austin.ray22 :
I am thinking about moving away from LF and into Bantams. Please make some suggestions on what I need to research. I am not into showing, just like having chickens in the barn.
If you just want to "have chickens in the barn" you'll do fine with bantams, but if you count on them to produce dependable supply od eggs you will be dissapointed.
I did this experiment 2 seasons ago, hoping for bantams to be less destructive of free range pasture, and easier on feed, while producing eating eggs dependably.
Mine were RIR Bantams, Dominique Bantams, and Barred Rock bantams from both hatcheries and breeders, also true Ameraucanas and Lakenvelder both Bantams from the best breeders in the country. The worst layers - Ameraucanas, the best Lakenvelders. The rest in the middle but still poor layers
Sure Bantams eat less mine produced decent size eggs, about 3 of their eggs equaled 2 large standard size eggs, but they destroyed pastures as well as large breed, just took them little longer perhaps, however egg production was a big dissapointment. No consistency, they lay 5 eggs a week then after few weeks took a break, most of them quit in October, now in late January they are still slow, I am getting 3-4 eggs from 10 hens, in summer heat they slow down too. My former LF birds (RIR's Black sexlinks and California Whites lfrom Ideal) layed 300 large eggs+ a year each through a year including winter nonstop until first molt second fall (at 18 months).
I believe no bantam, breed will lay more than 150 eggs a year, mine layed well below that for sure.
So I consider my "Bantams for eggs" experiment a failure. Going back to LF this spring, meanwhile got 3 Campbell duck hens, they lay jumbo size eggs consistently, starting in November, continuing through the Florida winter, and they do not scratch or destroy my lawn.
So if you want dependable egg production forget bantams.
I am thinking about moving away from LF and into Bantams. Please make some suggestions on what I need to research. I am not into showing, just like having chickens in the barn.
If you just want to "have chickens in the barn" you'll do fine with bantams, but if you count on them to produce dependable supply od eggs you will be dissapointed.
I did this experiment 2 seasons ago, hoping for bantams to be less destructive of free range pasture, and easier on feed, while producing eating eggs dependably.
Mine were RIR Bantams, Dominique Bantams, and Barred Rock bantams from both hatcheries and breeders, also true Ameraucanas and Lakenvelder both Bantams from the best breeders in the country. The worst layers - Ameraucanas, the best Lakenvelders. The rest in the middle but still poor layers
Sure Bantams eat less mine produced decent size eggs, about 3 of their eggs equaled 2 large standard size eggs, but they destroyed pastures as well as large breed, just took them little longer perhaps, however egg production was a big dissapointment. No consistency, they lay 5 eggs a week then after few weeks took a break, most of them quit in October, now in late January they are still slow, I am getting 3-4 eggs from 10 hens, in summer heat they slow down too. My former LF birds (RIR's Black sexlinks and California Whites lfrom Ideal) layed 300 large eggs+ a year each through a year including winter nonstop until first molt second fall (at 18 months).
I believe no bantam, breed will lay more than 150 eggs a year, mine layed well below that for sure.
So I consider my "Bantams for eggs" experiment a failure. Going back to LF this spring, meanwhile got 3 Campbell duck hens, they lay jumbo size eggs consistently, starting in November, continuing through the Florida winter, and they do not scratch or destroy my lawn.
So if you want dependable egg production forget bantams.
