proper selection for size, type, and other Silkie traits in their stock that causes them to look the way they do. That said, they would be a good starting point for someone to breed large fowl Silkies from, given enough generations crossing to better stock and selecting for that larger size!

Personally, I like some of the Hoover's Silkies I've seen much more than any faceless show quality Silkie out there. That's just my preference, no offense meant to any of you Silkie fans! I really love the ones with sparse to no leg feathering, no crest, and no beard, the ones that sometimes have a single comb and wattles but still have darker skin. I could even take that kind in pure white, I like them that much.

...Yeah, I know, I'm weird.

Hoover's Hachery has been around since 1944, so they must carry Original Chinese Silkie bloodlines. They've been around for 75yrs.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Had to catch up, wasn't getting notifications.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Hoover's Hachery has been around since 1944, so they must carry Original Chinese Silkie bloodlines. They've been around for 75yrs.

Not sure how Hoover's opening in 1944 makes a difference? Silkies have been in North America since at least the 1800's. By the 1905 Standard of Perfection (the earliest copy I own, so I can't really check any further back), they were already described as 'compact'. Bantam Silkies would have been commonplace by 1944.

None of that really matters, though, because Hoover's literally have their Silkies listed as bantams. Large fowl Silkies, true large fowl Silkies, are rare, and those working with them sell them for higher prices than you'd find them at a hatchery. It's sort of like buying an 'Americauna' at a hatchery; if it's being sold for a few dollars, you aren't getting a rare breed. I've seen Hoover's stock and dealt with it. It's not some rare bloodline. It's actually pretty standard for hatchery quality Silkies.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Not sure how Hoover's opening in 1944 makes a difference? Silkies have been in North America since at least the 1800's. By the 1905 Standard of Perfection (the earliest copy I own, so I can't really check any further back), they were already described as 'compact'. Bantam Silkies would have been commonplace by 1944.

None of that really matters, though, because Hoover's literally have their Silkies listed as bantams. Large fowl Silkies, true large fowl Silkies, are rare, and those working with them sell them for higher prices than you'd find them at a hatchery. It's sort of like buying an 'Americauna' at a hatchery; if it's being sold for a few dollars, you aren't getting a rare breed. I've seen Hoover's stock and dealt with it. It's not some rare bloodline. It's actually pretty standard for hatchery quality Silkies.

Not arguing, but the silkies originally from China are medium-sized birds weighing about 5-6lbs average. Bantam Silkies were produced by crossing the original standard silkies with bantams to produce colored silkies, & of a smaller stature.

 

[MysteryChicken]

A lot of the history behind the Silkie breed has been lost over time, thanks to cross breeding, over the years, so nobody really knows what size they really were.