Backyard Chicken Coop Plans
Keeping Chickens in Your Own Backyard
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Raising Bantam Chickens

Chickens are so much fun to keep and they come in a variety of sizes. Big breeds such as Jersey Giants, standard sized chickens like Rhode Island Reds and adorable little half sized chicken breeds called bantam chickens.

Raising Bantam Chickens Bantam chicken breeds are small versions of standard sized chickens. You can get many of your favorite breeds in the smaller Bantam size. These small animals typically weight between 22 ounces for hens and up to 35 ounces for roosters.

Raising bantam chickens is fun!  This variety of poultry are very curious chickens and are easier to handle than full sized chickens. The hens will lay eggs just like a full sized chicken only the eggs will be much smaller. Hens will begin to lay eggs at about five months of age, with or without a rooster, and depending on the conditions and how much light your hens get then will lay about 120 eggs per year.  These cute little egg layers can lay white eggs, brown eggs, and blue or green eggs, depending on the breed.  These eggs taste wonderful, just like eggs you would get from a full sized hen.

If you are wanting to raise chicken for their meat then a bantam breed isn’t a good choice for you due to their small stature and light weight, they will not provide much meat.

Many chicken owners soon find the bantam breeds are their favorite. They are so cute strutting around the chicken house and yard. I have had bantams that actually love to be held and come when called. While this won’t be true for all bantams I have found they are actually more friendly than full sized or giant breed chickens. I have to admit, it may be because I find them so adorable that I seek them out.

Kids are naturally drawn to the smaller sized batam chickens and since the chickens are so small, kids will have an easier time handling this type of chicken.

Bantam chicks can be ordered from chicken hatcheries such as Murray McMurray poultry hatchery and shipped directly to your door.

Some Bantam chicken breeds available

  • Mille Fleur
  • Porcelain
  • Sultan
  • Brahma – Available in a variety of colors
  • Silkies
  • Cochin Bantams - Available in a variety of colors
  • Sebright
  • Cornish – Available in a variety of colors
  • Rhode Island Red
  • Wyandotte
  • Red Pyle
  • Old English – This is my favorite!
  • Japanese – Available in a variety of colors
  • Rosecomb
  • Araucana – Hens lay blue/green eggs!
  • Polish – This variety have a “top hat”

6 Purebred Cochin Bantam Hatching Eggs
US $4.99 (0 Bid)
End Date: Saturday May-19-2012 19:11:01 PDT
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Bantam Cuckoo Marans X Bantam Amerucaunas = bantam olive eggers 6+ hatching eggs
US $4.00 (0 Bid)
End Date: Saturday May-19-2012 19:08:48 PDT
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6+ Bantam Welsummer chicken Hatching eggs
US $7.00 (0 Bid)
End Date: Saturday May-19-2012 19:06:16 PDT
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When ordering your bantam chicks you should decide if you have a preference for “clean legged” or “feather footed” varieties. For some people it doesn’t matter but other people prefer a cleaner looking bird and choose to avoid birds with feathered feet.

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