Dutch Bantams

The Dutch Bantam is one of the few "true" bantams, naturally small and not originating from Large Fowl.

Bantam Island in the Dutch East Indies is the original homeland of this docile, proud little bird. The Dutch Bantam, in its gold partridge form, is just about as close as you can get in visual terms to the ancestor of all chickens, the red Jungle Fowl.

Dutch Bantams are hardy, active and lively little birds and come in many beautiful colours and patterns. These birds are easy and straightforward to keep.

The Standard weight for Dutch Bantams is between 0.45Kg and 0.55Kg (1lb to 1lb-3ozs) making them one of the smallest bantams.

Dutch Bantams are short bodied with a medium to high carriage. Breed characteristics are blue legs, white earlobes and single upright well serrated comb.

The most popular colour is partridge, other colours are golden duckwing, silver duckwing, blue duckwing, cuckoo duckwing, red shouldered silver duckwing and blue silver duckwing, black, white, blue and cuckoo.

The Dutch Bantam is an easy bird to breed. The hens lay a lot of eggs (200+ through the year) and fertility levels are typically high. They are cheap to own too, as food consumption is low compared to other breeds. Dutch Bantams are expert fliers.

See also: Dutch Chicken Breeds