Impatient for my account on 'practical poultry forum' to be validated so I was wondering if anyone on here keeps bantams? More particularly, has anyone built an ark for 2-3 bantams?
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Does anyone keep bantams?
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Posted 1 year ago #
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No, but I have Batman locked in my basement.
Posted 1 year ago # -
weird I saw some Bantams in my local pet shop today - never heard so much about them in one day
Posted 1 year ago # -
My mate kept some. Deff. the escapologists of the chicken world. He reckoned his could fly a bit, coming home he'd find them in trees over the next door neighbours anywhere apart from where they should be. A fox killed them all in the end and he didn't bother replacing them.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yes, have 2 and 2 hybrid chickens. The bantys (lemons) are lovely to look at but thick as. Chickens way more character and intelligence. But, big but, banty eggs have waymore flavour.
Posted 1 year ago # -
tasty eggs mmm. Not sure about the feats of tree ascent. We've got trees and the neighbours do too so I could be kept busy. But then it's time the kids learnt to climb trees.
I might have to have a look at the garden and think about space - pretty sure we don't want to give up a chicken-sized space, even in a movable ark, but we'll see..
Posted 1 year ago # -
I've got 3, along with 3 ducks and 2 geese.
No problem at all from the chickens, let them out in the morning, they go back in on their own in the evening.
Free-range, so they are pecking around the garden all day.5 foot fences one side, 3 foot wire fence the other. Never lost one yet. A cock once flew over to next door, but soon came back when I shook the food tin. Never happened again, 3 years now.
They need little space to sleep in.I've got one of these:
http://www.henhouseworld.co.uk/ch101.htmThe chickens sleep upstairs, the ducks down.
If they are free-range, then they could sleep in something as small as a crisp box sized cage. They will need a perch, they would rather perch than sit on the floor.
Any more info, then just ask.
HTH
Alan.Posted 1 year ago # -
Cheers Alan, that's really useful. Does their pecking cause problems with veggies and flowerbeds? I guess young seedlings would look tasty to them but we're building a greenhouse so would probably be able to keep younger plants safe.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Had about 30 bantams at parents. They do eat pretty much anything from young veggies, flowers (red ones they love) and strawberries also scratch up areas for dust baths. They can fly really well to but as long as you have a routine for feeding they will always stay around that area come close to food times. If you have children i would get them to handle them as much as you can so they become really tame.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yes, they will pick at anything 'green and tender', so for veg growing, you'll need a net over the crop.
Strangely, they didnt touch my strawberries last year, even the fruit wasnt touched. The geese however eat anything, so no chance of leaving plants uncovered with them around.
Alan.Posted 1 year ago # -
we had one, in among 200 chickens, it would appear on the kitchen window sill at teatime every day.
extremely tame, and a very efficient mother, broods of 18-22 chicks were common.
small eggs, but +1 for tasty.Posted 1 year ago # -
Cheers for that! After a bit of reading it looks like Australorp bantams or Dutch bantams seem like good bets...
Now for a bit of skipsurfing for the materials for a run...
Posted 1 year ago # -
Posted 1 year ago # -
Actually, that's pretty tempting thisisnot... but I think I'd have more trouble convincing the missus it was a cuddly family pet which woud lay little bonuses...
Light Sussex Bantams it may well be.
Posted 1 year ago # -
We had a couple of farmyard chickens for a bit, easy as pie to keep and never tasted better eggs.
Only got rid when the sprogs came along and we wanted to simplify.
Already mentioned but whatever fence size you build add a bit. Scared the crap out of the dogs when they jumped the 6ft fence we had.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I keep four at the bottom of the garden
Posted 1 year ago #
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