Bantams - Raising Poultry - page 152

free range in your backyard eating green things, however, the richer in color and nutri-
tion the yolks will be.
Sheltering the Small Breeds
Providing housing for a few bantams can be as simple as building or purchasing a large
doghouse. You also can use chicken tractors with great success. Bantams don't need
anything elaborate; their small size allows you lots of room for creative freedom. They
do need some protection from wind and precipitation, though they can take quite a bit of
cold. You will have to adjust your housing according to your location, zoning require-
ments, and your climate (see page 21 in chapter 2 , Housing and Supplies, for ideas about
how to adapt to your specific area). Remember, you can fit four times as many bantams
as large fowl in a housing space.
When designing their housing, be sure to think about their roosting habits. Roosting
is important for these miniature birds; it provides a feeling of security. On a roost,
they're off the ground and away from some of the predators. A simple 2×2 (5×5 cm)
board or a round pole approximately that size or slightly smaller is ideal for placement
as a nighttime roost in one end of the bantams' enclosure.
A roost also allows you to treat the birds easily for lice and mites. You simply paint
the roost with the treatment formula (see chapter 25 , Flock Health) and the toxic fumes
come up around the body of the chicken and through its feathers, fumigating the lice and
mites.
NO NEED TO COMPOST
Bantams make wonderful garbage disposals. They like light table scraps and other
goodies that are left over from harvesting and preparing vegetables and other foods
for your family meals. They enjoy watermelon rinds, vegetable peelings, old bread
crusts, and so on. Obviously they're not going to eat coffee grounds or chocolate, and
you shouldn't give them a lot of greasy meat or bones. But they will relish leftover
salad, pancakes, and things such as that. In fact, many times they become spoiled,
and you'll find them waiting for you to deliver something special — something out-
side their normal chicken food ration — each day.
Bantam Feed
Bantams eat the same types of food as do large chickens, only a lot less. Generally, a
small handful of feed will be more than enough per bird per day. Adjust the amount giv-
en to your birds' feeding habits; the more they range and forage the less prepared feed