bantams

[fetchdog]

i'm thinking about getting 4-6 bantam chicks this spring. i have a 5 year-old daughter who will be raising them (with supervision, of course!). Are bantams kid friendly? Also, winters get quite cold here, occasionally hitting -30 degrees F. Are they tolerant of the cold? I can put a heat lamp in the coop if necessary.

thanks,

tim

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Some breeds will do better in cold than others--brahmas & cochins for example will do better than d'uccles. As long as their coop is DRY and has NO drafts they should be fine. I lost large birds this winter to -20 temps...but surprisingly, my bantam favs, d'uccles did okay, as did the cochins. My Sultans did not. I lost five, total.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I have d'uccles and they did fine in the barn with a heat lamp. Lots of -20's this year. They are also very docile.

 

[RhodeRunner]

The bird's freindliness depends completely on the bird, but breed also can be a major determining factor. Not all bantams' breeds are known to make good pets. Light breeds such as the Old English Game, Dutch, and Seabright are known to be rather flightily. Heaver bantam breeds such as the Cochin, Braham, and Silkie are known to be friendly and make great pets for all ages.
As for the temperature issue 30 degrees F is pretty mild so I don't think you will have much of a problem. 30 degrees F is a normal day where I live and all of my birds are doing just fine, even my light breeds. If you are still worried that your birds will be cold then heaver bantams would also be a good choice because all of that plumage will help keep them warmer. You can also pick birds with smaller combs/wattles. All in all I think that birds will be fine, you may find that your biggest concerns are supplying non-frozen water and shoveling out the snow so the birds can walk.

 

[AtRendeAcres]

Brahma or Cochin

 

[Bettacreek]

I'm not exactly experienced with chickens, but when I was looking for a pet breed, it basically came down to silkies and cochin bantams. I personally like the cochins better, and from what I've heard, apparantly the cochin roos will be better IN GENERAL than the silkie roos. Friendly breeds were huge for me, since we have a 1 year old son and another babe on the way, and cochins/silkies were what we came up with. They're just chicks now, but we'll see.