Why I think Bantams are not the best pet chickens

[belindaschicks]

I have 5 Silver Duckwing Old English Game Bantams. Four of them is 3.5 years old and one is 2.5 years old. The four oldest names are Libby, Lacy, Lucille, and Chester. The youngest is named Lucy. Lucille hatched her out and Chester is the father. Chester is usually easy to catch because he likes to attack. Lucy is friendly, sometimes. Lucille is very friendly. Libby is soft and Lacy is the lest friendly. To me they are good pets that I don't have to worry to much about. If you have chickens free-ranging a bird of prey can get a Silkie without the Silkie knowing that the bird is near, whereas my bantams would see the bird and get away. One of the main troubles I have with them, though, is the fact that they like to fly up on everything that is way out of anybody's reach. Places like on top of any barn, coop,shed, or my house. The other trouble is Lucy, she likes to go under the shed were nobody can reach her. Either way I say that bantams make great pets!

This is what I was saying earlier. I don't want a pet chicken I have to chase around or climb on the roof to catch. My standards I can sit on the ground and the will sit in my lap or I can just walk up and pick one up. To me that is a much more enjoyable pet. Especially if I had children.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

I agree! Also bantam Ameraucanas (I have lavender ones) are very docile and friendly, but silkie and cochin bantams are "the bomb" as far as pets. OTOH, some breeds are not particularly good pets. I've never met anyone that had Sebrights and thought they were good pets.

I have a house roo sebright. I love him to death.

I adore my bantams, for one because with the current situation we can't have outdoor chickens. None. Nada. No chickens. So two of the tiniest breeds in the world living in our house is a good solution since obviously having no chickens at all won't work. I don't think a huge large fowl would be a good idea in here, too smelly. But the lil bantams are perfect for it and they thrive.

I prefer them myself, I don't know why anyone would have large fowl when they can have seramas and cochins and silkies all over the yard. Our serama is the most charming little thing ever too.

 

[TattooedChicks]

Having handled over 50 day old bantams this year, I have to agree that a large percentage did take some time to tame and I doubt trying to free range them in a normal setting and not an enclosed run setup would have made that any better. They can be flighty and skittish, trusting you one minute and spooked the next, they’ll flock at your feet but bolt from a hand. With my oldest group being now 6+ months old, the last few weeks have been the best for handling, lap time, and simply being around them. And it took a lot of work. Almost all have finally come around, more or less.

And there has been a big difference in the breeds, some being much, much easier to work with from the start. From my own expertise most to least ‘pet like’ were: Japanese, Cochin, Sumatra, Old English, Easter Egger, d’Uccle, Silkie, Sebright. If you want to be tripping over birds and constantly begged for treats, those first 3 are nearly puppies most days.

 

[Fields Mountain Farm]

All of my chickens free range 24/7 but have access to the barn at all times. I have several large and medium livestock guard dogs and few predators near. Anyway, among the chickens I have, there are silkies, Ohiki and a mix of the two. 9 or 10 in all. My 4 yr old grandson walks right up to any of them to gently pick them up for a snuggle and put them back down. The little darlings never balk or run from him and most will run to him for attention. And I don't hand feed my birds or give treats.
My standards are the ones I have to chase and corner to catch.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Having handled over 50 day old bantams this year, I have to agree that a large percentage did take some time to tame and I doubt trying to free range them in a normal setting and not an enclosed run setup would have made that any better. They can be flighty and skittish, trusting you one minute and spooked the next, they’ll flock at your feet but bolt from a hand. With my oldest group being now 6+ months old, the last few weeks have been the best for handling, lap time, and simply being around them. And it took a lot of work. Almost all have finally come around, more or less.

And there has been a big difference in the breeds, some being much, much easier to work with from the start. From my own expertise most to least ‘pet like’ were: Japanese, Cochin, Sumatra, Old English, Easter Egger, d’Uccle, Silkie, Sebright. If you want to be tripping over birds and constantly begged for treats, those first 3 are nearly puppies most days.

Cochins are the the sweetest- I always tell people they are the best pets, because that's what I have found to be true, they are a docile breed. Japanese are sweet too, and silkies always hanging around as well. Those 3 and Serama are my favorite breeds.

When everything happened with the birds, I was able to keep 7 of them at a family member's home along with the 2 hidden house roos. For the exact reasons you said, I kept 2 of my silkies, 3 frizzled cochins, a japanese, and a smooth cochin cockerel who I literally have had from the egg. Dirtburner is his name and he IS a puppy lmao. I remember candling his little egg under the japanese hen, and watching him grow in it and hearing him chirp the day he hatched out. It was super neat. He was so small and furry and he started kicking dirt every which way with those tiny little legs which is how he got his name. He followed the little black japanese everywhere, and she was fierce over him even when he quickly got bigger than her.

I think my serama is more of pet even than the cochins though. He likes to sit on people's shoulders, laps, chests...anywhere really, and get scratched in his hackles- we take them to holidays and then the serama sits on Grandma and we can't hardly pry them apart. Granted he is a house bird, but he has a delightful temperament. He and his buddy follow you through the house and they even sleep on the bed most nights.

 

[chiknlittl]

Our silver duckwing bantams have been our favorite of all our chickens....especially the rooster, but because he was not fearful we just lost him to a hawk today and are so sad. I really want to get another one, but don’t want to go through losing one again.

 

[belindaschicks]

I completely understand. When I started this thread I had 3 bantams. I am now down to 1. My two roos I had to re home. It was a very hard thing to do. My last bantam a small hen was attacked by a hawk. She is alive but is currently a house chicken till she recovers. She was attacked and picked by the hawk because she was a small bantam. I have had many fly overs while I was outside but this was the first attack and this hawk got her under a tight space. Needless to say I'm done with bantams.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I agree! Also bantam Ameraucanas (I have lavender ones) are very docile and friendly, but silkie and cochin bantams are "the bomb" as far as pets. OTOH, some breeds are not particularly good pets. I've never met anyone that had Sebrights and thought they were good pets.

I had 3 golden sebright bantams and they were the sweetest little things. They loved to come inside and watch tv with me. They’d even fall asleep on my lap.

 

[SueT]

Before you know it children and 40 something woman will be carrying them in their purses like yorkies.

great idea, lol.
The town of Diamond Missouri has an annual chicken pageant, kids (and occasionally women) dress up their mostly bantam chickens and compete for prizes donated by a local feed store...I go every year!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/the-chicken-pageant.1132949/#post-17521052

 

[The Kooky Kiwi]

I agree! Also bantam Ameraucanas (I have lavender ones) are very docile and friendly, but silkie and cochin bantams are "the bomb" as far as pets. OTOH, some breeds are not particularly good pets. I've never met anyone that had Sebrights and thought they were good pets.

I've just realised that this post was some years ago, but thought I might reply anyway. I have two Sebrights which are wonderful pets however I would say their tameness is because we purchased them as very young pullets and spent a LOT of time handling them as youngsters. As a breed, I would say that they are very very intelligent little birds but their high activity levels mean that they are best outdoors where they can hoon around and do what they love to do which is to forage and dig holes! We quite often joke that our sebrights are like modern versions of velociraptors - the way they run through the grass and their little eyes are quick to zone in on things of interest and then calculate how to get it before anyone else. I think if you are in a position to hand raise a sebright then there is a good chance they'll make a cheeky little pet but as a flock chicken they're going to be pretty independent and not very docile.