Bantams - Raising Poultry - page 150

Japanese bantams carry one gene that dictates average leg length and one gene
that dictates short legs. Although the birds are healthy and function normally, cross-
ing two short-legged birds results in some of the eggs never fully developing into
chicks. Some that do hatch are functioning chicks, but they are long-legged and do
not conform to the breed standard.
Roughly 25 percent of the Japanese chicks inherit two genes for short legs — a
lethal combination — and the chicks will die before hatching. Another 25 percent of
the chicks will inherit two genes for normal legs, and will have legs that are too long
for showing. Only half the chicks will have the proper long- and short-leg gene com-
bination. If you choose to maintain and better the breed, it's your job to select for the
proper leg length. To do this you have to cull the long-legged birds from your breed-
ing program. (See chapter 20 , So You Want to Be a Breeder?, for more on culling.)
This breed is just one of the many genetic mutations in the poultry world that con-
tinue to thrive and provide breeders with a challenge to work on and to improve. In
the case of Japanese bantams, the shorter the legs and the more the tail curves over
the head, the better the bird is considered as far as breed type.
The breed comes in two colors, Silver and Golden — not solid silver or solid gold,
but silver laced and golden laced, a coloring that is very appealing to the eye. They are
tight-feathered , which means their feathers do not fluff out, making them always ap-
pear in fabulous condition. Sebrights lay a tiny tinted egg. They are active foragers and
make good backyard birds.
LITTLE CHICKENS FOR LITTLE PEOPLE
If you have children who would like to take on a poultry-raising project, you'll find
the bantam Cochin breed perfect for your purposes. Bantam Cochins come in many
colors and are about one-tenth the size of their standard large-fowl counterparts. This
is the breed I always recommend for children who are trying their small hands at rais-
ing for the first time.
In nearly all cases, male and female Cochin bantams are easy to handle. Anyone
spending any length of time with them quickly learns that these birds are similar to
cats and dogs — they'll follow you everywhere! It is very easy for young children to
pick them up and carry them around, and amazingly, when you set these birds down
on the ground, they tend to stay put.