BANTAMS 281 



eggs generally start chipping on the nineteenth day after 

 incubation begins. 



The chicks require no food for the first twenty- four hours, 

 some breeders giving none for forty-eight hours. The first 

 meal should consist of bread or biscuit crumbs mixed with 

 hard-boiled egg. After this it is the general practice to 

 start the chicks on some of the commercial chick grains, 

 continuing until they are old enough to take a larger size. 

 The writer is firmly of the opinion, however, that if they 

 are fed for two or three weeks on pheasant meal, hard- 

 boiled egg and green food, as recommended for pheasants, 

 and then shifted to small grains, they will thrive much bet- 

 ter than they commonly do. The general objection to this 

 regime is that the birds would grow too large. There is 

 little fear from this, however, and the extra feeding at first 

 will give the chicks a fund of vigor that will carry them 

 safely to maturity. 



In rearing bantams it is essential that they be protected 

 from hot sunshine and dampness at all times. It is also 

 important that the water be kept clean and out of the sun. 



Bantam Breeds 



As seen at the present day, most bantams are diminutive 

 replicas of larger breeds, the original sorts having prac- 

 tically disappeared. They fall naturally into two groups : 

 the Game Bantams and the Ornamental Bantams. 



Game Bantams 



Game Bantams are found in eight breeds, each duplicat- 

 ing, except in size, the standard exhibition game to which it 

 corresponds. While the actual size is very small, the Game 

 Bantam is essentially a tall and " reachy " bird. The neck 

 and legs are long and slender; the body is broad at the 



