sugarplum Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 we should be getting chickens soon and as we have a small garden and like our turf!!!!!! we were thinkiing that we would have a eglu with a standard sized run.we thought that bantams would be best, but dont no what variety. any help would be usefull. we want chickens that are cuddlely but the dont have to layer every day, and we would like them to not mind being in the run most of the time. thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bantam of the Opera Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I've got 3 orpington bantams, very fluffy and absolutely adorable. bella lays almost every day and is very friendly, snape is a cockerel so i guess youll not be getting one of those and narcissa is a littel runt and is the cutest ever! all very nice to cuddle and they lived in the eglu run for the first few months i had them and they were fine with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tara123 Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 I have 4 wyandotte bantams and I think they are great but that's only because I haven't had any other sort to compare them with Up until Monday we only had 3 but I decided to get one more. We had our first eggs last week and have had them every day since. Today is the third week since we got the original 3 and its like we've had them forever. They talk to me, greet me in the morning and come running to the gate of there run as soon as they here the back door open. I think they are fab and I love them to bits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 We've got 2 pekin bantums and 1 black tailed japanese pekin who are very small and cuddly. Florence started laying in December then stopped, she would lay one day and take the next off etc. I'm pretty sure the other girls are getting ready to lay now as the appear to be quite red in the face Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Welcome to the forum. Pekins don't do too much damage to grass I believe....in fact any of the varieties with feathered legs would suit you. Wyandottes are so beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bondinho Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Yes Pekins would be a good choice as they don't damage the grass much, and Silkies are quite small and don't do alot of damage - but you can also get Silkie miniatures which are even smaller. Japanese bantams, Belgian bantam breeds? Poland bantams or Araucana bantams for the blue eggs? I saw a lavender Araucana bantam when I picked my bunch up and it was the cutest, friendliest little thing but wasn't for sale unfortunately Any of the above would be fine I think. And I'm sure there are plenty of other breeds too as mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 I have a selection of Bantams - take a look in my Gallery for some piccys! Don't forget that you can mix & match bantam breeds,if you fancy more than one particular type Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Like Sarah, I have plenty of bantams and miniatures. They are the loveliest chickens and have such personality. Bear in mind though, that with pure breeds, you won't get the egg laying capacity of a hybrid. Wyandottes are very hardy and good layers too. I have a dutch bantam, she's very small and delicate, ever so pretty, but Ionly get about 6 eggs a year out of her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Like Claret I have bantams - 10 of them. Pekins, Frizzle, Orpington, Modern Game Bird, Rosecomb, Barbu d Uccle -erm others. You can see them on my www below just go to the categories on the right hand side and click on Chickens and Quail Once you get them you'll never want any other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Another bantam lover here I have a rather small garden, so banties are ideal - less destructive, smaller poos, etc. My Wyandotte is beautiful but not cuddly - she pecks, and hard! The other two are random hybrids - Pepper is on the large side for a bantam, white with a rose comb and a good egg layer, Nutmeg is very pretty with a crest and beard but a bit nervous and shy. I didn't get pekins because my garden is a bit muddy and I can't be "Ooops, word censored!"d to do all that leg-washing Anyway, whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll enjoy them - bantams are great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Another bantam lover here I have a rather small garden, so banties are ideal - less destructive, smaller poos, etc. My Wyandotte is beautiful but not cuddly - she pecks, and hard! The other two are random hybrids - Pepper is on the large side for a bantam, white with a rose comb and a good egg layer, Nutmeg is very pretty with a crest and beard but a bit nervous and shy. I didn't get pekins because my garden is a bit muddy and I can't be "Ooops, word censored!"d to do all that leg-washing Anyway, whatever you choose, I'm sure you'll enjoy them - bantams are great Leg washing? My Pekins - I have a lavender who is virtually Persil white - never get their legs or feet or anything washed - and they love the mud and dirt. They do what they do in the wild - and preen themselves clean - all of them. The are freerange garden chickens - and don't come into the house or conservatory so no need to wash their feet Great to see another bantam lover on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 I read somewhere that the feather-footed breeds can get nasty dried mudballs on their feet that can be painful, so you have to wash them regularly. That rather put me off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Well I never. All I can say is that mine freerange around the garden on the lawns, gravel paths, and flower beds - and although their leg feathers can get muddy at times - the actual feet don't have feathers on them - the feathers are 'ankle length' if chickens had ankles and they stick out like wings. My girls preen themselves several times a day - and it is lovely to watch how meticulously they do it. They seem to pay extra attention to their leg feathers and run their beaks from the leg outwards right along to the tip of the feather! That is how mine keep their's clean. Perhaps I just have very well trained birds All down to their Mother Hen - not me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 That's good to know, Dilly! Maybe I picked up the info on a site aimed more at show breeders. Actually, my girls do spend a lot of time preening when it's sunny. Maybe I'll have to consider pekins... Whilst we're still on topic - how many bantams is it reasonable to have in a standard eglu run? I don't have space for an extension, and as I work full-time, the girls have to stay in a lot during winter. I have three at the moment, but I wouldn't say no to a couple more if there was space! Also, how are pekins and other breeds on the laying front? I'm only getting 4-6 eggs a week out of my three at the moment, which given the size of them (the eggs, I mean), is equivalent to 2-3 standard ones. It would be nice to have a few more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Five maximum I would say - Claret would be a better person to ask as she had hers in an eglu and run - but now that she has lots they freerange (unless the weather is so bad I think) My pekins are good layers - and usually one a day with a day off one a week at times. No eggs during the winter months - not enough daylight. Some of mine are laying - the older ones - but it is still a bit too soon for them all to come into lay - the new ones that is - cos of the short daylight hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Thanks! I was thinking no more than 5 - we don't have space for a cube I'll see how my girls do in the coming weeks, and maybe think about ordering a couple of pekins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 They will easily fit into the Eglu- you can get 10 in there as they all squish up - its the run area. As bantams are half the size of a hybrid hen - I do my maths like that - 5 bantams = 2.5 hens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 They will easily fit into the Eglu- you can get 10 in there as they all squish up - its the run area. That's why I was careful to state "how many in an eglu run" - we just don't have room for anything bigger unless we build a "proper" walk-in run instead, and that would take up a lot of visual space in our small garden. As bantams are half the size of a hybrid hen - I do my maths like that - 5 bantams = 2.5 hens Sounds fair to me - I know you shouldn't try and fit more than 3 standard hens into the 2m run at the very most, so 5 bantams doesn't sound entirely unreasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 Sorry I missed this guys. My flock (or should that be 'herd'?) are a real mixture. I love the wyandottes for their resilience and hardiness - they have to be the best layers out of my lot. The pekins have the funniest personalities and rule the roost - they lay less eggs and are inclined towards broodiness, but I wouldn't be without them. They do get muddy leg feathers when they are rootling around, but they soon clean it off. I bought 3 new hens last year (to replace one.... as you do ) and one of them is a RIR banty - she's great, has a fab personality, follows me around everywhere and is a great layer too. My garden is a typical long thin Victorian garden, and is pretty muddy at the moment. My girls have an eglu with a converter on the run, which is covered with shower curtains to keep them dry. They free-range all day until it starts to get dark, but can also be left in the run if we need to be out all day. Please feel free to ask any questions about them Eyren. There are loads of pcitures, both in my Omlet album, which is linked from my signature, and in my photobucket album Dilly and i are both bantam lovers, so we're not unbiased Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 Thanks, Claret! I'm seriously leaning towards pekins at the moment, partly because they're less inclined to scratch (I have better things to do than sweep the gravel off the paths and patio every day!) and partly because they seem to be a fairly tame breed (my current girls, though lovely, are a bit flighty). Plus I can hopefully get some from Kirsty at Happy Hens, who is only a half-hour drive from here I don't mind if they're only moderate egg layers, as long as they increase the chance that I get some eggs by (hopefully) not being broody at the same time as my Wyandotte - I just don't want to end up with one of the very fancy breeds who are "too posh to push" My garden is a typical long thin Victorian garden, and is pretty muddy at the moment. My girls have an eglu with a converter on the run, which is covered with shower curtains to keep them dry. They free-range all day until it starts to get dark, but can also be left in the run if we need to be out all day. Mine's a typical modern suburban garden, i.e. no bigger than the developers could get away with! I did actually measure it a few years ago when I was thinking about changing the layout, and it's only 7m x 7m (hence the need for an allotment!). However it's well-enclosed, with a rockery to perch on, shady bushes in the summer, and lots of nooks and crannies for small chooks to explore I let mine free-range whenever I'm at home during daylight hours, provided it's not tipping it down. That means they generally have to stay in the run during the week from late Nov to late Jan and only come out at weekends, but I'm now letting them out for about an hour or so in the mornings and all day at weekends. If you have 10 in a run with converter, it sounds like I should be fine with 5 in a standard run. Hmm, wonder what the LSH is going to say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 I'd say that 5 will be fine. If I am going to leave them in the run all day (which is rare) then I leave them some greens or cabbage leaves to bother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Mine have a small cabbage left over from the organic veg box (lucky chooks!), but I don't know if they've "bothered" it yet! Nutmeg did gobble up the bits I tore up from one of the outer leaves, so maybe they'll get the idea eventually. The new girls are both grown-up hens, not pullets, and I have no idea what their previous owner fed them apart from layers pellets - I don't think they'd ever seen tinned sweetcorn before they came to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Do you have any piccies of them Anne? It's the next best thing to getting new hens of your own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Do you mean piccies of my girls, or of pekins? The DH took some photos of ours sunbathing at the weekend - I'll get them off my camera and see if they're fit to post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bondinho Posted February 19, 2008 Share Posted February 19, 2008 Out of interest Dilly, how big are your Orpington bantams (and Brahma bantams if you know?) in comparison to a Pekin? I'm assuming they are still a lot bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...