These small birds form the base of your flock if your lucky enough to get one. They are cute pets for kids and adults alike and you will not regret adding these birds to your flock.
Pros: Super cute
Normally sweet
Great pets
Not as loud (Some)
Cons: Small eggs
Roosters are extra nippy
Not very weatherproof
I have 3 bantams - silkies in fact. They're super sweet and are around 5 inches tall when standing normally. I absolutely love them. They do not lay as many eggs, but most people buying bantams do not get them for the eggs. I fully suggest adding bantams of any kind to your group.
I hope people who read this will understand that bantam has to do with size and not with breed.
Different kind of bantams have different looks and different characteristics. If you want information about a certain bantam, you better look at the kind of bantam you are interested in:
“In total the American Bantam Association lists over 400 varieties of bantam birds.
The origin of the word ‘bantam’ is from the seaport of Bantan, Indonesia.
When sailors stopped into the port for fresh supplies of food and water, they were impressed by the local chickens which were smaller than the chickens back home. The word – Bantan – was corrupted into Bantam in general English and so small chickens became known as bantams.
Types of Bantam Chickens
Strictly speaking there are three types of bantam chicken.
There are ‘true’ bantams; these have no large fowl counterpart. They are naturally occurring with no input from mankind. Breeds: Nankin, Sebright and Rosecomb.
Miniaturized bantams – these were ‘made’ from a standard breed of choice such as Rhode Island Red, Cochin or Orpingtons.
Developed bantams – these are small breeds that have been further developed with some help from mankind. They have been around for so long that the origins are sketchy at best. Such breeds are: Belgian, Pekin (Cochin) and Japanese.”