Bantams as a hobby

Front matter

ALBERT R. MANN

NEW YorK STATE COLLEGES OF AGRICULTURE AND HoME ECONOMICS

AT

Preface To First, Second And Third Editions

AVING been frequently asked by young fanciers for information respecting the successful bréeding and management of that most beautiful and profitable miniature fowl, the Bantam, I trust that the following practical information and advice will enable those who have hitherto failed in their efforts, to make their _ hobby both a pleasurable and profitable one. Bantams, kept under proper management, and by following the advice in mating and rearing which are fully treated of in this book, should with a little care and attention be made to not only pay the rent of a cottage and three or four acres of land, but in addition yield a nice profit and furnish a very interesting and healthful hobby as well. My readers will scarcely credit the fact that there are in England to-day several Bantam breeders who are making an income of from £75 to £250 on Bantams alone. This is not to be wondered at when we know that prices are obtained ranging from {15 to £50 for really first-class exhibition specimens, whilst the carriage to and from shows is quite 50 per cent. less than on larger breeds, and the cost of feeding is proportionately smaller. Still, it is not all “ Klondyke ” with Bantam farming—far from it. The young fancier will have to experience innumerable troubles and worries ere he reaches the top rung in the ladder of Bantam fame. His watchword should be, “ Attention and perseverance.”’

In writing these notes, which are intended for the amateur fancier and not the professional, I shall endeavour to supply the necessary information in as simple a form as possible. All the varieties are treated of in their turn, according to their popularity. Full particulars are given of their respective exhibition properties, with instructions how to mate and rear, and as to their general treatment in sickness and in health. The information contained herein is not the outcome of literary knowledge, but of practical experience, and every detail is given that may be of assistance to those who are desirous of taking up a hobby which will give both pleasure and profit in return for a small outlay and a little careful attention daily.

P.iPROOD.

fan

= ay , Vege Ar) Pb sy ; mpl ARGS T aye AA at * é on ae Ss ea]

Ma ha - 4 x nee’

yf yee, ae ;

vars f anne Fd ie enon ise ER (04 MOE Geer anat ca ae AE alednteny Np! wpa rn reas ae : nV ae pe ; a F bn a ’ Si ‘peal a PS * tau ry AY, i‘. ? i “% ak Aa vet oh pa i ay Se ahs L ‘ Fite! ee i at rae ali gy, Br eee eas ae ; Ai ; i i’ ye vee : Pym! he Sue a FAD ; me : i ? ? a «

Pea r ;

ee bs head ak ae aan et tt hip’

a ’ 5 he “ we 4 ie ‘ThA, a + /@- ds BP “ly ee é t a a. we. : : 4p LTS ae 4 a MF i ; } by jit fre pe ig t ea a! d fi 7 t wer a Ae wh, hae 7. Lay iy. i yy d ke eee ‘ . ; : ~ p! sa il as ie P ye i , fa 3) ‘ Ne A ~ i ‘

«2 ay . " ean Be.

+ od alte ise:

Pee er 4 eit

Preface To Sixth Edition

N entirely new edition of this work being necessary, its enlargement and revising

has again been entrusted to Mr. H. Inman, who has added notes on the

varieties which have been evolved since the previous editions, amended others, and thoroughly revised the entire work.

This book was first written by Mr. Proud, and his death in October, Ig1I, was a real loss to poultry keepers and the fancy generally. For many years he had been chief poultry expert to The Feathered World, and by his wise and helpful counsel had rendered yeoman service to the cause of poultry culture.

Bantams, as being Mr. Proud’s earliest favourites, always held a warm place in his heart, and it is gratifying that his book devoted to their interests has met with such appreciation as to make a further large edition necessary. The revision of Mr. Proud’s standard work once more by Mr. H. Inman, his friend and successor as poultry expert to The Feathered World, has brought the book thoroughly up to date, and will, we trust, prove of service to all interested in the development of the Bantam fancy.

THE EDITOR.

