Looking for more info on bantams in general

[Chicalina]

Do u have any photos I can see? I am also hatching naked necks which I will breed with both.

Yes, crosses of polish with silkies? (not naked neck crosses)

 

[Coffetym]

Thank you! Hmm, maybe just the fact that they can fly over a 6 ft fence is enough to say that bantams might not be for me right now. My fenced yard has a 4 ft fence. I was thinking about building a run, but I think the max height I've seen for chicken wire at the store was 6 ft so I was gonna do that, and clearly that's not tall enough for bantams. It's unfortunate because a lot of the other things you guys say about bantams sound perfect for me. Oh well. Maybe one day when my dream of having a small farm comes true...

Oh wait, I should ask, are they flying this high with wings clipped or without?

Henrietta, here’s an idea for you. Check Amazon for bird netting. My chicken run is 40’x40’ & I ordered a 50’x50’ bird netting with 1” square holes for less than $50. I was expecting complete junk, but this stuff is actually pretty tough. The only problem I’ve had is trying to spread it out it snags on every twig, stick & root. So it takes great patience which I lack in.
My perimeter fence is 4’ high with corner posts are almost 5’. To help with the low height I put 2 8’ tall posts about 10’ apart centered equally toward the center of the pen. I mounted square tubing across the top of the posts & this helps to hold the netting up to a decent height. This will also deter aerial predators.

 

[crazy chicken ladies]

Also feel free to ask me any other general questions you have about bantams.

I don't have experience with Meyer as I'm in the UK but happy to answer anything else honestly and directly.

I have questions
Hi. I found your reply to this thread very helpful, as I've not really found a lot of info on Bantam chickens. We have 6 regular chickens, all pullets, that are all at the laying stage, therefore I get the gist of chickens, so far. Do Bantams follow the same line, as in how old they are when they start laying, the red comb and waddles turning red, etc? We're not raising them for their eggs. Our regular chickens are doing really well in that aspect. We just saw them and fell in love. We have a black OEG, a black breasted OEG and a Crele OEG. They are all really pretty and they let us hold them, most of the time.
Thanks for being so informative!

 

[NatJ]

We have 6 regular chickens, all pullets, that are all at the laying stage, therefore I get the gist of chickens, so far. Do Bantams follow the same line, as in how old they are when they start laying, the red comb and waddles turning red, etc?

Yes, bantams are just like other sizes of chickens in that respect. They may start laying at an early or late age, but it is within the range of ages that other chickens also start laying.

Comb & wattles do turn red just the same as they do in big chickens (with the obvious modifications for birds with black combs, birds with different shapes & types of combs, birds with no visible wattles because they have a beard, and so forth. All of those exist in both large chickens and bantams.)

We have a black OEG, a black breasted OEG and a Crele OEG.

Those should be fairly easy to sex by comb & wattle development, just like large fowl. The Black Breasted Red and the Crele can also be sexed by color, after they have grown a nice set of feathers (black breasts in the males, salmon-colored breasts in the females.)

 

[Chicalina]

I have questions
Hi. I found your reply to this thread very helpful, as I've not really found a lot of info on Bantam chickens. We have 6 regular chickens, all pullets, that are all at the laying stage, therefore I get the gist of chickens, so far. Do Bantams follow the same line, as in how old they are when they start laying, the red comb and waddles turning red, etc? We're not raising them for their eggs. Our regular chickens are doing really well in that aspect. We just saw them and fell in love. We have a black OEG, a black breasted OEG and a Crele OEG. They are all really pretty and they let us hold them, most of the time.
Thanks for being so informative!

What @NatJ said!

They mature pretty much the same as LF, maybe a little earlier but it's very breed specific (though I found the Barnevelders took ages). I treat my bantams the same as any other chicken. They just take up less space, lay bigger eggs for their body size, eat less and are more cute than large fowl!

It means I can have a rainbow flock of many different breeds and colours in the small space I have.

I raised some OEGB a couple years ago and loved them! So pretty, so friendly, and shaped like little rugby balls on stilts!

 

[crazy chicken ladies]

These are our girls. It's hard to get a good photo as they tend to move quickly, lol. They have totally changed in colour since we first got them as tiny babies.

 

[fluffycrow]

These are our girls. It's hard to get a good photo as they tend to move quickly, lol. They have totally changed in colour since we first got them as tiny babies.

I'm sorry but I think you've got at the very least one cockerel, very possibly two

 

[NatJ]

These are our girls. It's hard to get a good photo as they tend to move quickly, lol. They have totally changed in colour since we first got them as tiny babies.

How old are they? I think all 3 might be males, although I'm not certain.

 

[fluffycrow]

How old are they? I think all 3 might be males, although I'm not certain.

I agree, but if they're close to three months there might be hope for one

 

[Chicalina]

I agree. How old are they?