Winter plans for bantams??

[Adelaar]

I’m curious what other people do with bantams in the winter. I’ve read lots of things about standard chickens not needing heat and being very cold tolerant as long as the coop is draft free and dry, but I’ve also read about bantams not being as cold tolerant but unsure of how much cold is too cold for them. We are in Indiana with lows already dipping into the 30s at night.

I have 3 barnyard mix bantam pullets that live with 1 cross beak ameraucana pullet since they all get along well with them with no bullying among themselves. I’ve tried to let them have supervised free range time with standard size pullets let out too but the bigger girls seem fixated on chasing and harassing the bantams and cross beak even if they have acres to roam so I don’t think I’ll be able to keep the bantams in bigger coop with the bigger chickens and guineas to snuggle for heat. They currently have a 25sqft thin walled pre-fab coop to themselves.

I don’t mind bringing them into garage or house on cold days/nights if needed but I’m not sure how cold I can let it get before I need to make the decision to move them vs letting them enjoy their outdoor coop/run as long as possible. Do I need to move them when it’s below freezing? Or are they ok until lower temp? I could also put the chick heat plate out in coop for them?

Pics of bantams and one with their coop compared to full size coop.

 

[SueT]

I live in MO, so maybe about the same latitude as you. I have one bantam Sebright that I bring into the basement when temps are below 10º F. She won’t even get off the roost at that point and I worry about her. Above that, she’s bopping around, eating and interacting w the others. This year I hatched some bantam Easter Eggers, and I am assuming they’ll do better. Their feathers are thicker, and they seem like sturdier birds…the Sebright seems so fragile and a lot less fluffy. These EE’s are 3 months old—

 

[Amer]

Bantam breeds are no less hardy than their largefowl counterparts ex: bantam Ameraucanas are very hardy, similar to LF Ameraucanas. True bantams depends upon the breed. My d’Anvers are very hardy.

 

[Adelaar]

I live in MO, so maybe about the same latitude as you. I have one bantam Sebright that I bring into the basement when temps are below 10º F. She won’t even get off the roost at that point and I worry about her. Above that, she’s bopping around, eating and interacting w the others. This year I hatched some bantam Easter Eggers, and I am assuming they’ll do better. Their feathers are thicker, and they seem like sturdier birds…the Sebright seems so fragile and a lot less fluffy. These EE’s are 3 months old—View attachment 3657392

They’re adorable!! That’s at least a good reference point if your more sensitive one seems to be more comfortable and active over 10deg then if I see temp swinging below that overnight, it may be worth pulling the little ones to someplace a bit warmer.

 

[SueT]

They’re adorable!! That’s at least a good reference point if your more sensitive one seems to be more comfortable and active over 10deg then if I see temp swinging below that overnight, it may be worth pulling the little ones to someplace a bit warmer.

Yes, yours look hardy, don’t worry unless they aren’t moving, eating…And as Amer says, most bantams are just as hardy as their large counterparts. They are certainly very feisty.

 

[Adelaar]

Bantam breeds are no less hardy than their largefowl counterparts ex: bantam Ameraucanas are very hardy, similar to LF Ameraucanas. True bantams depends upon the breed. My d’Anvers are very hardy.

That’s the hard part since these are barnyard mix bantams from local co-op type feed store, I’m not sure on breed. All 3 have feathered feet, and 2 of the 3 are bearded so they aren’t ameraucana bantams but they seem to look similar to d’Uccle bantams . The cross-beak ameraucana I have living with them is a full size chicken, but she just gets along better with bantams than others her own size cuz the bigger pullets harass her and the bantams don’t. She probably wouldn’t mind colder temps than bantams and might help snuggle the bantams to keep them warmer but she’d have to come along if I do move the bantams as none of the other chickens will accept her.

 

[SueT]

I also had a D’Uccle a few years ago, and she had no problem with winters.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Fluffy bantams like the ones you have do just fine in winter in my experience. My Cochin bantams and Cochin mixes are similar in stature to your birds and I do nothing different for them compared to my large fowl.

Tiny, less fluffy bantams like Sebrights and Old English may or may not do well in winter. My Sebrights were always fine in temps even dipping into the negatives despite their tiny, seemingly delicate stature, but my Old English, particularly the smaller hens, tend not to do well in temps below around 15°F so I try to have a space prepared for them where they'll be sheltered from that kind of cold when we hit that point.

 

[Adelaar]

I also had a D’Uccle a few years ago, and she had no problem with winters.

Fluffy bantams like the ones you have do just fine in winter in my experience. My Cochin bantams and Cochin mixes are similar in stature to your birds and I do nothing different for them compared to my large fowl.

Tiny, less fluffy bantams like Sebrights and Old English may or may not do well in winter. My Sebrights were always fine in temps even dipping into the negatives despite their tiny, seemingly delicate stature, but my Old English, particularly the smaller hens, tend not to do well in temps below around 15°F so I try to have a space prepared for them where they'll be sheltered from that kind of cold when we hit that point.

Really good to hear! I’ll just keep close watch on their activity as it gets colder but won’t worry as much about them. They’re such sweet and friendly little birds with big personalities, I love them!