Bantams!?!? whaaaa???? :/

[scottiedogscott]

ok i am very confused now. can someone just explain the bantam/chicken difference??? i understand they are smaller but are they completely different because it seems that every breed/type of chicken is a bantam also. im just really confused, could someone try and explain it to me

thanks

 

[flakey chick]

Bantams are chickens. Standards are regular size. Bantams are small size. The one analogy I can think of is poodles. There are standard size poodles which are much larger than the miniature poodles.

 

[scottiedogscott]

ok so every breed like the wyandotte, maran, rhode island red, orpington or whatever can be in both chicken or bantam form?

 

[risurocket]

I'm still pretty new, but I will try my hand and you will most likely get a better explanation from someone more knowledgeable.
OK there are bantam variants of many breeds but not all and there are also true bantams which do not have a standard size like Silkies.
Here's the often referred to chart for breeds. It should mention whether or not they are true bantams and whether or not the standard breed has a "mini me" to go with it.

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

 

[scottiedogscott]

THANKS! yes that has cleared it up.

so marans, orpingtons, plymouth rocks, wyandottes and sussexs all come in bantom form.

thats all i need to know

also these breeds good starters?

 

[risurocket]

depending on what you want to do with them, most of the list you have are mentioned, are docile and easy to handle and hardy in cold weather. The chart will also list attributes so you can match the desired traits you want with a chicken. Also, mypetchicken.com has a very nice breed selection tool that can help with this.

http://www.mypetchicken.com/breedQuestions.aspx

 

[amazondoc]

And just to add to the confusion --

You can have bantams or standards. Standards are also sometimes called "large fowl". And "large fowl" can ALSO be broken down into either "heavy" or "light" classifications.

bantam
standard (large)
--standard light
--standard heavy

 

[Guitartists]

Many breeds have been bred into bantam form because, well... you can fit more bantams into a space and some breeds make really nice eye candy

If you get them in bantam form... you can have more pretty chickens running around!

There are some breeds like the Sebright that are ONLY found in bantam form. True bantams.

 

[scottiedogscott]

also does being a bantam variety of a breed reduce their egg laying abilities? in quantity? i know the eggs would be smaller

 

[Guitartists]

From what I've read on the boards... it's a lot like standard birds... varies breed to breed and from hen to hen.