HI Saha eg GS as a a ts ld ae Bites Sy )

Anconas - - - Andalusians~ - a + scale of points

Baskets for Exhibition

Belgians -~— - - Booted - ~ ~ » Seale of oe Brahmas - - a scale of points Cleaning - - - Cochins or Pekins - b+ | ’ es 7 Buffs

», scale of points Diseases - - - Dubbing - - - Dust-bath : - Faverolles - - Feeding chicks - -

3} adults - - mn before exhibition

3 onreturn - Frizzles_ - - - », scale of points

GAME, MopERN -

» ft piles whites

Hamburghs~ - - ie pencilled - “e scale of points », . Spangles - Hatching - - - Houdans - ue ‘ Houses and Runs_~ - Housing - - -

Indian Game - i bay scale of points Japanese - -

7. Scale of points Jubilee Indian Game

_Langshans - -

Leghorns, buff - - Malays - - - » scale of points

Blacks

Cuckoos Partridge Scale of points ; e Whites - _ Coops - - Cuckoos or Scotch Greys other colours birchens and whites black-reds brown-reds duckwings

Contents

Nankins -

Orpingtons, buff a?

O.E. GAME Pekins~ - yy Pecks 2 le buffs

Chapter I Game Bantams

THESE will naturally first receive our attention, because they are at the present day, and have

_ been for years, the most popular ; and foremost of these are the Black-reds, followed by Piles, Duckwings, Brown-reds, Birchens and Whites. The reason why Black-reds have always retained their popularity is, we believe, in the first place, because they are much easier to breed true to colour, and when properly mated very few “wasters” are produced, whilst they require much less trouble in preparing for exhibition than the Piles, which have to be washed frequently, and it is well known that continual washing spoils the plumage and robs the feather of its lustre. Never wash a bird until you are really compelled to do so, for once you start you must continue. Full particulars on washing and drying will be given in due course.

In judging Game Bantams shape and style should be the most important, although a nice The male bird should be tall and graceful, shoulders prominent and squarely set, back short and flat (a round back being a very serious fault), tapering off towards the stern; the thighs should be long and muscular and set well apart, shanks fine and round and as long as possible. Flat shins should be guarded against ; besides counting against the bird in the show-pen, they are a sign of weakness, and care should be taken not to breed from flat-shinned stock birds, as this defect is hereditary. The toes should be long and straight, the hind toe to be carried as hear as possible in a direct line with the middle toe, the point of which should just touch the ground, although in cases where birds have a large amount of style, there will be a tendency to carry the back toe too high. This is a minor fault, but where the back toe is carried side- Ways or inwards this is a serious defect, and amounts to disqualification in the show-pen ;

it is commonly called “‘ duck-footed.”’ In some cases this is caused by improper perches, but in others it is hereditary, and should be strictly noticed when making up the breeding-pen.

The head should be long and snaky, eyes large and prominent ; in Black-reds, Piles, Duckwings, and Whites the colour of the eye should be a bright red; a light or very dark eye in these varieties counts heavily against the bird in the show-pen. In Brown-reds and Birchens the darker the eye the better, as near black as possible. The neck should be long and fine, the hackle feathers fitting closely together, wings short and nicely curved, and just meeting at the stern, carried close up, and fitting tightly to the body. Some years ago there was a tendency for Game Bantams to be long-winged, but this fault appears to have been overcome. In some cases the bird carries his wings across the back, which is a bad fault, and is known by the name of “ goose-winged.”’ ah

The tail, which is a most important feature in all Game Bantams, should be small and fine, the feathers carried closely together slightly above the line of the body, but not high. The feathers of the tail proper should number fourteen, and should be narrow and fine; the sickles or long tail feathers of the male bird should be as fine as possible, reaching from two to three inches beyond the tail, and should be carried slightly curved, but not forked.

