Do you want to raise the chicken in the spare premises at your house? Then the Bantam chicken breeds can be the suitable options among lots of alternatives. Because of the small size, they can adjust themselves almost everywhere.
Possibly that’s why the idea of raising Bantam chicks is getting so much importance to the landlords.
But, how to raise the Bantam chickens? What do they eat and what will be the best suit for you? I know many questions are coming up to your mind when you’ve thought of rearing Bantam chickens.
Let’s jump into your queries about the Bantam chicken breeds one after one.
What is a bantam chicken?
The “Bantam” word has been derived from the seaport of Indonesia. The Bantam is a sort of smaller chicken that has first come from Indonesia.
Typically, their size remains between 50% to 70% compared to a standard-sized chicken. Regardless, their looks are also a bit different and cuter than the regular chicken.
That’s what makes the bantam chicken a bit different from the others. The history of coming Bantam in this region is large, but let us disclose bantam chick identification in a nutshell.
The sailor of this region once went for merchandising a long years ago through the sea. Accidently, they had to stop in Indonesia for fresh food and water.
When visiting Indonesia, they liked the cuter chicken (Which later is known as Bantam) of that region. So, the sailor brought some of those smaller chickens back home with them.
But, currently, you’ll get the chicken of multiple regions regardless of Indonesian. Such as Japanese breed, American breed, Mediterranean breed, and so on.
Types of bantam chicken breeds
If you want to start your chicken farm with the smaller size of a chicken, then there are endless options. You’ll rarely find an ugly chicken breed among multiple types of bantam chicken breeds.
Let’s discuss some of the most popular bantam chicken breeds list and see do bantams lay eggs.
Brahma Bantam:
They produce 200 eggs a year.
Would you like a smaller and wonderful version of the chicken breed? Then, you must like the Brahma Bantam, a comparatively bigger-sized Bantam chicken.
They are quite gentle birds and look very appealing with a vibrant and golden body. All of these qualities make the birds a wonderful pet.
However, the Brahma Bantams lay eggs on time and raise their breeds perfectly. That’s what makes them ideal mothers.
Barred Plymouth Rock Bantam:
Per year they also produce 200 eggs on average.
The Barred Plymouth Rock Bantam is one of the best backyard chickens with a friendly and adorable nature. They’re nearly a bigger-sized counterpart just as you like.
Usually, these birds like to live freely without any control. And cold is their favorite season which provides them great comfort. But the Bantam birds won’t mind even if you control them from the beginning to the end.
Overall, you can say the Barred Plymouth Rock Bantam has a great personality despite being chickens.
Mille Fleur d’Uccle Bantam:
They lay 150-200 small and white eggs on average per year.
The phrase “Mille Fleur d’Uccle Bantam” has originated from the French. In the French language, the meaning of this phrase is “A thousand flowers in French.”
With pretty features and beautiful yellow eyes, the Mille Fleur d’Uccle is the attractive Bantam chicken. The most attractive part of these Bantam chickens is their legs. Similar to the full-body, the legs of this chicken are also covered with a heavy yellow feather.
This Bantam chicken’s uniqueness is they don’t lay tiny eggs like most other Bantam chickens. The bantam chicken’s eggs are comparatively bigger; that’s why the chickens are called the true Bantam.
Cochin Bantams:
With 2-3 eggs per week, they lay 150-180 eggs per year on average.
Here is our Rockster chicken, the Cochin Bantams! The Bantam, which is alternatively known as Pekin Bantam, includes an eye-catching fluffy appearance. The small creature can manage to live in a limited space!
Although they’re not so good at laying eggs, but they lay standard-sized eggs brow eggs. Moreover, the white bantam chicken becomes wonderful mothers when they get their own children. Luckily, they can be criticized among the large Bantam chickens because of their size.
The weight of an adult cochin Bantam can rise up to 9 pounds. But their breeds hardly may become a 2-pound weight. However, you’ll get varieties of color options for choosing this bird. So, take time and think which color you would like to see at your premises.
Silkies:
They lay 100 cream or tined eggs on a year.
Let’s meet out the sweetest chicken breeds with fluffy features! The Silkies are not only gentle but also an adorable pet. You probably ignore the cuteness of this Bantam chicken unless cuteness doesn’t affect you.
Now, come to the attitude of this little pet, which is not that rich. They can adjust themselves anywhere, whether it is urban or rural areas. Even if you take the Bantam breeds to Sundarbans with you, they can live a resourceful life.
If you choose this breed as a pet, you must be careful about an important factor. The cute pet can catch a cold soon because of their small body and featured feet. Because of these, the birds cannot keep themselves warm for long.
Therefore, when it comes to the cold, you must take additional care of your little friend.
Bantam chickens egg production
The bantam chicken produces a quality number of fine and delicious eggs. They start to lay an egg at the early age of life and retain consistency after starting.
Usually, the bantam chicken, when it reaches 8 months, starts to lay an egg. But, I had a complaint about the egg’s size despite having a rich test. The size of the Bantam chicken eggs is comparatively smaller than the regular chicken’s egg.
