The bentamika chicken was brought to Russia from Japan. This bird was first described in 1645. How exactly this breed was bred is unknown. Perhaps, once in Asia, artificial selection of chickens was made. But some researchers believe that the bentamka is an independent group, descended not from poultry, but from wild. This breed belongs to the decorative, but its productivity is not bad. There are several varieties of bentamok. The most popular are chintz and Altai. Chickens and males of this breed, among other things, can become a real decoration of the yard.
Calico bent
The birds of this species are very small in size and have a bright motley (white with black on a brown background) color. A chintz chintz is a chicken, the features of which include:
- a small head with a small beak;
- leaf-shaped crest, very bright in males;
- dense plumage;
- wide long wings touching the ground;
- short fledgling legs;
- raised torso;
- long fly and tail feathers.
Bentamika chicken (photos of these birds can be seen on the page) - the breed is simply amazingly beautiful. Pure bright colorful coloring can make it a real pride of the owners and the envy of neighbors.
Warlike babies
Bentamka is the most numerous and widespread breed of decorative chickens. At the same time, the chintz variety is found most often on the farmsteads of private traders. The males of this breed, despite their tiny size, are very warlike and active. They protect their chickens and nests simply selflessly. These motley babies, without any doubt, can engage in a fight with a cock of a much larger breed or even with a turkey. In general, birds are very active and courageous. Among other things, the chickens of chintz bentamoks also sing very beautifully. Their voice is clear and cheerful - like a bell.
Natural instincts are very well preserved and bentami hens. Mothers are just wonderful. After a chicken of this breed lays at least 25 eggs, if you do not take appropriate measures, it will certainly sit on them. Very often bentamok is used as a living "incubator". For breeding chickens from chickens of larger breeds that have lost all or part of their hatching instinct, they are just perfect.
Features bentamok
Males of this breed can reach a weight of 0.7-0.9 kg, hens - 0.5 kg. In a year, one laying hen lays 90-130 eggs. Their shell is white or cream. Weight - about 45 g. A sufficiently large number of eggs can be obtained only if the owners will pick them up on time. If the chicken begins to incubate chickens, great productivity in this regard can not be expected. The taste in eggs of bentamok is simply excellent. Their yolk - especially when keeping free range chickens - has a saturated yellow color. Many poultry farmers believe that benthos carry the most delicious of all feathered eggs.
As already mentioned, chicken bentamka - a brood hen is very good. Chicks of this breed hatch a day earlier than in ordinary large chickens. Raises their mother hen for up to a month. After that, she begins to rush again. If two individuals breed chicks at the same time or with a difference of several days, usually only one, the most caring and calm, is entrusted with raising all the babies. The second chicken in this case begins to rush after about two weeks.
In addition to excellent maternal qualities, the chintz chintz bentamek can also include good health, which is somewhat unusual for a decorative bird . These hens live much longer than usual. In any case, 5 years for them is not old age. Despite the fact that benthic chickens are inferior to large breeds in productivity, many farmers consider their maintenance to be quite profitable. The fact is that these birds eat much less than other domestic birds. For example, one benthic requires 10 times less feed than a broiler chicken.
How to care
Very often bentamok keep free-range. In the garden, these hens can simply destroy a huge number of all kinds of small pests: larvae, bugs, worms. There is very little feed to spend with this method of content on bentamok. The only inconvenience of free walking is that the hens of this breed begin to breed chickens in secluded places. Finding a nest in a large garden or yard is very difficult. In order to detect it, the bird has to be watched for a long time. In addition, the bentamka is a chicken, often greatly overestimating its capabilities. Sometimes mother hens try to breed chickens from a very large number of eggs (up to 25). In this case, the heat during incubation is distributed extremely unevenly, which leads to the death of all embryos. Experienced farmers are advised to leave no more than 10-11 eggs under benthos. As already mentioned, these chickens can be used to breed larger chickens. In this case, no more than 5 eggs are laid under one hen. Bentamiki reach puberty at about 6 months.
What should be a barn
Bentamka - chicken, among other things, also knows how to fly well. Therefore, this bird is often bred in closed (including from above) aviaries. In this case, the walk is arranged on the south side of the barn. A hole should be cut in the adjacent wall. The bantam barn is exactly the same as any other chicken. The only thing is that the nests and perches in it need to be located a little lower than usual. It is not necessary to heat the house in winter. But you still need to insulate the walls of the shed. If the air temperature in the barn drops below zero, the bentos will stop rushing.