Size will next engage our ‘attention, and it is the most important feature, not only in Game Bantams, but in every variety of Bantams, and requires very careful consideration. At the present day it is the aim and desire of most Bantam breeders and exhibitors to produce the smallest and finest-boned specimens which, although very handsome and valuable as exhibition birds, are certainly not to be relied upon as stock birds, for nine out of every dozen of these fine specimens are quite unable to pass their first egg, and die egg-bound, but if by chance they do lay, the produce from these

B

BLACK-RED MODERN GAME BANTAM HEN. Bred by, and the property of, Mr. W. Rylance.

birds are little puny mites, which it is next to impossible to rear to maturity. This is one reason why young fanciers find great difficulty in rearing bantams. If you have one or two of these small, finely-bred exhibition birds that have been doing the rounds of shows, and you contemplate breeding from them, my advice is “Don’t”? and keep them from laying as long as possible.

Pullets for the breeding-pen should not be less than fifteen ounces, and from two to three ounces added to this would give better results ; and cockerels sixteen to twenty ounces are quite small enough for all practical purposes.

Of course proper feeding has much to do with size, and this shall receive attention in due course.

We now come to the next most important feature, viz. colour, which in the show-pen should count fifteen points.

BLACK-REDS

In Black-red cocks, the face, head, lobes and wattles should be a bright, healthy red, the neck hackle bright orange, free from striping ; back and wing-bow rich crimson, whilst the saddle hackle should match the neck hackle as near as possible, wing-butts black, wing-bars a glossy or steel blue, whilst the bays or wing-ends should be a light chestnut ; legs, feet and beak, rich olive or willow, but not blue, which we often find in some-strains where Duckwing blood has been introduced, but in the breeding- “pen blue legs should be guarded against.

breast and thighs should be black, perfectly free from ticking or lacing, although in adult birds it is rather difficult to get a cock perfectly black in breast. The tail and sickle feathers should be black throughout, including the shaft which runs through the centre of. the feather, and which in some strains is more or less red, and generally denotes a pullet-breeding strain ;. this is, of course, objectionable in the show-pen, although not to any great extent, still a black shaft is at all times preferred.

BLACK-RED BANTAM COCK, ‘‘ BRIGHT ’UN.”’

A favourite stock bird of Mr. H. A. Morris

The >

Ye a Ow ae EP Ao ep oe oo uF

Ss OOo tH.

_ the defect.

BLACK-REDS | a

_ We will now goon to. describe the exhibition Black-red_pullet to match the cockerel,.and which should be-identically the same in colour, eyes, face, head, comb, and lobes ; white in lobe being a great drawback, although it is a very difficult matter to breed pullets absolutely free from white in lobe. This- blemish is sometimes removed by the- professional exhibitor with a pair of scissors, an operation demanding considerable skill, and, quite apart from any justification of the-act, which is certainly a very questionable one, it may be added, it can only be performed by a very steady hand, without which the remedy being worse than Honest exhibitors will do well to leave such operations alone.

The neck hackle of the pullet should be a pale golden colour with very. narrow black stripes.on each side of the shaft, with a light golden edge round the black. The body and wings should be one uniform shade of brownish drab, a nice soft, even colour throughout, very finely pencilled with black, this point being of great importance, as the pencilling has a tendency to be too large and coarse, a defect which is very objectionable in the show-pen : although in cockerel breeding pullets showing coarse pencilling are sometimes very useful, as such pullets generally throw cockerels with good sound bays. |

_ The throat should’ be a pale salmon, breast tich deep salmon, shading lighter towards the thighs and under the body. The tail should be black, with the exception of the two outer or top feathers, which should correspond .as nearly as possible with the colour of the body.

I have now described the standard colours of the Black-reds, and will now proceed to give the young fancier advice as to the best way of

Mating up his breéding-pens to produce as nearly as possible the necessary requirements above mentioned.

