Bantams breeds

[Chandi]

I have 8 new bantams almost 3 weeks old. I ordered them from tractor supply online to be pets and eat grasshoppers in my yard. I would like more information about gender and what kinds they might be. Thank you

 

[Silkies for life]

Awwwww! They probably aren't quite old enough to tell the gender. And Welcome to BYC!

 

[Ladybird CA]

The last one is a light brahma. The two white ones are white cochins. The others are probably Old english game or Japanese. The 2nd to last one is it grey or black? Can't tell from the lighting. In the first pic I think I see a buff brahma behind the white one.

 

[jspeese]

I love bantams, but never had any because the chicks are straight run and you'd get 50% cockerels by the law of chance. And if you order, say, 25, and 12 or so turn out to be cockerels, what are you going to do with them? I hate to pay all that money (bantam chicks aren't cheap) and get a bunch of cockerels. And you can't keep a bunch of cockerels because they fight and rough up the hens. That's the reason I've never gotten any.

 

[SharW75]

I love bantams, but never had any because the chicks are straight run and you'd get 50% cockerels by the law of chance. And if you order, say, 25, and 12 or so turn out to be cockerels, what are you going to do with them? I hate to pay all that money (bantam chicks aren't cheap) and get a bunch of cockerels. And you can't keep a bunch of cockerels because they fight and rough up the hens. That's the reason I've never gotten any.

We bought a bunch of bantams one year and ended up with 13 roosters out of 19 total. We solved the problem by buying a bunch of full-sized pullets the next year. Those big girls know how to keep the cheeky little turds in their place!

Obviously I know this isn't an option for many, but we have the space and the means to keep them all.

 

[Ladybird CA]

I'm getting bantam cochin pullets- the breeder sells pullets. Docile breeds like cochin and silkie don't do much harm with each other. There are also coops that people have just for extra roosters called bachelor pads. I've heard of someone actually keeping the hens and roos separate- if the roos aren't in touch with hens they don't fight according to this person. I can't remember what breed or breeds they had though. I personally am interested in doing that one day so I can then determine the parentage of the chicks that hatch. Or if you want to buy sexed bantams Cackle and MPC sells them. I hate to think what they do with the leftover roos but it's the same with standard sexed birds anyway. When my hens go broody and I move to the country I'm probably only going to let one hen have one chick at a time. If a hen goes broody every 3 months that's 4 chicks in a year already.

 

[jspeese]

I've heard of "bachelor pads" too. But you still have to feed them. I think they would be a good option if you raise several breeds and want to keep them pure or if you raise birds for showing and want to maintain genetic diversity. I have had good luck with ordering straight run chicks (i.e., roughly 50-50 or at any rate, I always got enough hens) but I hate to do that with real expensive breeds. I would have loved to have gotten the lavender Orpingtons at the feed store, but they were expensive and straight run.