Have you ever heard of this little chicken breed called the bantam? They’re an impressive and admittedly curious little breed of chickens that make for great pets. When I say that bantams are little chickens, I mean they’re smaller than all the rest; bantams are the miniature chicken breeds, and it’s rare to see a true bantam chicken that’s anywhere near the size of an average adult chicken.
The common misconception among many people is that a bantam chicken is just a miniaturized chicken. While it’s true that other regular-sized chicken breeds can have bantam-sized members within its group, the true bantam chicken is a chicken bread to be small. There are quite a number of breeds of true bantams with their own outstanding qualities and each and every one of these is of a pleasant temperament and small in stature.
The history of the chicken bantam’s name is attributed to the Indonesian city of Bantam. When restocking, European sailors would dock into this city and fill their cargo holds with the miniature chickens, because of the usefulness and space-efficiency of the bantam. These days, the bantams are more than just livestock – they make for some of the most sought-after chicken variants since their size and temperament makes them decent pets.
And some of these bantams are beautiful and make for good ornaments around the house. A good example is the bantam Sebright chicken. This bird is perhaps the most popular bantam variant there is because of the beautiful pattern on their plumage.
The Sebright bantam is also the hardest to breed. However – the inheritance of characteristics that make for a perfectly formed Sebright are hardly ever inherited from the parent to offspring. The rarity of an ideal Sebright makes it one of the most sought-after variants of chickens.
The Sultan is a chicken bantam that doesn’t look like a chicken at all. This bantam variant was created purely for ornamental purposes, and yields very little in terms of meat, and does very badly in egg production (average egg production per year is seventy eggs).
They are what one would call indoor animals, and make very bad foragers but good pets. Its gorgeous plumage is v-shaped, and the Sultan is one of the few chickens with full facial plumage – enough to cover their combs and wattles.
One word of warning when thinking of getting a sultan as a pet though: this bird can fly over six feet, so you may want a wing clip to keep them from flying away.
One of the oldest breeds of chicken bantams is the Silkie. These chickens look like walking clouds of fluff; thanks to the silky and fluffy quality of their plumage – unusual for most chickens. Also unusual is the Silkie’s fifth toe, since most chickens usually have four toes on each foot. Though poor in egg-laying and yielding very little chicken meat (despite the large appearance), the blue-skinned black meat of a silky is considered to be a delicacy in some Asian countries, most predominantly in China.
The world of bantam chickens is rather diverse, and while bantam production isn’t a big industrial concern, these miniature birds are great creatures valued for more than just what they can produce.
They make for a good first chicken and will provide their owners with more enjoyment than any other chicken.