Now, in the first place, see that your breeding stock is perfectly healthy and free from disease. Never breed from unhealthy birds, as it is nothing but labour in vain. If your breeding stock is unhealthy your chicks will be 50 per cent. more so, and here let me say that the fewer birds you have in your breeding-pen the Stronger will be the produce. Be content to breed a few good useful birds rather than a greater number of inferior ones, and remember that one really good bird is worth forty bad ones, either in the show-pen or for stock. Much has been said about the proper number of hens or pullets to be used in the breeding-pen to produce the greater number of pullets and viceversa, viz. that if eight hens or pullets are mated to a two-year-old cock, 75 -per cent. of the produce will be pullets, and that if only two or three hens or pullets are put with a cock the same percentage in cockerels will be the result. If you. pin your faith to the above you will be greatly disappointed, as the experiment has. been frequently tried, and in nearly every instance. the result has been in many. cases the opposite. to what has been looked for. My contention is that if a hen is to produce a greater number of pullets than. cockerels she will do so, whether there be three or eight hens

WINNING BLACK-RED MODERN GAME BANTAM Cock,

The property of Myr, R, Fletcher Hearnshaw.

in the breeding-pen, and the same applies in cockerel breeding. If the young fancier has sufficient accommodation it is best to mate up two pens, one for cockerel breeding and the © other for pullet breeding.

Now, in mating up the cockerel pen, I should take the tallest and brightest-coloured cockerel I could find, preference being given to one that is short in back with good prominent shoulder points, and care being taken that his breast bone is straight, and that his back toe is well carried in a direct line with the middle toe. Having selected the cockerel, we should now

B 2 pick out the hens or pullets, latter preferred, to mate with him, with a view to producing good, bright-coloured exhibition cockerels. To do this we shall require three reachy tightfeathered pullets, very pale in hackle to crown of head, discarding those with dark caps and coppery hackles, which are useless for cockbreeding. The hackle should be as silvery as possible, right up to the comb, the body-colour and wings be inclined to red or foxy, with a rich golden edge round each feather. Select the pullets that are shortest in body and tail, and especially those which show a lot of style and reach, and the more prominent the shoulders are the better.

Some breeders prefer to breed from a wheaten pullet to obtain the bright top colour; and although a very satisfactory cross, and one which will give good results in cockerel-breeding, yet should this strain by any chance get mixed up with your pullet strain, you will know it to your sorrow, and it will take years to repair the-mischief done. Therefore if you decide to use wheaten blood in your cockerel pen, keep the produce rigorously by themselves

BLACK-RED MODERN GAME BANTAM COCK.

The property of Mr. Harold A. Morris.

and have them all carefully rung; this is the only sure road to success in breeding.

For my own part I prefer to use nothing but Black-red pullets in cockerel-breeding, such as those stated above, for the simple reason that should one bird get astray the harm done is comparatively small, and the produce will be found in every way quite as satisfactory.

The following season I should pick out three or four of the most likely-looking pullets bred from this pen, especially those with plenty of reach, the taller the better, and with those I should mate the sire of them, and put the most suitable cockerel with the héns in place of the old bird. By doing so you are building up a strain of your own, which, with care and attention, cannot fail sooner or later to reach to success, for it is a well-known fact that to secure colour and the other necessary points in bantams, you must inbreed ; still, at the same time it must be borne in mind that there is a happy medium in inbreeding beyond which it is dangerous to proceed, and in this the young fancier should be guided by the health and stamina of his stock, for if inbreeding be carried too far, the produce will become weakly and difficult to rear ; in that case fresh blood should be introduced, and this is best done by obtaining a male bird with a dash of the same strain in him if possible, but not closely related. Having mated up the cockerel-breeding pen of Black-reds, I will now give attention to the pullet pen. pullets must be sound in colour, free from rust or coarse pencilling; this is of the greatest importance in pullet-breeding. It is only a waste of time trying to produce exhibition pullets from hens which are faulty in colour ; it is utterly impossible to do so. Besides being sound in colour, the hens must be of good shape, not too small, and the shorter in back the better. The male bird should be from a pullet-breeding strain, and in colour should be darker than the cockerel-breeder. bird of a brickish top colour, and one uniform shade from his hackle to tail. His wing bar and shoulder points should be perfectly free from lacing and as black as possible. This refers to cocks as well as cockerels, although the adult birds will in all probability be laced on breast, and I have often found that such birds from a pullet-breeding strain are invariably weak in their bays or wing ends—that is, the bay of the wing end does not continue to the end of the feather ; this is always a good sign when selecting a cock for pullet-breeding.