Perhaps, the reason is their size. The small-sized birds mean the smaller egg, and the big-sized bird means bigger eggs.
But Thankfully, the Bantam chicken lays more eggs than the regular chickens on average. And, the capability of the Bantam chicken’s laying egg has made me happy.
However, not all the Bantam chicken produces smaller eggs. The standard-sized Bantam fowl produces an egg that is larger than the true Bantams.
What to feed bantam chicken breeds?
Thankfully, the bantam chicken breeds dramatically save the costs for food. Unlike the standard-sized chicken, an adult breed hardly eats the 1-pound food monthly. Most possibly, it’s because of their size, which is half of the standard chicken.
Now, what to feed the bantam chicken breeds? Fortunately, these chickens aren’t so picky about food selection. So, don’t fret! If you want to raise this type of chicken, let me break down what the chicken breeds eat!
First off, the food habit of bantam chicken breeds is like the standard type chickens. Like them, the Bantams also need proteins and nutrition, although the amount isn’t that rich. So, I give whole grains, green vegetables, and fruits to my bantam chicken breeds.
I also make sure that my chicken breeds never get out of the fresh and clean water. Sometimes I also feed my chicken breeds the whole grains,
However, to ensure good health, the bantam chicken breeds also need to feed some supplements. The supplements must be filled with calcium, vitamin power, grit, and so on.
I feed calcium tablets, apple cider vinegar, molasses, probiotics, etcetera to my chicken breeds. It doesn’t only ensure the nutrition of my chickens but also improves their growth quickly.
How to Care for Bantam Chickens?
The accommodation is the first considerable factor to raise the chickens.
Because of being miniature bantam chickens, they take comparatively lower space to live. But if you want to do a poultry farm, the place must have to be spacious.
Now, you must be thinking, how long will space need for the Bantam chicken? Well, I have noted that the Bantam chicken takes 1 square foot per chicken. That means, if you have four birds, you’ll need a 2square foot long spacious room.
In a nutshell, the accommodation will be spacious depending on the chicken’s quantity.
Special Care for Bantams
The average lifespan of the Bantam chicken is 7 to 8 years old. But, a healthy Bantam bird can live up to 12 years old. It depends on how you’re taking care of this small creature.
So, let’s come to the serious health issue of the bird. There are only a few Bantam chickens who have limited tolerance for cold. But, the Japanese and Dutch Bantam cannot tolerate the cold at all. You must make their living place warm and comfortable.
Moreover, the place must have to be dry and draft. The mud and dust make the bird’s foot feature crusty and dirty. Of course, you won’t like to have dirt on your cute and little pet.
Throw some mulch around the house of the Bantam chicken. This will protect the Bantam chicken legs from mud and dust.
Eventually, sometimes you may compromise the living space of the Bantam chicken. In exchange, you must make available the other things for the little bird, as we mentioned.
Got Some Questions?
01. How long do bantam chickens live?
The Bantam chicken, with proper care and feeding, the Bantam chicken can live up to 12 years. But depending on the species and types, the average lifespan of this miniature is 7 to 8 years.
02. Which bantams lay the most eggs?
Most eggs laying Bantams are Brahma, Sussex, east eagers and Plymouth rocks. Indeed, the eggs they lay are comparatively smaller in size. But their eggs laying capacity makes them the best option to choose as a pet.
03. How many eggs do bantam chickens lay a day?
The reproduction capacity of the chicken decides how many eggs he can lay in a day. Usually, a bantam chicken can lay an egg every other day. But once he starts to lay eggs, it stops when the chicken starts growing feathers in his leg. This feature growing is called molting.
04. Can Bantam chickens live with regular chickens?
The bantam chickens are the cold bird who loves to stay in peace. So, with no worry, you can keep them with your regular chicken.
They won’t end up with a fight when living with the standard-sized chicken. Even they won’t carry the order of the regular chicken only because of their smaller size.
05. Do Bantam eggs taste different?
No, the Bantam eggs don’t taste different than the common eggs. In fact, they taste somewhere better than the grocery store eggs.
06. At what age do bantam chickens lay eggs?
Usually, the bantam chickens start laying eggs from 22 to 28 weeks. But, if you have a Silkies bantam, it might take more than 28 weeks to start to lay eggs.
That’s why these Bantam chickens are mostly recognized as slow egg-laying birds.
07. Can you eat bantam roosters?
Of course, you can eat the bantam roosters, even their breeds. You just have to know how to butch them properly. If you can’t small butch chicken, let your butcher cut the roosters for you.
08. Are bantam chickens good egg layers?
The Bantam chickens cannot lay so many eggs like the regular chickens. Still, some bantam have the capacity of laying a good number of rich-tasting eggs.
Wrapping Up
Bantam chicken breeds are sweet-looking, peace-loving, and friendly birds. From the starting to the end of their life, they’ll always be obedient to you. Moreover, you can raise these birds within the limited expenses.
Hopefully, you would find the birds very interesting and friendly in your environment too!
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