Japanese Bantam Thread!

[jak2002003]

I have seen several such posts here & they really confuse me. "I like a certain breed but I don't like it's defining breed characteristic".. Japanese Bantams are defined by their shot legs.
I've also seen: I like Cochins but I don't like the feathered legs; I like Polish but I don't like the crests; I like Muscovys but I don't like the caruncling. I don't get it. how can you state a preference for a particular breed while rejecting the feature that most defines the breed?

We all have our personal opinions about what we like... we are not all the same.

I like the size, shape, temperament and colours of the Japanese Bantams......I also like 'the short legs. But I don't like the extreme short legs of show quality birds.

The breed standard varies over the years and also I am sure the breed is not identical to is original shape, leg length and weight all those years back.

We can see this in the different DOG breeds, how over time people tent towards the most extreme body shapes, and that often comes as the expense of the animals health, like bulldogs that can not longer give birth naturally as puppies heads are too big, and dachshunds that get injured spines as their body has been lengthened for the shows. Even the poor fancy goldfish now has some very strange shapes, and most of them suffer from balance and digestive problems and are not easy to look after any more.

from my experience with my very short legged hens, they suffer more from getting dirty in wet weather, they can not run away fast to escape predators, and they also suffer from scaly leg mite more. They also sometimes get deformed toes. When they are all walking about in a group, the poor short legged ones can not keep up either lol.

So, if someone is wanting to keep this breed as a pet, or in a backyard flock situation, I would not advise them to get the very short legged type. If they want that kind, and want to show the birds, etc, then I have no problem with them doing that - so long as they know its going to be harder work to keep them clean and in good feather condition.

Here you can see mine have short legs, but even then they are not short enough for showing.

 

[katzbantams]

Japs!!! I love them!

 

[Jharper]

Mine cams in!!! Two out of three died though!

 

[katzbantams]

Aww

give the other chick lots of attention! lol

 

[Jharper]

Yeah the two geese we had ordered smothered them.

 

[katzbantams]

Finally I got some pics of my japs

Spaide - btw

 

[Jharper]

How do y'all think of this little boy? He was the only one out of three BTWJB to make it b/c they got smushed by the two geese that were in their.

 

[NYREDS]

How do y'all think of this little boy? He was the only one out of three BTWJB to make it b/c they got smushed by the two geese that were in their.

His legs are much too long & are too far back making him high in the front. Back is too long as well.

 

[Jharper]

His legs are much too long & are too far back making him high in the front. Back is too long as well.

Well I mean I had him stretched out.

 

[NYREDS]

We all have our personal opinions about what we like... we are not all the same.

I like the size, shape, temperament and colours of the Japanese Bantams......I also like 'the short legs. But I don't like the extreme short legs of show quality birds.

The breed standard varies over the years and also I am sure the breed is not identical to is original shape, leg length and weight all those years back.

We can see this in the different DOG breeds, how over time people tent towards the most extreme body shapes, and that often comes as the expense of the animals health, like bulldogs that can not longer give birth naturally as puppies heads are too big, and dachshunds that get injured spines as their body has been lengthened for the shows. Even the poor fancy goldfish now has some very strange shapes, and most of them suffer from balance and digestive problems and are not easy to look after any more.

from my experience with my very short legged hens, they suffer more from getting dirty in wet weather, they can not run away fast to escape predators, and they also suffer from scaly leg mite more. They also sometimes get deformed toes. When they are all walking about in a group, the poor short legged ones can not keep up either lol.

So, if someone is wanting to keep this breed as a pet, or in a backyard flock situation, I would not advise them to get the very short legged type. If they want that kind, and want to show the birds, etc, then I have no problem with them doing that - so long as they know its going to be harder work to keep them clean and in good feather condition.

Here you can see mine have short legs, but even then they are not short enough for showing.

Apparently my point was too subtle for you. Of course people have different preferences. if this was not the case there would only be one type of anything. My point was that for a breed to be a breed it must posess certain characteristics. Among these characteristics there is often one that truely seperates the breed from others, such as the examples I cited.
My point was, how can one profess a fondness for a particular breed while at the same time rejecting that one clearly identifying characteristic?
As to Japanese Bantams your contention that the description of their leg length has changed over time doesn't prove out. I have copies of nearly every APA Standard back to my earliest, 1875. In all of them which include the Japanese Bantam the description of the leg length is the same: "very short". These birds were bred in Japan long before they were listed in the APA Standard & every early illustration I've ever seen has shown birds with very short legs.
As to short-legged Japanese Banatms "suffering" from getting dirty I solve that problem by keeping their accomodations clean as I do with all my birds. I haven't noticed any occurance of deformed toes in my Japanese Bantams nor have I noticed any higher than usual occurance of leg mites
I would suggest that when one says they like Japanese Bantams but the birds they prefer would be disqualified if shown as Japanese Bantams really don't like Japanese bantams, they like small single combed chickens with fairly short legs.