Bantams – Ornamental Chicken Breed

If you are not interested in having large eggs, and you are not interested in butchering for commercial meat, and you are primarily looking for a pet, a Bantam breed may be your best bet.

Bantam breeds are miniature chickens, and they are a lot of fun to raise as pets. They typically don’t get any bigger than 2 lbs, making them about 20 to 25% smaller than full-sized birds.

Even though Batams are small, they do produce eggs. The primary “catch” is that small birds produce small eggs. So, the eggs will still taste great, but you’ll need to get used to the fact that they are much smaller in volume.

And, even though Bantams do not grow to be very big, many people do butcher them for meat. Often, when purchasing a straight run of chicks, where one cannot control gender, pullets are grown into hens while cockerels may be butchered for meat before becoming roosters.

The most common types of Bantam breeds are:

• Silkies: Small chickens with feathers that resemble fur, they are very comfortable around people
• Japanese: Tiny chickens with high arching tail feathers that have contrasting colors
• Rosecomb: Raised primarily for showing, these are some of the least hardy of the bantams

Like many things in nature, nothing is guaranteed. But, the following table highlights what to expect from the various ornamental chicken breeds.

Bantams: