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

[Arbutus Peregrine]

Thanks. My Kids are fantastic..I had them up in my pasture walking the other day. View attachment 1993134View attachment 1993135View attachment 1993136

That’s a winter wonderland of snow!!

 

[chickens really]

An adventure!!!

Yes. They love going for walks..
I'm going to begin hiking with them in the spring..

 

[chickens really]

That’s a winter wonderland of snow!!

Yes..We definitely get our share of snow here. Wonderland not so much to me? I wonder why I live in this frozen land....

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

If six peewee eggs in ten days is swimming...then I sure am!!! It's exciting each time I find one. I originally thought there were two girls laying since I found two eggs on a Saturday afternoon. But then I realized it is actually just one little girl laying. She must have laid a morning and afternoon egg that first day?!!! She was so exhausted that afternoon sitting by the ramp up to the coop with her eyes closed. Just waiting and hoping for it to be bedtime!! She laid the two that first day and then skipped a day for her third egg. By the third egg, all have been clean--no blood. Also, since the first day, all the eggs have been afternoon eggs. After laying the third egg, she took four days off! But now she has laid three eggs in three days. I'm very impressed. I think today's egg was slightly bigger but I don't have a scale. I might measure around it. It seems to have more "girth!" I poached two of the eggs one morning and they were delicious! Extremely hard shells! Very exciting stuff!! I congratulate the entire flock whenever there's an egg! Ha! But I tell them... NO PRESSURE!!! I still love you without eggs! I'm pretty scared of having an egg bound hen and not being around to help. Has that happened with any of you?

Yeah, they can be a bit all over the place with those first eggs! Sounds like she's getting it figured out, though!

I've only once had an eggbound hen, yes. Going on 15 years of chicken-keeping, though, so if that's any indication it's not a very common thing to happen! Liquid calcium supplement and warm baths are about all you can do for it, really. My hen, I also kept in a warm, dark cage until she finally passed the egg.

Handsome guy! I love my three Sebright girls! They absolutely do not want to be held...but they LOVE perching on me constantly. Here are Adalind, Celia and Janet. Not the best pic...but all in it together! They are 23-1/2 weeks.

Lovely birds, and lovely names! They're precious!

#farmlife
But I say... DO GET ATTACHED! Keep your heart open and allow it to be broken. It will grow stronger and each time the love will be deeper.

Absolutely!

Here's the end!!

So precious!! I love how she fixed up her nest at the end before hopping out!

Thank you all for your immensely kind words. So encouraging, which is exactly what I needed right now. Just to clarify, I'm not completely giving up on keeping poultry....there simply need to be some modifications made before adding to the flock again. Had I not been outside last night, Lancelot would've been added to the list of victims. Thankfully, he escaped relatively unscathed, but that hawk had a nasty grip on him. We've lost 20 babies within the last month and a half. It's time for a change.

@chickens really , those little faces just stole my heart!

@pipdzipdnreadytogo and @Arbutus Peregrine , here are my birds! Though only Pipsqueak (green budgie) was hand fed, Maus (recessive pied) is about as gentle. Sadly, my beloved male Zebra Finch passed away a few months ago (last picture), but I just had to include him. He fathered many stunning babies, including the mischievous female in picture #2.

~Alex

TOO cute!! That double-barred is stunning!

My Dutch Bantams are growing out excellently. They are about a month old. I am getting ready to move them into a grow-out pen soon!

What percent protein feed do you guys start your bantams on?

Same as my LFs, though I don't remember off the top of my head. 18-20% I think?

EDIT: It's 18%. I use non-medicated Nutrena NatureWise chick starter.

Question about MITES!!!
First, I'm guessing I don't have them...but wanted to check with you all, just in case.
My chickens are exactly 25 weeks old today. I was holding one of my D'Uccle pullets (who has been getting more cuddly lately) and I noticed she is missing a ton of feathers under her beak--top of her neck and her "chin." Then I looked at my D'Uccle cockerel and he is the same. I picked up my other two D'Uccle pullets and one shows some signs of possibly missing a few feathers in the same area and the third doesn't seem to be missing feathers. Now these four are very bonded! I always think it's amazing in a mixed flock...how the breeds still often prefer each other! The only ones of mine who seem less "prejudiced" (and actually they all really do fine with each other...) are the Blue Splash Rosecombs and Dutch--maybe because they just look so much alike except for their combs! Anyhow, the D'Uccle rooster has been over-preened before by the girls...and this is my first hunch as to what is happening. They nearly pulled out all his chest feathers about two months ago!! They clean his face quite often, so perhaps this is just over-preening??? And maybe they are doing it to each other now? Just wanted to check in with you all and see what you think. No signs of feather loss anywhere with any of the others. Thanks for any advice!! Couple more things... There are no close-by chickens to me... the closest are two blocks away. The entire chicken house is new this year--so no old chicken material. No chickens have lived here that I know about for at least 12 years. I haven't been visiting any chickens or bringing any potential bugs home...that I know about! We do have wild birds and squirrels, but since I haven't let my birds free range in many months... they don't really have contact. I hope to let them free range again next summer after I put some bird netting up. Thanks again!

Yup, sounds like what I call beard envy. For whatever reason, some birds just get a taste for beard feathers and will pluck an entire beard if given a chance. You can attempt to remedy this by boosting protein in their food and giving them other things to occupy themselves with like hanging treats or flock blocks, but my birds free-range daily and have a huge yard when they aren't ranging with tons to do in it, and yet still some of my LF Easter-eggers end up clean-shaven every year.

