SHIPPING AND FIRST DAY INSTRUCTIONS:

PREPARING FOR YOUR ORDER

What is a bantam chicken, exactly? They are a smaller variation of poultry, sometimes referred to as miniature chickens. They are about 1/4 the size of a standard layer. Some bantams are true bantams, while others have a standard size counterpart.

While many aspects of brooding bantams and standard size layers is the same, special considerations need to be made for their small size. Because of their tiny stature, small chicken breeds are more fragile, and they prone to overheating or chilling.
 

Housing and Brooder Space

Brood your baby bantams in a clean, draft-free, and predator proof environment. A shed or barn is suitable as long as there are no cold drafts in the area you plan to set up your brooder.

Before placing bantams into the enclosure, ensure that the brooder has been cleaned and properly sanitized if it housed baby poultry in the past. We like using metal stock tanks or DIY brooders constructed out of plywood and tarp.

We recommend a brooder ring if your brooder does not have rounded sides. This prevents poultry from piling into the corners and suffocating.

Bedding

Put down a fresh layer of pine shavings, about 2-4 inches deep. Make sure it is spread out evenly throughout the brooder. Myers Poultry uses pine shavings in paper bags rather than plastic, as they are less likely to mold or harbor moisture inside the bag.

The following are not suitable as bedding:

Treated woods, like cedar. They can cause respiratory issues for poultry.

Newspaper is too slippery and doesn’t provide good traction. It is also not absorbent. Using newspaper can cause splay leg or other injuries for young birds.

Sawdust is too fine and dusty. It can cause respiratory issues and is not absorbent enough. Many birds also mistake the sawdust for food.

Heating Requirements

A heat lamp is preferable to a brooder plate, as it will provide additional ambient heat throughout the brooder. This will allow your bantams to remain warm even while they are eating and drinking.

Heat lamps should be hung securely above the brooder. You can adjust this later if your birds appear to be too hot or too cold. Use 2 methods to secure your heat lamp (like a chain and a clamp). Never hang your heat lamp by the wire, as this is a fire hazard. Use 250-watt red bulbs.

Set up your heat lamp at least 24 hours before your bantam chicks are expected to arrive. A thermometer placed at floor level in the brooder should register at about 95 degrees.

One heat lamp should cover 50-100 chicks.

0-1 week old  90-95º F
1-2 week old  85-90º F
2-3 week old  80-85º F
3-4 week old  75-80º F
4-5 week old  70-75º F
5-6 week old  Start weaning from heat lamp (above 65º F)

This temperature guide is a good place to start, but your poultry will be the best thermometer you have. Use their behavior as a way to gauge whether your brooder is too hot or too cold.

If your chicks are piling into a corner far from the heat lamp, it is too hot. If they are huddled together tightly under the heat lamp, they are cold. Make minor adjustments (1-2 inches at a time) and see how their behavior changes.


Don’t make any drastic changes in temperature, as bantam chicks are particularly sensitive to abrupt fluctuations in hot or cold. 

Miniature chickens can take a bit longer to regulate their body heat than standard layers. Depending on your local climate conditions and how they are developing, you may need to provide them with supplemental heat longer or wean them off more gradually. Do not move them out to the coop until nighttime temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees.

Watering Stations

Room temperature water should be provided at all times. A 1-gallon waterer should be enough for 25 chicks. Take extra care to ensure the waterer you are using is safe for small chicken breeds, as bantams are more likely to drown than standard size breeds. Using shallow waterers or adding rocks is key to guaranteeing their safety.

Do not place your water directly under the heat lamp. Move it to an area adjacent to the heat so they can move about the brooder freely to become warmer or cooler.

As your bantams grow, you can raise up their waterer with wood blocks so they can drink comfortably. The waterer should hit them at about shoulder height.

Bantam Feed

Because they have smaller beaks, bantams may have issues eating feed that is too coarse. Look for fine crumbles to ensure they are able to eat and digest their food properly. Ask your local feed dealer for recommendations.

If your chicks are not vaccinated, we do recommend starting your flock on a medicated feed to protect them from illnesses like Coccidiosis.

Like your waterer, feed should not be placed directly under the heat lamp. Place the feed and water in separate areas of the brooder that allow them to not be under direct heat while eating and drinking. If your lamp is set up properly, there should be ambient warmth throughout the brooder.

Raise up the feeder on a wood block as your bantams grow to ensure it reaches them at shoulder height.

Moving to the Outdoors and Mixed Flocks

There are some special considerations when moving your bantams from the brooder to the coop, especially if you plan to house them within a mixed flock.

Introducing Bantam Poultry to a Mixed Flock

Introductions between layers and bantams should be done slowly to prevent bullying within the flock. Small chicken breeds are more likely to be at the bottom of the pecking order. 

You can set up a smaller pen within the run so all the birds can see and interact with each other. Do slow introductions outside by letting the flock free-range together.

Make sure your coop is big enough to house all of your poultry to prevent birds from becoming stressed or territorial.

Free-Ranging Bantams

It’s more risky to free-range bantams than it is other poultry. We suggest having a few methods in place to deter predators if you plan to allow them outside.

Ideally, your yard should be fenced in as a predator deterrent. Make sure the gaps are small enough to keep bantam poultry inside.

Adding some chickens with black plumage to your flock can be helpful, as birds of prey often mistake them for crows. Roosters (if your zone allows them) can be effective at alerting the flock early to potential danger.

If possible, supervising your poultry's outdoor time can also be a way to protect them from predators and prevent losses.

Special Coop Accommodations 

Roosting bars should be placed higher for bantams since they are such good fliers. They also need to be slightly thinner than a standard roosting bar so they can properly latch on.

Because they are not as cold hardy and heat tolerant as other breeds, they will need well-designed ventilation and insulation in the coop to keep them cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Have several areas in the coop and run where bantam chickens can seek refuge if they are being bullied by larger birds in the flock.