The BANTAM ORPINGTON Thread

[aveca]

How hard is it to breed a bird down to bantam size from LF?
Would using a bantam male over LF females be the best approach?

i was reading in one of those old books that they bred average to large rooster over strapping big hens to increase size..would it be opposit average over smallest females? boy do i have a lot to learn.. but im not a bantam fan...those chocolates and black are cute..when i hear the word orpington, i think big bird..i cant wrap my mind around bantam orpington...

congrats on that win Don..hope you show us a pic..we learn by example..

 

[fowlman01]

It's hard to keep the big ones big and the little ones little. For me it has to be the time. Stds need to be hatched early and the bantams alot later. I had an old RIR Bantam guy tell me most RIR bantams are to large, you have show them younger and I think orp bantams are about the same.

It is the time if you do it the way you do it....on a schedule....... but if you hatch all year long you will get birds that will be smaller or larger because of the time of year. I don't hatch bantams until June and the shows run longer out here, so it works out well. I don't see a huge difference in the size of my bantams as much as the effect of early hatches on my large fowl. They are noticeably larger in the early hatches.

Showing the bantams early helps.

Walt

 

[jeremy]

My idea is Gold Laced bantams.

My thoughts would be to use a bantam sized UK Chocolate male over Gold Laced hens. I have a resource for actual UK bantam Choc Orps, the cock bird being only around 3 pounds. I would use a UK Choc male over GL hens simply to keep the UK type. It would probably be easier and less costly to use an American type Black male but... I like the UK shape.

Anyways, from there I figure I work on color and size with each generation until I have a teeny Gold Laced bird. Theoretically... right?

ETA: How does the time of year that the chicks hatch affect their size? Is it because earlier hatched chicks have a longer period to grow out? Or?

 

[tkay6205]

My idea is Gold Laced bantams.

My thoughts would be to use a bantam sized UK Chocolate male over Gold Laced hens. I have a resource for actual UK bantam Choc Orps, the cock bird being only around 3 pounds. I would use a UK Choc male over GL hens simply to keep the UK type. It would probably be easier and less costly to use an American type Black male but... I like the UK shape.

Anyways, from there I figure I work on color and size with each generation until I have a teeny Gold Laced bird. Theoretically... right?

ETA: How does the time of year that the chicks hatch affect their size? Is it because earlier hatched chicks have a longece r period to grow out? Or?

Sounds like fun!! I love the LF english orps but in all honesty they eat me out of the house at home. I can handle the bantams though. I have UK chocolate bantams and I LOVE them! Good luck Jeremy and keep us posted.

 

[OSUman]

From what I was told, chicks hatched in the fall have their growth stunted by the cold.

My idea is Gold Laced bantams.

My thoughts would be to use a bantam sized UK Chocolate male over Gold Laced hens. I have a resource for actual UK bantam Choc Orps, the cock bird being only around 3 pounds. I would use a UK Choc male over GL hens simply to keep the UK type. It would probably be easier and less costly to use an American type Black male but... I like the UK shape.

Anyways, from there I figure I work on color and size with each generation until I have a teeny Gold Laced bird. Theoretically... right?

ETA: How does the time of year that the chicks hatch affect their size? Is it because earlier hatched chicks have a longer period to grow out? Or?

 

[Don Chandler]

My idea is Gold Laced bantams.

My thoughts would be to use a bantam sized UK Chocolate male over Gold Laced hens. I have a resource for actual UK bantam Choc Orps, the cock bird being only around 3 pounds. I would use a UK Choc male over GL hens simply to keep the UK type. It would probably be easier and less costly to use an American type Black male but... I like the UK shape.

Anyways, from there I figure I work on color and size with each generation until I have a teeny Gold Laced bird. Theoretically... right?

ETA: How does the time of year that the chicks hatch affect their size? Is it because earlier hatched chicks have a longer period to grow out? Or?

If you get in need of a choc male, let me know. Mine are crossed on US blacks. They still look fluffy. I'll help if you need one.

 

[jeremy]

If you get in need of a choc male, let me know. Mine are crossed on US blacks. They still look fluffy. I'll help if you need one.

Thank you Don, that's very kind.

I have a feeling sourcing the male should be easier to do than the females I need. The Gold Laced seem to still be in high demand, so the prices are still on the high end... hopefully by next spring that has changed a bit.

 

[Don Chandler]

Thank you Don, that's very kind.

I have a feeling sourcing the male should be easier to do than the females I need. The Gold Laced seem to still be in high demand, so the prices are still on the high end... hopefully by next spring that has changed a bit.

Jeremy, why choc? I would think black would be better unless a English deal.

 

[Don Chandler]

Jeremy, been thinking, that could be danger in the making!!! Golden Laced Wyandotte bantams!! What you think?

 

[jeremy]

Jeremy, why choc? I would think black would be better unless a English deal.

Solely for the sake of type and I would want to keep them as pure as possible in UK lineage.

A Choc male essentially is the same thing as a Black male. Just with an extra gene. I'd cross him to GL hens and then work on reestablishing the lacing in the birds. I then too would have the option of continuing the Choc gene, creating a Chocolate Laced Gold bird. I don't know if I would though.

Here's a Chocolate Laced Gold LF from the UK.

The Choc color in this situation just looks like a dull black to me, next to the bright buff/gold feathers. So I don't know if I would continue to propagate the gene.