In the first place, the hens or,

I always prefer a m TP Ad rem BF a's paige ery eg

Lette OO eee ee as ee Se ee eee tee ee ie eee ee eee Bee Je Ne ae FS AS Sey Pe

PILES 13

In many cases the shaft of the sickle feather in such birds will be red instead of black. If you prefer to breed from an old bird, do not mate.

him to more than three pullets, especially. early in the year, say February, or a large percentage of unfertile eggs will be the result. When breeding from a cockerel, hens should be used, and if he is a healthy vigorous bird, you may safely put five or six with him with good results.

In mating up the Black-reds I have taken it for granted that the young fancier has plenty of accommodation, but very many have only a very limited space at their disposal, and in such cases one pen will be sufficient. Where this is so I should take a cock that answered as far as possible to my ideal of a pullet-breeder, except I should prefer him to be a light shade in top colour, the paler the better, and with him I should mate two cockerel-breeding pullets and two sound coloured pullets for pullet-breeding. From this pen I should expect to get both exhibition pullets and cockerels, though not the same percentage of winners as from separate pens ; still, it can be done, although it has been repeatedly stated that to produce exhibition specimens of any variety of poultry two pens should be used. This statement is all right to those who know no better, but from personal experience I know that it is quite possible to breed winners of both sexes from one pen of stock birds when properly mated to give this result.

Still, where the young fancier has plenty of room it is advisable to use two pens, and where it is necessary to build up a strain of your own, separate pens in such cases must be used. Let me state here that when breeding from only one pen never by any means use wheatens ; these may only be used exclusively in cockerel pens.

PILES

The next most popular breed are Piles, the cockerels being the most handsome of all varieties. Although quite a distinct breed in themselves, it is quite possible to produce the very best by crossing, which I will show in due course.

In the first place, the Pile cockerel should be identically the same colour as the exhibition Black-red cockerel, but with this exception, that where the Black-red is black the Pile cockerel must be a sound white, viz., the breast, thighs, wing butts, wing bars, and tail; legs and beak a rich orange yellow; willow legs and white legs being very objectionable. Although in the past willow-legged Piles could frequently be seen at the top of the prize list at our shows, at the present time a Pile with willow legs, however good he may be in other points, does not stand the slightest chance of figuring successfully in the show-pen. The face should be a bright healthy red, and when undubbed the earlobes should also be red and free from white. Although it is somewhat difficult to obtain, the rich ruby eye in Piles as in Black-reds, still they should be as red as possible. In the show pen, from a colour point of view, judges differ. Some prefer the top colour to be a very dark colour both in wing bow, back and hackles, the same as one would expect to find in a pullet-breeding Black-red cock. For my own part I much prefer the bright top colour and rich orange hackles, but, above all, a pure white breast and dark wing ends.

The breast of the Pile cockerel is a very important feature, as it is much easier to obtain

BLACK-RED GAME BANTAM,

Exhibited by Mr. W, D, Trickett.

the desired top colour than a perfectly white breast. .

The Pile pullet should match the cockerel in point of colour of face, eye, legs, and beak ; breast should be a rich salmon, shading off to the thighs ; the body, wings, and tail should be a pale creamy-white, as free from red or foxiness as possible. Although a rich dark breast and a clear wing are most difficult to obtain, yet in the present-day competition a pullet or hen inclined to foxiness or rose-winged cannot hope to be successful in the show-pen, although, however careful you may be in the selection of your breeding-pen, to produce one pullet perfectly clear on breast and back, and a sound rich salmon breast, you will breed fifteen or twenty that are rose-winged more or less, or, what is still worse, a dark creamy colour throughout. When the foxiness on the wing is only confined to a few feathers on each side, those are often removed by the unscrupulous

From a Painting by Miss Williams.

