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Banty Chicken Breed

The term Banty Chicken derives from the official term Bantam. Where and why the term “Banty” came about is a mystery to me. No doubt some of my kinfolk from around these Southern United States came up with this term! Us southern folk have a way with the english language and have never been shy about shortening or fowling up words! OOps, I meant fouling up words. 😉

The Banty Chicken or Bantam is a bird that derives from Indonesia. The Banty or Bantam was a prefered bird for the ships that used those ports in Indonesia. The name bantam comes from the city of Bantam, currently known as “Banten Province” or previously “Banten Residency”. These chickens size made it easy to ship lots of them in a small space.

I remember my parents, grandparents, etc as I grew up saying things like, mad as a banty hen or he fights like a banty rooster, etc. The Banties or Bantams are such majestic looking birds with their chest held out and their heads held high they resemble a worth look! When they would flog or fight they looked very aggressive and because of the small size the body action was magnified much more than a regular sized chicken.

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A Banty or Bantam is usually about one fourth the size of it full sized counterpart. Most Banties or Bantams have a larger counterpart and then there are some who do not. The Banty or Bantam Chicken will lay smaller eggs than your standard breed and this must be kept in mind. the eggs are just as tasty and you can fix them any way you can fix a standard sized egg. Remember that any chicken, when it starts laying will normally lay a smaller egg than it will after a few months. Most chickens will even lay larger eggs after their first molt. You can read an article on a True Banty I wrote “HERE, The Sebright Bantam”

The Picture below is a Golden Laced Sebright, provided by “Wiki Commons.” This is just one of the many Banties or Bantams available.

The Banty Chicken or Bantam is a wonderful backyard bird because of it’s size. You can have several more Banties or Bantams in your yard than you can standard sized breeds. Banties have become very popular for show birds and pets. The variety of colors make them a very popular show bird. There are so many different breeds of Banties or Bantams that it is hard to characterise them all into one group. They can and will, just like the standard breeds, have different personalities.

Banty Chicken Characteristics:

Layers: Yes, up to 150 eggs per year. About one half to one third the size of a standard sized egg.
Broody: Yes often, and make wonderful Mothers. Very aggressive in protecting her young.
Dual Purpose: No, they are too small for good meat production.
Docile: Such a large variety and some are.
Pets: Yes
Friendly: Yes, most are.

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