Dutch Bantam

The Dutch Bantam is a true bantam, which means there is no full-sized version of the breed to match it against. It is one of the smallest chickens going, a small, tidy bird that stands upright, carries a full breast, and holds its tail up at a jaunty angle.

The breed comes from the Netherlands, where it was kept for generations on small holdings and in town gardens. Its size, easy handling, and the sheer range of feather colours on offer made it a firm favourite with back-garden keepers and show breeders alike. Hens lay small eggs and go broody without much persuading, which suits anyone who would rather let a hen hatch her own clutch than fuss with an incubator.

Dutch Bantams are friendly, good-natured, busy little birds, always on the go and quick to notice what is happening around them. They will put up with a confined run well enough, but they do better with room to forage. Because they eat so little and take up so little space, they suit keepers working with a modest garden or yard.

Who it suits

The Dutch Bantam suits anyone after a lively, good-looking bird that will not ask for much ground or feed. It is a sound choice for families and first-time keepers, so long as the run is secure, since a bird this small is easy prey for a fox or a sparrowhawk and feels the cold quicker than a full-sized hen. Poultry show regulars rate the breed highly too, given how many recognised colour varieties there are to choose from.

The Dutch Bantam is a true bantam, and it made its name in the country its own name points to: the Netherlands. Most bantams are scaled-down copies of a bigger breed, but the Dutch Bantam never had a large-fowl version to begin with. It has always been small.

For much of its early life the breed was kept by smallholders and cottage gardeners around the Netherlands. A small hen ate little yet still gave eggs, and on some holdings the tiny bantam eggs were kept for the house while the bigger eggs from the standard hens went off to market. That everyday usefulness kept the breed going in the Dutch countryside long before anyone wrote a standard for it.

Dutch poultry bodies later set down the breed's shape and colour varieties in proper written standards, and dedicated breeders sharpened up its look for the show bench. From there the breed travelled well beyond its home country.

The Dutch Bantam reached Britain and the United States during the twentieth century, and breed clubs took up its cause on both sides of the Atlantic. It remains a well-liked exhibition and back-garden breed across Europe, North America, and further afield, including on this side of the Irish Sea.

The Dutch Bantam is small and nicely balanced, with a short back, a full, rounded breast carried well forward, and an upright stance. The tail sits high and full, and on the cock the main sickle feathers sweep over it in a graceful curve. The single comb has five points and stands up straight, the wattles and earlobes are tidy, and the earlobes are usually white. The legs are slate-blue and clear of feathering.

Coat and colours

The plumage sits close and glossy. Partridge, sometimes called gold partridge, is the classic and most widespread variety: the cock shows orange-red hackle and saddle over a black breast, while the hen carries fine pencilling. Plenty of other colours are recognised too, among them blue and silver versions of partridge, solid black, and white. Colour and pattern can be judged slightly differently from one national standard to the next, so anyone showing a bird should check the standard their own club uses.

Dutch Bantams are good-natured and friendly by temperament. Handle them gently and regularly and they tame down well, and they can be kept around children, though their small size means little hands need to be careful with them. The breed is a busy one, spending most of the day foraging, scratching about, and moving around the run.

They are alert birds, a touch flighty, and strong flyers for their size, happy to use a perch or a low branch, so a run needs to be covered or fenced well up to keep them in. Around strangers they tend to hang back and stay watchful until they settle.

They get on well with other chickens and slot easily into a mixed bantam flock. Cocks can be lively but rarely turn seriously aggressive. Hens go broody often and make careful mothers. Because the breed is so watchful, it reacts fast to anything moving overhead, so keepers should give them cover from sparrowhawks and other birds of prey.

Grooming

• Check the bare legs and feet often for scaly leg mite and any injury.
• Go through the feathers and skin for lice and mite, especially around the vent.
• Give the birds a dry patch for dust bathing so they can manage parasites themselves.
• Trim nails or beak only if overgrowth is getting in the way of normal activity.

Exercise

• Let the birds into a run or covered area every day to forage and scratch about.
• Put in perches and low platforms, since the breed flies well and likes to roost up off the ground.
• Keep an eye on free-ranging birds where sparrowhawks or ground predators are about.
• Give them room to move; shut an active bird up too tight and it turns restless.

Environment

The breed does best in a secure, draught-free coop with a covered run. Being such small birds, they lose heat fast, so winter housing needs to be dry and sheltered, without being sealed up so tight that ventilation suffers, since damp, stale air causes more trouble in an Irish winter than the cold itself. High fencing or a roof keeps these able flyers in and keeps aerial predators out.

Dutch Bantams have small appetites and need a balanced, complete poultry ration suited to their age. Chicks want a starter crumble, growing birds a grower feed, and laying hens a layer feed that supplies the calcium needed for good shells. Because the birds are so small, a finer crumble or pellet is easier on them than a large layer pellet meant for standard hens. Fresh water needs to be on hand at all times.

Treats and extras

Keep treats to around a tenth of the diet so the complete feed is not thrown out of balance. Leafy greens, a small handful of grain or mealworms, and whatever the birds pick up foraging in the garden all work well. Offer insoluble grit so they can grind their food properly, and put out crushed oyster shell separately for laying hens that need the extra calcium.

Dutch Bantams are tough little birds when housed and fed properly, and 6 to 8 years is a typical lifespan. Their weak point is their size: they chill faster than a full-grown hen in cold, wet weather, and they make an easy target for predators. Regular attention to housing, parasite control, and feed heads off most problems before they start.

Preventive care

• Keep the coop clean, dry, and well ventilated.
• Check birds regularly for external parasites and treat without delay.
• Provide a dust-bathing patch for natural parasite control.
• Give the right feed for each life stage, plus grit and calcium for layers.
• Quarantine any new bird before it joins the flock.
• Shelter the flock from bitter cold, damp, and predators, foxes especially.

Dutch Bantams suit a small back garden well, since they need so little space, but the housing has to be secure and properly weatherproof. A dry, draught-free coop with good ventilation keeps off the cold and damp that these small birds feel more than large fowl. The run wants to be covered or fenced well up, since the birds fly strongly and will clear a low barrier without much bother. Predator-proofing matters more here than for a big hen, since a Dutch Bantam is easy pickings for a fox, a cat, or a sparrowhawk.

Setup checklist

• Dry, insulated, draught-free coop with ventilation up near the roof.
• Covered or netted run to hold in flyers and keep out birds of prey.
• Secure fencing dug in or aproned to stop foxes digging underneath.
• Perches set at different heights.
• Small nest boxes with clean bedding.
• Dust-bathing patch and fresh water at all times.

Dutch Bantam eggs are small and take about 21 days to hatch, same as any other chicken. They can go under an incubator or under a broody hen. The breed goes broody easily and hens mind their chicks well, so natural incubation is a real option for most keepers. Set eggs clean, store them pointed end down somewhere cool, and use them within about a week for the best hatch rate.

Hatching steps

1. Pick clean, well-shaped eggs and store them cool, pointed end down, for up to about a week.
2. Warm up the incubator and let temperature and humidity settle before setting the eggs.
3. Set the eggs and turn them several times a day through to day 18.
4. Candle around day 7 to 10 and remove any that are clear or not developing.
5. At day 18 stop turning, raise the humidity, and move into lockdown.
6. Leave the chicks to hatch undisturbed, then move them to a warm brooder once they are dry.