Thinking about standard v.s. banties a lot . . .

[birds-o-feather]

Hello everyone,

I'm a newbie doing my research but having trouble making some decisions. I have a fairly small backyard but one that would accommodate a few chickens. I'm thinking two or three only, to keep expenses and workload down, as the eggs would be mostly just for myself the the extras to friends/neighbors.

Any thoughts out there on whether or not two standard chickens would be advantageous or not, over three or four banties?

That's probably all I'd get --- either two large, or 3-4 small. I'm not sure I understand yet the pros and cons of the two sizes. (Banties are flightier? Standards require more room? I know the eggs are smaller in the banties......

I will keep researching, but thought this nice community could help me sort it out a little quicker!

Thank you very much!

 

[jeremy]

If you want your chickens for fuctionalitly then I woud go with the standards. You can select a breed that will ensure you an egg every day and that does not mind some confinement. Orpingtons, Delawares, Australorps, Sex Links, etc. are just a few great standard breeds that lay well and make great backyard pets.

I've never been a big fan of bantams though, tiny chickens with little or hardly any other purpose than being ornamental in most aspects.

Go for the big girls!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

It depends on what kind of breeds you get.

Bantams and Standards can both be very sweet chickens. If you want standards then I'd go with 2 or 3 Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, Speckled Sussex, Jersey Giants, Easter Eggers, or maybe some polish!
I preferr Bantams over standard because ...
1. They are tiny
2. they don't eat near as much
3. They still lay lots of eggs
4. They go broody quite offten
5. I just love them and think everybody should have one!!! If you were to go with bantams, I'd go with either, Silkies, Cochins.
I'm not saying that there aren't some sweet standard chickens out there, in fact I had a buff Orpington hen Sunshine and she was my baby. Not saying that at all! K?
If you want eggs, though go with standards.
Oh, by the by ...

and a Texas size:

 

[birds-o-feather]

Oh, my, thank you for the quick reply, urbanfarmboi. Makes sense already! And of course this is the Introduction Forum, silly me...... I didn't even introduce myself. I live in the Pacific Northwest --- a great place to live if you don't mind not-much-sun most of the year --- and I'm very much into self-reliance and sustainability. Hence, the eggs.......

I feed the song birds and fence out ALL cats so now the wildlife around me is safe and happy. I have raised beds for gardening and I can't stop thinking about chickens all of a sudden. I wonder why?

Oh, I can see already that two standards will probably have to be three now........ all those pretty breeds!!!

 

[birds-o-feather]

You are all so nice. I love this forum already. What fun, and thank you again!!!

 

[BarredBuff]

from Eastern Kentucky.

 

[4-H chicken mom]

and

from Ohio. Good advice given.

 

[b.hromada]

and

from S. Florida! glad you joined us!

 

[Finn's Mom]

Quote:
Uh oh. You sound like I did. I wanted 3 or 4 and ended up with 9 because there were just too many to choose from (nevermind the 8 guinea keets we added a few weeks ago.) We'll look forward to hearing what you end up with.

Welcome to BYC!

 

[schellie69]

I have standard and bantams, I got my first egg from my EE bantam I like both types for the own reasons, my EE bantams are stand offish but i got them as pullets from someone who did not handle them much. I have 3 and get at least 2 eggs a day from them. good luck and welcome to the addiction. maybe get 2 bantams and 2 standard size and see which you like the most you can always sell the ones you decided not to keep.