Bantams Pekins We currently have black and gold partridge pekins. They originate from Beijing and arrived in the UK as part of the loot taken from the Emperor's Palace by the British and French forces in 1860. A wonderful ball of feathers they possess great characters and easily become tame. I started with just five pekin chicks and now have quite a few as they are very addictive.                                                                           Gold Partridge Pekins -Shown with success                                                                           Black Pekins shown with success in 2007 Vorwerks The Vorwerk was created by Oskar Vorwerk in Germany around 1900 and the breed was standardised in 1913, but the bantam was only recognized in 1963. The Vorwerk was developed to be a good layer and they produce a nice white egg. They have only been in the UK for a short time and are regarded as a rare breed. I first saw the bantam version at the Federation show in 2006 and was hooked by their striking appearance.                                                                                                              Vorwerks are an active breed.

The Dutch Bantam

The Dutch bantam is regarded as one of the smallest bantams in the world. The Dutch bantam, as the name suggests originates from Holland and was standardised in 1906. There are many colours of Dutch bantams available with 13 standardised in the UK, but we have just the one colour lemon porcelain, which is a rare colour with only a handful of breeders in the UK. The standard weight is 500-550g (18-20 oz) for the males and 400-450g (14-16 oz) for females.

Usually people like bantams for their broody characteristics but the Dutch bantam is a good layer as well producing a large number of white/light tinted eggs. In fact the Dutch bantam was originally kept by peasants for their small eggs as large eggs were to go to the Lord of the Manor.

A hardy, active and lively breed, they must be small of good type and of good colour. These birds are gentle and will often become attached to their owners.

Malaysian Serama bantam

The Malaysian Serama Bantam is the newest bantam to be introduced to the UK arriving in 2004. This unique breed is the smallest/lightest breed of bantam in the world.

The present Serama bantam was developed mainly by Wee Yean Een from Kelantan in Malaysia who started his breeding program by crossing Ayam Kapans (similar to Modern Game bantams) weighing 22 oz with Silkie bantams in 1971 which produced normal feathered offspring. In 1985 he then used a Japanese bantam for colour and tail carriage, from this cross the offspring possessed the desired features so they were inbred to lock in these features resulting in smaller birds. The work continued with these birds resulting in them weighing in at less than 500 grams by 1988. To help Wee Yean Een fund his breeding program he started to sell breeding stock to the public.

Seramas are very easy to keep due to their small size which means they can be kept in a small indoor cage and they consume only a pound of feed per month. However they do need to be kept warm during the winter/cold spells due to their origins, but they will live happily in an outdoor ark during the summer. If you keep your seramas well they will lay all year round as they don’t have a particular laying season like other breeds. Another unique feature of this breed is the fact they don’t breed true to colour so expect a wide range of colours!

Seramas are classified by weights:

Males	Females
Class A	Up to 350 grams (12.35 oz)	Up to 325 grams (11.46 oz)
Class B	Up to 500 grams (17.64 oz)	Up to 425 grams (14.99 oz)
Class C	Up to 600 grams (21.16 oz)	Up to 525 grams (18.52 oz)

Sebright

The Sebright is a true bantam been one of the oldest British breeds emerging in the 1800's after been developed with the aid of Sir John Sebright a Hertfordshire MP and landowner. By 1874 the Gold and Silver Laced Sebrights were two separate breeds until 1899 when the Sebright became one breed with two colour varieties which were standardised by 1952. We only have the Silver variety.

Sebrights are very difficult birds to raise and are not suitable for the beginner as they are not very robust and they prove difficult to reproduce. However the adult bird is hardy and active with them been ideal for the small garden as they thrive in limited space.

                                                                               Sebrights are stunning birds to watch.