Tell me about Bantam egg laying, please

[Nigellas]

So I think I made the cardinal mistake in chicken ownership - I didn't research the breed before jumping in. I recently got 3 Dutch Bantam hens - I was told that they would lay about 4 eggs a week, each. Since I live in the city, their small build seemed like a good idea, and I thought that a dozen eggs a week was plenty.

Well, I've since read that it's actually more like 1 egg per week, and that they are supposedly very small. My friend told me her bantam eggs were the size of a quarter...

I *do* want eggs - Now that I own chickens, I'd hate to have to still buy eggs, you know? Oie... I know that all hens are different, but I was hoping that you could share your own bantam egg stories with me.

 

[priszilla]

I don't have have that breed,but my OEGB's have laid pretty well but the eggs are small (like 2 equal one large egg) but they get bigger as they get older. Same for the silkies-but they are less regular layers since they want to brood more often and they just stop more.Buying eggs is just plain wrong when you are feeding and housing hens--- but it happens

 

[lurky]

I have ameraucana/ee bantam hens and i get an egg a day from each of them. Just letting you know

Also they have never gone broody even though i have read they do, and they layed all winter as well. Eggs are bigger than what you described by double is my guess.

 

[seedcorn]

bantams usually lay well in spring, decent in summer, start quitting in fall and none in winter. If it's eggs you are after, stay away from bantams.

There use to be a smaller leghorn hybrid that layed extremely well but it never caught on commercially so haven't seen them around.

 

[Darin115]

I have several breeds of bantams. The black rose comb by far lays the least. She can't even hatch what she lays. It takes about 3 of her eggs to equal 1 large grade A egg.

I get approx 4 eggs from her a week. She lays decent in the Spring and then goes broody. Then she will lay again in the Summer. Not as well but she lays. Then stops in the Fall. No eggs from her at all during the Winter. She is generally the fist to stop and the last to start back.

I have some mutt bantams I picked up at Southern States. They lay generally every day. They have never went broody. They lay all year. They slow in the Winter but still lay.

With 2 egg loving sons I had to get something that would lay all year. I bought some white leghorns. They lay pretty much every day. I get about a dozen eggs per day from them. They slow down once in a blue moon for a molt. I keep my whole family in eggs and manage to sell a few dozen to pay for the feed.

If you want eggs get a chicken engineered to lay. And they will keep you in eggs.

At my house the bantams are pretty much pets and the white girls are the work horses. The bantams get spoiled. I have a general understanding with the white leghorns. They get food, water, treats and plenty of free time outside the coop. I get eggs. They leave me alone and I leave them alone. I think they hate me and I could not care less as long as they keep laying eggs.

I would not suggest bantams for just egg production. And I would not suggest leghorns for pets.

Darin

 

[al6517]

I understand your problem, Bantams are pretty much worthless as a chicken goes, i think the breed was developed for pets, most bantam owners I know are just as worthless. It just doesn't make sense to me to name them, feed them, and care for them and get pretty much nothing in return, I guess thats why the prices for them tend to be higher go figure.

 

[seedcorn]

Bantams are mainly for looks or the thrill of trying to breed a specific look. They don't lay as well as leghorns, when you butcher them, there isn't as much meat and they don't convert as well as cornish X's. But they do lay, they are eaten and they do this all on very little to NO FEED (in spring, summer and part of fall they free range their own feed and don't eat layer mash at all--yes, it's available). So they aren't worthless.

As far as owners of bantams being worthless, I resemble that remark if you ask my wife............

There is more to life than only having the most effecient. I assume that the previous typist only keeps production layers and cornish X's as anything else is worthless.

 

[seriousbill]

Quote:

Bantams are not a breed. They're a size of chicken. Many standard breeds come in a bantam size, including some breeds that lay pretty well, such as New Hampshires. So, generalizing about the laying ability of "bantams" can trip you up pretty quickly.

But the size of the eggs does tend to be small. With Dutch Bantams you can expect mini-eggs. I keep Brahma Bantams, which are one of the larger bantams, and the egg size is nearly normal. There's not much difference in my Brahma Bantam eggs and the eggs of a standard pullet that has been laying for a few months.

 

[dskinla]

Besides the Brahma bantam, which other bantams would you recommend as being the better egg layers -- Orpingtons, Cochins, Plymouth Rocks, Ameraucanas? I need to keep my flock small sized because of my urban yard and concern about the damage free-ranging large birds could do to the flower and veggie beds. So, I'm trying to strike a balance between small chicken size yet decent egg-laying.

 

[flip9109]

i have dutch bantams. they lay about one a day all year (even winter, I added no light) and yes 2 of theirs equal 1 lrg egg. they are not the size of a quarter! they are much bigger than that.