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

[chickens really]

Brr, already so cold there! We were only around -2° C here this morning (nothing on your temps, I know!), but everyone's running around out in the yard still, even my practically naked Cochin bantam, Bryony, who decided to lose 80% of her feathers at the end of October!

Yes..That's not cold for a Chicken. Here it's way too cold.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Haha, I know. That was more a comment on my usually quite winter-hardy Cochin going naked for the winter.

 

[chickens really]

Haha, I know. That was more a comment on my usually quite winter-hardy Cochin going naked for the winter.

I understand..I was just saying here she would definitely be cold today..

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Oh yeah, if it were that cold here, she'd be cozied up inside in the spare room again with my OEGBs for company.

 

[BDutch]

Because of an reaction (2 pages back) I wonder what female bantam chickens cost in de US/Canada. You say its expensive and difficult to buy pullets. How come?

In the Netherlands and Belgium you can buy bantam girls for 10 - 20 euro, depending on the breed and age. They are often sold from 10 - 16 weeks old . A mixed breed and chicks from 6 weeks often cost no more then 5 - 10 euro with garantee to swop if you bought a young rooster.

We can buy these e.g. at specialiced pet shops. But most people come together ( buy/sell ) through a online market place. People put free adds online and buyers search hobbyists that sell chicks and chickens. The roosters are often for free. Last year I sold my beautifull noisy rooster for a bottle of wine.

Btw. Temp is here 5°C at night.

 

[chickens really]

Here I buy Pullets for $10 each. Layers depending on breeds sell for $15 to $20 Canadian.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

As far as I know, practically the only way to get sexed bantam chicks in the U.S. is through one or two hatcheries unless you get very lucky with the breeders in your area. Last I checked on one of those hatcheries (MyPetChicken), they charge around 15-20 USD per sexed female bantam chick, plus a substantial shipping charge, which quickly adds up. On top of that, sexing day-old bantams usually ends up being less accurate than sexing large fowl chicks, meaning that despite paying extra for females, it's pretty likely you'll end up with a male among your chicks.

Getting older pullets or hens isn't always simple, either. In my area, at least, hardly anyone sells bantam pullets or hens alone. You get pairs or trios, sometimes quads if you're lucky, so at least one male per every 1-3 females. Same goes for any rare or showy breed of large fowl. In places where roosters are disallowed, this makes it near impossible to get adult bantams because those boys are already crowing and will cause problems with the neighbors.

Getting large fowl egg laying hybrid hens is easy, though. I've seen those go for as low as 5 USD a head at point of lay.

 

[Fueron]

I just set a bunch of Dutch Bantam eggs! I hope I get some nice birds out of my hatches this winter.

 

[chickens really]

I just set a bunch of Dutch Bantam eggs! I hope I get some nice birds out of my hatches this winter.

How exciting!! ..

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

As far as I know, practically the only way to get sexed bantam chicks in the U.S. is through one or two hatcheries unless you get very lucky with the breeders in your area. Last I checked on one of those hatcheries (MyPetChicken), they charge around 15-20 USD per sexed female bantam chick, plus a substantial shipping charge, which quickly adds up. On top of that, sexing day-old bantams usually ends up being less accurate than sexing large fowl chicks, meaning that despite paying extra for females, it's pretty likely you'll end up with a male among your chicks.

Getting older pullets or hens isn't always simple, either. In my area, at least, hardly anyone sells bantam pullets or hens alone. You get pairs or trios, sometimes quads if you're lucky, so at least one male per every 1-3 females. Same goes for any rare or showy breed of large fowl. In places where roosters are disallowed, this makes it near impossible to get adult bantams because those boys are already crowing and will cause problems with the neighbors.

Getting large fowl egg laying hybrid hens is easy, though. I've seen those go for as low as 5 USD a head at point of lay.

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.