so? 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



BANTAM BREEDING. GAME BANTAMS. 



AT no period in the history of the Poultry 

 Fancy have Bantams reached such a 

 ^ popularity, or carried with them such a 

 monetary value, as they do at the present time, 

 so that show promoters in certain places 

 are giving them exhibitions to themselves. 

 Bantam breeders comprise, however, a fancy 

 and world of their own, for which reason we 

 have thought it better for this section to be 

 treated throughout by some single special 

 authority. Though not, as in other cases, dis- 

 tmguished by quotation marks, owing to their 

 length, this' and the following chapter upon 

 Bantams are therefore written throughout by 

 Mr. P. Proud, of Birkdale, Southport. Mr. 

 Proud is so well known to every Bantam 

 breeder, not only as an exhibitor, but as a 

 popular judge, a critic, and writer upon this 

 subject, that nothing further need be added 

 beyond our gratification that he has found it 

 possible to render us and our readers his valu- 

 able assistance. 



The reasons for the great advance in popu- 

 larity of Bantams are perhaps likely to increase 

 rather than diminish. They can be kept as 

 pets by ladies, young people, and others who 

 would never trouble with larger breeds. They 

 can be reared in hundreds, where medium-sized 

 fowls can only be kept in dozens. They stand 

 a town life well, and a few can be kept success- 

 fully in a small garden, or backyard, or, on a 

 pinch, in pens in an attic. They are small con- 

 sumers, and lay profitably for what little they 

 eat. They are well catered for at all the best 

 shows, and the returns from prizes won are, 

 fro rata with the expenses of carriage incurred 

 to and from exhibitions, greatly in excess of 

 what could be expected from heavier breeds. 

 Take for instance a consignment of six or 

 eight Bantams, each in separate sections of a 

 properly divided hamper ; it costs only about 

 3d- or 4d. per bird in carriage from the north 

 of England to London and back. At a show- 

 like the Dairy or Palace, the exhibitor, for 

 about the same carriage as he would have to 

 pay for one Rock or Orpington cockerel, can 

 compete for six or eight prizes. Finally. Ban- 



tams are now kept so much by ladies and 

 gentlemen of rank, with Queen Alexandra at 

 their head, that this also~has been no small 

 factor in popularising these beautiful and in- 

 teresting birds. 



In some respects Bantams require rather 

 special management, and there are some special 

 difficulties in hatching and rearing Bantam 

 Hat h- chicks. The selection of a suitable 



Bantam^ t)''°°d>' ,'^^'1 ^^ highly important, 

 Eggs. unless the Fancier wishes to go in 



for a small reliable incubator, for 

 such are now to be obtained from some of the 

 best incubator makers ; but an inferior machine 

 is no possible use for hatching Bantam eggs, 

 and the temperature for same must not exceed 

 102°. For years I was greatly troubled by my 

 hens breaking two or three eggs in every sit- 

 ting, and crushing chicks when on the point of 

 hatching, simply because they were too heavy 

 and clumsy for Bantam eggs. At last I hit 

 upon that cross between the Silkie and Pekin 

 described in the next chapter. These pullets 

 proved excellent sitters and mothers, and for 

 hatching and rearing Bantam chicks are worth 

 their weight in gold. They rarely lay more 

 than a dozen eggs before becoming broody, 

 and then they will sit till further orders ; 

 although it is not wise to let them hatch more 

 than two broods at one sitting. As to the nests, 

 where possible it is far the best to have a 

 separate house for sitting hens, where the in- 

 mates can be left perfectly quiet. For nests I 

 use orange boxes, which can generally be pur- 

 chased for twopence or threepence. These I 

 lay down on their sides, and nail a strip of 

 wood along the front at the bottom. I then put 

 in a plentiful supply of fine soil or sand, and 

 on the top of this clean soft hay, the more the 

 better, making the nest the shape of a shallow 

 basin. In the early months — January, Feb- 

 ruary, and March — never give the hen too many 

 eggs ; rather put down too few than one too 

 many. Later on you may safely put down 

 fourteen or fifteen. During the time the hen is 

 sitting her food should consist of Indian corn, 

 and she should be moved from the nest every 