PrrE GAME BANTAM PULLET.

Bred’? and Exhibited by Mr. Fred. Smalley.

or habitual faker, and such birds have been known to win repeatedly. Still, by a practical judge this irregularity can quickly be detected, and in such cases the bird should not be passed, but disqualified, for when these feathers grow again the bird is useless as a show specimen, unless the same operation is resorted to, which I am sorry to say is very often the case. I will now go on to show how to breed Piles, and will mate up two pens as in Black-reds.

In mating up the breeding-pens of Piles, I will in the first place endeavour to give my readers the best advice in mating up pure bred Piles—that is, birds that are bred from Piles on both sides, as many of the very best exhibition Pile cockerels are bred from Black-red cocks, and it is very important that the young fancier should know when mating up _ his breeding-pens how his stock birds have been produced.

Taken for granted that the Pile cock selected is the most suitable for cockerel-breeding in shape and reach, as described in the cockerel-breeding Black-red pen, the next most particular point is to see that he is perfectly sound in his white, free from lacing or smokiness on breast, and, above all, possessing a sound, deep bay on wind-end, for without the latter he is no use as a cockerel-breeder. I have never known a male bird that was weak in colour on wing-ends produce a single exhibition specimen, and this is quite as essential in breeding for pullets, therefore bear in mind that a Pile cock or cockerel weak in his bays is practically of no good whatever either as a stock bird or for exhibition, however good he may be in all other points. Next select three or four tall stylish pullets, deep in breast colour, short in back and possessing plenty of reach, and showing the shoulder-points prominently, preference being given to those which are nicely rosed on the wing, but zot creamy on wing-ends. From this pen I should expect to get sound-coloured cockerels, although the pullets would be too warm in colour for exhibition, yet as stock birds they are invaluable, and especially so if mated back to the sire. In pullet-breeding, the cock must be sound in wing-ends, clear white in his wing bars and shoulder-points ; in top colour I prefer a bird of one uniform colour of the darker or brickish colour, and if laced on breast all the better. The hens or pullets to mate to this cock should be as clear as possible on wing and back, free from rosiness or creaminess, and preference being given to

~~ s- Pa COs hp pas

& oO

Pa ca | m WIQ bu

DP ha

NEU Re pullets,

PILES 15

_ those possessing good salmon breasts, although it is quite possible to breed the very best pullets from hens which are pale in breast colour, providing the body colour is perfectly clear. Cockerels bred from this pen will be found too pale in colour for exhibition birds ; but those which are extra good in bays and whites should be retained as stock birds for another season. Having mated up pens of pure-bred Piles, I will now go on to show how to breed exhibition specimens by crossing with Black-reds.

It is a well-known fact that in breeding from pure-bred Piles for four or five years in succession, the top colour in the cockerels is lost altogether ; therefore it is necessary to introduce Black-reds to build up the colour. The best way to do this is by selecting a Black-red cockerel, extra rich in top colour, rich mahogany saddle, the more colour the better, the breast and wing bars a sound black, free from ticking or lacing; this is a very important point if we would have Piles with a sound white breast. Another special point to note is that the wing-ends are a dark chestnut, sound from wing bar right to the very end of the wing.

Do not breed from a Black-red which fails in wing-ends, as it will be only labour in vain ; but if care is used in only breeding from a bird as described, and mating him to two. or three white pullets, you will be rewarded by breeding the very best coloured Pile cockerel it is possible to produce. When I say white pullets | mean what are sometimes called lemon Piles—viz. Pile pullets clear on wing and almost white on breast—the clearer on breast the better. Although the cockerels from this pen will be yellow-legged, quite 75 per cent. of the pullets will be willow-legged, and as_ such are useless in the show pen, though generally these are clearer in body colour, more stylish, and sounder in breast than the yellow-legged and if used judiciously in mating them to a reliable pullet-breeding cock that is pure Pile bred, good-coloured pullets can be obtained.