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Bantams

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Andrea

Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 2260
Location: Portugal

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 15 12:14 pm Post subject: Bantams
Am I right in thinking that the term bantam refers to the size and not to a specific breed? In other words you could have different breeds of bantam?

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 15 2:35 pm Post subject:
Yup. You get 'true' bantams, which don't have a large fowl counterpart - Sebrights, d'Anvers, Dutch for example. True bantam breeds tend to have a characteristic dropped wing stance. Then you also get bantam versions of full size breeds - I run Welsummers, Araucana and Pekins, which are actually bantam Cochins.

Andrea

Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 2260
Location: Portugal

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 15 2:52 pm Post subject:
Cheers Chez

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 15 3:08 pm Post subject:
My pleasure. Are you branching out?

Andrea

Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 2260
Location: Portugal

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 15 3:23 pm Post subject:

Thinking about it, and trying to translate the little I know into Portuguese and back again!

Am I right in thinking that the 'not true' bantam bird would share similar characteristics with it's bigger counterpart?

The birds here which I'm translating as Bantams are ALL considered good mothers and people keep them to sit on the eggs of the local 'brown chicken' which is a crap mother. Based on that, do you think it's likely that they're 'true' breeds as presumably the not-true (untrue?

) ones wouldn't necessarily be good mothers?

Sadly, I wouldn't recognise a dropped wing stance if it came and bit me on the bum.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 15 3:42 pm Post subject:
The dropped wing thing is very obvious once you see it - they look really upright - the cocks almost look like they're in a fighting stance even when they're not. My experience re broodiness is that it's the same as with the large fowl - the more crinolines they have and the fluffier their petticoats, the more prone they are to broodiness.

Andrea

Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 2260
Location: Portugal

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 15 3:48 pm Post subject:

Thanks

No fluffiness to the ones we've been offered, which probably explains why they're not doing what they're supposed to!

Lots more research required I think. When the chicken vendors refer to the breeds as 'brown chickens' or 'white chickens' it's not easy! So far I've discovered three different names for bantams, but I'm pretty certain they all just refer to the small size rather than breed.

Sigh.

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 15 3:51 pm Post subject:
Are there any traditional old Portuguese/Spanish breeds that were grown for meat? The heavier types tend to be the ones that will sit, as a rule of thumb.

Andrea

Joined: 02 May 2005
Posts: 2260
Location: Portugal

Posted: Mon Apr 13, 15 4:18 pm Post subject:
That'll be the 'white chicken'

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