As for mites, I've gotten Northern Fowl Mites a few times now in my flock and feather loss is not one of the symptoms, at least not in my experience. Crusty, flaky-looking skin and clumpy, dirty feathers around the vent are the two biggest red flags that you might have Northern Fowl mites. Bad infestations lead to sore-looking spots around the vent, too, from the little buggers chewing on the poor birds. They should be apparent especially in lighter-colored individuals, as what looks like specks of dirt moving around on their skin or in their feathers around the vent. Crested breeds get them in the crest, too. Wild birds (especially English Sparrows (Passer domesticus)) are the big vector for bringing them in, so if you have wild birds in your coop or around your birds, you could certainly end up with them one day!

Lovely birds! Is that Forrest again? Handsome guy!

 

[AusHen]

My son has chosen a boy to rule over the bantam hens.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

What a cutie!!

 

[Arbutus Peregrine]

Yes..We definitely get our share of snow here. Wonderland not so much to me? I wonder why I live in this frozen land....

Oh it's so pretty! And the land really gets to rest when it's covered in snow! Not you so much, as you haul water and deal with frozen waterers!!

 

[chickens really]

Oh it's so pretty! And the land really gets to rest when it's covered in snow! Not you so much, as you haul water and deal with frozen waterers!!

Yes.. 6 months of frozen water..

 

[Arbutus Peregrine]

Yeah, they can be a bit all over the place with those first eggs! Sounds like she's getting it figured out, though!

I've only once had an eggbound hen, yes. Going on 15 years of chicken-keeping, though, so if that's any indication it's not a very common thing to happen! Liquid calcium supplement and warm baths are about all you can do for it, really. My hen, I also kept in a warm, dark cage until she finally passed the egg.

Now we are at 18/22 days! I am blown away! I didn't think Bantams laid so many eggs! And I know it's just two of them so far. But there are about three girls who are showing lots of signs of laying soon. I have so many people wanting the eggs, so it will be fun when they do all start laying. The pullet in my profile pic, Amy, is a real cuddler. She did a squat for me yesterday! None of them have been squatters yet--not even the two who are laying! And both Ruth and Kamala (the layers) are also cuddlers. It's absolutely incredible how fast their combs change once they get close to laying. Kamala's comb seemed to double in size over night! Amy's has suddenly gotten bright red. The three Rosecombs are all really red, so they must be the fastest developers!

I'm so glad to hear that you only had an egg bound hen once! I've only seen it with other people's chickens. So far my experience is that the chicken owners ignore it and don't treat the hen and she dies a slow and painful death. I get so upset and try to reason with the owners! It's happened a few times with neighbors here in Portland and back where I'm from near San Francisco. Maybe since Bantams are overall such healthy birds and not developed for egg production...maybe they are less likely to have issues. Fingers crossed.

Lovely birds, and lovely names! They're precious!

Thanks so much! The Sebrights are just absolutely entertaining!!! I still can't tell if they are highest in the pecking order or is it the Cochins? I think it might be the Cochins due size! There just hasn't been any squabbling yet so the only time I notice is when the others back off.

So precious!! I love how she fixed up her nest at the end before hopping out!

Kamala is a quiet layer! Ruth is soooo loud!! But I cannot for the life of me get video of Ruth. She is a private layer and once I hear her making noise, I don't want to interrupt!!

Yup, sounds like what I call beard envy. For whatever reason, some birds just get a taste for beard feathers and will pluck an entire beard if given a chance. You can attempt to remedy this by boosting protein in their food and giving them other things to occupy themselves with like hanging treats or flock blocks, but my birds free-range daily and have a huge yard when they aren't ranging with tons to do in it, and yet still some of my LF Easter-eggers end up clean-shaven every year.

As for mites, I've gotten Northern Fowl Mites a few times now in my flock and feather loss is not one of the symptoms, at least not in my experience. Crusty, flaky-looking skin and clumpy, dirty feathers around the vent are the two biggest red flags that you might have Northern Fowl mites. Bad infestations lead to sore-looking spots around the vent, too, from the little buggers chewing on the poor birds. They should be apparent especially in lighter-colored individuals, as what looks like specks of dirt moving around on their skin or in their feathers around the vent. Crested breeds get them in the crest, too. Wild birds (especially English Sparrows (Passer domesticus)) are the big vector for bringing them in, so if you have wild birds in your coop or around your birds, you could certainly end up with them one day!

Hmmmm....beard envy!! That is interesting!!! Tehy are my only bearded beauties!! I'm doing a ton to keep them occupied and busy all day but I can do more. I'm going to install bird netting in my yard in Spring so that they can free range again. Once they were able to fly to the top of my fence as 12 week olds, I stopped letting them free range, sadly. Coincidentally, my resident Coopers Hawks were paying a lot more visits then...so I thought it best to keep everyone safe until I had netting up. It's going to be a project!! For now they are in and 8'x16' run/coop with lots of branch roosts, dust bathing spots, a hanging greens feeder, and sprouted seeds. I pitchfork turn the run each day and they dive-bomb worms! I cannot believe the size of worms they swallow down! Way bigger than their little beaks!! I'll keep an eye out for the mites you mention. Thank you so much for the advice! I found an informative pdf somewhere else on this website. I'll post it here. I know all the bad things will eventually happen to us--predators, mites, etc... but I sure want to postpone them or try to prevent them as much as possible!!

 

[Arbutus Peregrine]

Yes.. 6 months of frozen water..

Holy Yikes! Not to make you angry but I've only had one frozen water day so far!...But you should know that we have had a very warm Fall and Winter so far!