Chooks vs Bantams.

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by ho-hum, Jun 10, 2006.

  1. ho-hum

    ho-hum New Member

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    I have had a lifetime, albeit intermittent, of owning poultry and this has included most types of poultry. I have never owned geese.

    At this point my wife and I have settled on the issue that our next foray into chooks will be bantams.

    I have owned Orpingtons, Leghorns, Barnevelders, Light Sussex, Indian Game, Silky and heinz variety as standard sized chooks.
    The bantams include Seabrights, Pekin, Wyandotte, Light Sussex and heniz variety bantams. [Light Sussex bantams are nearly standard size].

    Our preference is definitely for bantams in a permie or semi- free range situation because they really do seem to be better doers than the bigger fowl. Also, in our experience, bantams seem to have more character and are better 'parents' and survivors in general.

    My wife likes ducks although I dont like them much cos of the mess they make. I like guinea fowl and neither of us have any time at all for turkeys. Peafowl should be shot on sight.

    We do eat our poultry a bit and had no trouble selling stock or eggs. One of the best ways to sell poultry locally was advertise a 'chook and chickens'. This proved very successful for us.

    This is our experience. What say you?

    floot
     
  2. Tezza

    Tezza Junior Member

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    Hey floot how are ya...

    I like my normal sized chooks.Have mainly used Isa browns over years,
    Some knock em but pound for pound they have seen me well for eggs,Temprament,weather capable,human freindly of all..I like the nice size Brown eggs,tastes and looks so yummy and orange when run free range..

    Bantams that i have had in this time allthough cute lookers,they tend to get flighty.My opinion is the smaller or lighter they are ,the more chance of fence jumping.....Ive had enough of fence jumpers and fence sitters :lol: :lol: :lol:


    And I prefere 4 eggs for an omlette not 8 or 10 lolol
    I live in a 7 day week,,I need eggs everyday....I dont want part time layers.

    Just a matter of taste really
    Give me the medium breeds anytime

    Tezza
     
  3. Loris

    Loris Junior Member

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    Like to get some bantam blood into the breed so as to have the mothering that is inherent in them. I use bantam hens and often put a bigger type of rooster over them. The next generation will give a slightly bigger body size and egg size and watch them to select the best mummies. Then use another big breed rooster over these crossbreeds and watch again. This will lead to good mothers, good layers, big enough for a feed offspring and often very vigorous chooks. My cross breds used to fly up and fight hawks off their chickens. Funny to watch. They will however have a tendency to want to perch in trees and not be shut up but its a small price to pay for year round laying.
     
  4. Woody

    Woody Junior Member

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    Hi Loris,
    That sounds like a great idea.
    I've found that bantams never quite lay enough.
    Can you let us know what breeds you use/ have,

    Thanks
    Woody
     
  5. Loris

    Loris Junior Member

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    Hi Woody - sorry can't help you with breeds. We were in the outback where there were only two sorts - the ones that live and the ones that don't. But We could identify bantams - they were smaller and always were clucky. There was always someone with an unwanted rooster - they were crossbreds as well and if it was the size I wanted, I put them over the littlies. As much as I love the true breeds and would love to have the heritage breeds, for ease of management, I'm happy to go with what lives and breeds. Egg wise, our bantams outlayed the big chooks because they never seemed to go off the lay in heat and cold. The problem was pulling eggs out from the cluckies all the time.
     
  6. Ramon

    Ramon Junior Member

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    Hi,
    We have silkie bantams, they are very friendly although you need to maintain the pecking order with roosters occasionally (if cheeky just grab him, flip him on his back and yell at him, that should do it). Great with kids. The eggs are small and so are the bantams. Unfortunately we have foxes visiting (even through the day) and they have taken them. One fox recently was so small, he had to drop my smallest bantam when I chased him! So you may need to protect them. You can clip their wings, they have a good homing instinct and run up a long branch to get to their house in the evening, so even if they do wander (ours don't much) they should come back.
    Cheers,
    Ramon
     

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