Hi. Yesterday I went to buy some Cornish Cross at the feed store, and came back with four of them... as well as a Japanese bantam and a Houdan. To be honest, I've wanted a bantam for a while, but never really done any research on them, and I have a few questions. Firstly, do they grow faster than standards? And "Arashi," as I've been calling the chick, was straight run. When will I be able to tell if it's a roo or hen? Also, I know that the Japanese Bantams are supposed to have short legs. Is this just in breeder's quality birds, or in hatchery-based birds too?
And, this is my biggest concern... I have a lot of birds, more than twenty, and they are all standards. They are all big, very friendly breeds like Brahmas who aren't likely to be super aggressive, as well as one flighty Lakenvelder who is pretty submissive. I have two large adjoined runs, with a coop in each, but during the summer the second run and coop will be used to separate my meat birds from the rest. The first run is still pretty big, but not nearly as large as it is when the chickens have access to both.
So, once my meat birds are "harvested," I will have about fifteen birds, and two of them are roos, one Dark Cornish and one Light Brahma. If Arashi is a roo, will this be a problem? Will keeping all the standards in with her be a problem even if she is a hen?
Oh, two last minor questions, the cage said "Assorted Japanese Bantams," with pictures of adult Black-Tailed Whites, Black Tailed-Buffs, and I think (I don't remember exactly) Blacks. Most of the chicks were white, with a few mostly black ones, and two yellowish ones with a tiny bit of gray speckling on their primary feathers. Arashi was one of the yellowish ones. I think that means she was a Black-Tailed Buffs, right?
OK, last question. My friend has a breeder-quality self-blue OEG bantam hen, and she wants to breed her with Arashi if he is a roo. Any problems? Anyone ever crossed these two breeds before? Pretty or ugly chicks?
Thank you sooooo much to anyone who has answers!
And, this is my biggest concern... I have a lot of birds, more than twenty, and they are all standards. They are all big, very friendly breeds like Brahmas who aren't likely to be super aggressive, as well as one flighty Lakenvelder who is pretty submissive. I have two large adjoined runs, with a coop in each, but during the summer the second run and coop will be used to separate my meat birds from the rest. The first run is still pretty big, but not nearly as large as it is when the chickens have access to both.
So, once my meat birds are "harvested," I will have about fifteen birds, and two of them are roos, one Dark Cornish and one Light Brahma. If Arashi is a roo, will this be a problem? Will keeping all the standards in with her be a problem even if she is a hen?
Oh, two last minor questions, the cage said "Assorted Japanese Bantams," with pictures of adult Black-Tailed Whites, Black Tailed-Buffs, and I think (I don't remember exactly) Blacks. Most of the chicks were white, with a few mostly black ones, and two yellowish ones with a tiny bit of gray speckling on their primary feathers. Arashi was one of the yellowish ones. I think that means she was a Black-Tailed Buffs, right?
OK, last question. My friend has a breeder-quality self-blue OEG bantam hen, and she wants to breed her with Arashi if he is a roo. Any problems? Anyone ever crossed these two breeds before? Pretty or ugly chicks?
Thank you sooooo much to anyone who has answers!
Can anyone else answer any of my other questions? Especially whether or not I can keep him with the standards???