Of course, drinking bowls and feeders should be installed in the house. Also in the barn and aviary place containers with small pebbles and shells. Chickens of the bentamica chintz breed will peck them to grind the feed into the goiter.
Feeding chicks
Young bentamok hatch yellow or cream. The back of chickens usually has pale dark spots or intermittent stripes. The survival rate of the brood in chickens of this breed is 93%. The chickens are fed cottage cheese and chopped egg for the first three days. Later they start to give millet, and after two weeks - wheat. The benthic chicken is looked after by a brood (a photo of chickens can be seen below) very well. Lunge in birds of this breed practically does not happen.
How to choose manufacturers
In autumn, the most healthy and active birds with a dense plumage and strong physique are selected for the tribe. The crest of both the males and the hens should be flat, without kinks or other flaws. Bright yellow legs are considered more preferable than pale ones. When choosing hens of bentamica calico breed, the number of eggs laid by an individual is also taken into account. As for the size, some owners leave larger birds for breeding. Others, paying more attention to decorative qualities, prefer to take the smallest hens and males on the tribe.
Bentamka Altai
This variety of dwarf chickens was bred in the 70-80s of the last century in our country. Unlike chintseva, Altai chicken bentamka is usually bred only as a decorative one. The main distinguishing features of the birds of this species include:
- short stocky body;
- bore feet;
- head thrown back;
- convex chest;
- a small beak of a horn color;
- leaf-shaped, slightly folded and tilted to the side ridge;
- a red face and a neck curved behind;
- small round red earrings;
- pronounced lateral plumage;
- small crest;
- feathered legs;
- mane feathers reaching the tail;
- developed belly and short long back.
The color of the plumage in the Altai bento can be chintz, walnut or fawn.
Unacceptable Exterior Defects
When breeding, Altai benthos with:
- very tall figure;
- sparse and narrow tail;
- weakly supported legs;
- the absence of "hawk" shred on the lower leg;
- lack of crest.
Breed features
In a year, one Altai chicken bentamka can lay up to 80 eggs. Their shells are usually white or creamy in color. The weight of one egg is about 40-50 g. Like chintz, Altai bentamka very well preserved instinct of incubation. Chickens of this breed are born active and viable.
It is possible to contain the Altai benthic in the same way as the chintz, that is, on free-range or in the aviary. In the first method, the consumption of grain for feeding is significantly reduced.
Barnaul bentamka
The Altai breed has another variety. Barnaul chicken bentamka is very similar to her, but also has a beard with tanks. The crest of these two species is also different. In the Altai benthic, it is leaf-shaped, in the Barnaul, it is pink. The latter variety is slightly more adapted to harsh climatic conditions. Therefore, Siberian poultry farmers often prefer the Altai barnaul bantam. In any case, this breed is extremely spectacular and certainly worthy of attention. The weight of the Barnaul cock can reach 900 g, hens - 600 g.
Useful Tips
The content of dwarf chickens involves not only regular feeding and arranging a convenient house. In order to preserve the decorative qualities of the bird, you need to take certain measures:
- The chicken coop should be dry and clean. The floor in the house can be covered with a mixture of bitumen and gravel. Litter of sawdust, peat or dry leaves is usually made from above.
- Special vitamins and supplements are what bentamika chickens must receive. We talked about the breed of this bird, or rather, about the methods of feeding it. As for the additives, you can, for example, give these hens the same "Ryabushka". This will increase egg production.
Other varieties of bentamok
The bentamka breed of Altai and chintz are not the only representatives of this group of decorative birds. There are just a huge number of their varieties. In addition to chintseva and Altai, bentamics, for example, are bred in personal plots:
- Beijing. These are small hens, in appearance resembling a kokhinhin.
- Nanking. This is the oldest breed of bentamok. The plumage of these chickens can be different. But most often orange individuals are found.
- Japanese The smallest bentamki. Their distinctive feature is wide and long wings.
In addition, there are bentamiki fighting, sebrights, walnut, black and white, etc. All varieties of chickens of this breed are characterized by unpretentiousness, vitality and simply chic appearance.