The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: STING on January 31, 2012, 02:13:05 pm
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I am considering bantams and would love to hear from your experience. I have had hens for the past 2 years now and thought bantams might be good to try too.
In your opinion, are they quieter than large fowl? I live in a semi in a not so rural area and need to consider neighbours.
They will be for egg laying and not breeding purposes.
Any type you can recommend both for tasty eggs and suitability for situations where neighbours are near.?
Thank you in anticipation.
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My bantams are definitely noisier than the larger birds. I do like my lavender araucanas as they lay a very pretty blue/green egg. They have laid throughout winter, albeit not every day and they are relatively quiet. If you are not breeding them then there is no need for a cockerel and they are the noisiest birds.
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i got a mix of both LF for eggs and bantams for looks bantams eggs are nicer imo but bantams go broody alot so for what you want i would just stick to LF. i aint fussed on eggs one bit so i got a mix of hens i recently bought a trio of dutch bantams which im hoping if and when they come into lay sell fertile eggs after a test hatch. i got 5 pekins for broodies/eggs 1 black silkie for broody/eggs 1 welsummer bantam for broody/eggs i got 1 bluebell 1 hyline soon to have 5 copper marans to sell if they hatch on friday. there all about the same noise chickens make noise some louder than others. i got houses all around my garden and there only about 50 mtrs max away from pen
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I guess the noise they make is limited to the usual egg song time and not all the time? My current large fowl make a loud noise when they see me .. always expecting some corn and kitchen scraps ! They seem to have learnt very quickly to associate my presence with food.
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Brown or white English Leghorn Bantams. Our hens are quiet and lay 200 eggs a year at 50 grammes each from 80 grammes of feed per day. Very flighty so need high run wall or a top. Don't like cold, so below freezing will need heat in the coop -we put ours in the greenhouse over Winter so no draughts and keeps warmer but, because we have no electricity there, we have to bring them inside at -5 degrees. They get frostbite of their combs and stand in the coop shivering at those temperatures.