|
|
||
Forget cats and dogs, Bantams make the ideal Pets! |
||
|
|
|
These are
Belgian bearded bantams of the type Barbu d'Uccle,
Millefleur. These particular birds have beautiful plumage
and endearing fluffy whiskers around the beak. |
||
About Bantams |
||
| The
domestic hen (gallus Domesticus) has been man's most
useful friend for many thousands of years. Chickens were
kept by Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Bantams are thought to be descendants of the Bankiva jungle fowl, Bantam is the name of a town in Java. The British came to this area in the seventeenth century and probably began to export the jungle fowl to Europe, eventually the name bantam was used to describe any small or diminutive fowl. Since Victorian times bantams have become increasingly popular as pets as well as for show purposes, they are smaller and have more varied and exotic breeds than chickens, there are some 400 combinations of colours, shapes and features. Some breeds are bantam versions of chickens, others are breeds in their own right. |
||
Bantams as Pets |
||
| Bantams make excellent pets, can
become quite tame and children will love them. There
are the added bonuses of eggs for breakfast and manure
for the garden. If your garden is on the small side then
bantams are a good option as these birds are around 25%
of the size of chickens. A run of a few square metres
will suffice for a pair of birds with a wooden hut equipped with a perch
for roosting at night. It is advisable to move the run
every month or so to prevent the build up of parasites in
the soil. In my garden the run is rotated around the
garden during the winter, then kept in one position
throughout the summer, as the birds are allowed to roam
free for most of the day. Poultry feed and corn can be bought from most pet shops, this can be supplemented with stale bread and kitchen scraps, they will eat almost anything. If the birds are kept in a run then some dry soil should be available for the birds to take a dust bath, this is to rid themselves of lice etc. This can last up to an hour and is most amusing to watch as they roll around. The hen manages to lay on average four to five eggs a week, although being bantam eggs two would be needed to make a breakfast! |
||
Breeding Bantams |
||
| Breeding Bantams is very simple, if you have a cockerel with your hens then any eggs laid are likely to be fertile. Once enough eggs are laid the hen will decide to sit if she feels broody, the incubation period lasts 21 days during which the hen will only leave the eggs for around 20 minutes a day for food and drink. The Bantam hen is an excellent mother, she will guard her chicks under her wing at night and help them find food during the day. Special feed can be bought for the chicks, this is usually called Chick Crumb and can be found at many Pet shops. Water is also important, a shallow saucer with a stone to prevent it being tipped up is ideal. | ||
| Books | ||
| Bantams
& small poultry by Dr J. Batty. An excellent book
about the history and breeds of Bantams ISBN 1-85736-174-1 |
||
| The Chicken Book by Page Smith and Charles Daniel. A must for anybody interested in these birds, the folklore , history and everything else about Chickens and Bantams. ISBN 0-8203-2213-X | ||
| The Fairest Fowl by Tamara Staples. Wonderful photography of show Chickens and Bantams, available from online bookshop amazon. | ||
| Links | ||
| Pocketflocks Great Bantam website with loads of links. | ||
| Country Smallholding List of breeders and other info from the Country Smallholding Magazine | ||
| Allandoo Pheasantry Breeders of ornamental and exotic pheasants in Southwest Scotland | ||
| email me | ||
| Back
to top Webpage by Schnitzel & Redcomb Productions, Portishead, UK. Update June 2007 |
||
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}