Japanese (or Chabo) Bantams are real show birds and go back a long way in history. It is thought that they first arrived in Japan from China in the early 1600's when they started to appear in Japanese paintings. In Japan, they are called "Chabo" which means "bantam" or "dwarf" in Japanese but is also the old Japaneses name for South East Asia. They are thought to have reached the UK in the 1860's and the first Japanese Bantam Club was formed in 1912. They are a true bantam which means they don't have large fowl counterparts and are very distinctive with very short legs and very long straight vertical tail feathers with a relatively large comb and wings that are held low, touching the ground.
Japanese Bantams should be kept inside on clean, dry bedding in all but the best weather to maintain good feather condition. Feathers (especially white) will stain easily on the wing tips that drag on the floor if let out in the wet. During cold weather, it is often necessary to provide some additional heat unless they are kept in a reasonably well insulted building.
Guess we are the lucky ones to have a RARE BLACK TAILED BUFF HEN. They were extremely small as chicks, and are still tiny and run underneath the other chickens. Mei calls them "Tweety Bird".
 |
| Their wings hang low behind them, tail points straight up. |
 |
| Super small chick, loved it in a pocket or burrowing into a hand. |
No comments:
Post a Comment