 Our Bantam and Ornamental Fowl Bantams
and Ornamental Fowl: An Introduction
For those unfamiliar with domesticated fowl, bantams are the miniatures of the poultry world. Bantams are typically one-third to one-fifth the size of standard fowl. Because of their small size, bantams require only a fraction of the feed and space requirements of standard size fowl, making them ideal for pets and the backyard poultry hobbyist. At Ozark Bantams, we raise several breeds of bantam size fowl including black bantam cochins, white cochin bantams, white call ducks, and black east indies. Our birds are bred true to type and weigh under two pounds when full grown. In contrast to domesticated bantams, ornamental fowl refers to undomesticated birds that are kept for their natural beauty and/or rarity. These birds include the galliformes such as wild turkey, peafowl, guinea fowl, and pheasants, as well as the anseriformes which includes wild geese, swans, ducks, and other waterfowl. In ornamental fowl, we raise the mandarin duck and the red golden pheasant. Both of these birds are native to Asia. Like our bantams, both of these breeds weigh two pounds or less when full grown. As such, they offer an excellent choice for the avian hobbyist with limited space. Cochin Bantams Like all domesticated chickens, bantams cochins are believed to be descended from the red junglefowl of South Asia. The cochin bantam is, however, a distinct breed of chicken. The breed is known for its friendly disposition, curious nature, abundant plumage, and feathered legs. Historically, cochins were originally bred in China. In 1845, cochins were first imported to the United States and Britain where they quickly became popular as pets and ornamental show birds. According to some sources, the first cochins imported to England were presented to Queen Victoria as a gift. The cochin bantam was admitted into the Standard of Perfection in 1874 as a distinct breed in the feather-footed class. While cochin bantams are often raised for exhibition, they also make a good choice for the backyard hobby farm as they require minimal space and are good layers of small light brown eggs. Hens of this breed are notorious as persistent broodies and make excellent moms. In fact, cochin hens are often used to rear the chicks of breeds less prone to broodiness. As a result, we often use our cochins to hatch bantam duck eggs. Cochin bantams are relatively easy to tame and, if handled regularly when young, they make excellent pets for children and adults alike. Cochin bantams will live for 8 to 10 years; however, their peak years for egg production are from 2 to 3 years of age. The cochin bantam is bred in many color varieties including black, white, brown, red, buff, partridge, barred, birchen, gold-laced, silver-laced, columbian, lavender, mille fleur, and blue. New color varieties are still being developed. At Ozark Bantams, we raise both the black and the white color variety of cochin bantams. The black cochin bantam is a stately bird, exhibiting coal black plumage with a greenish sheen. The abundant black plumage contrasts sharply with the bright red comb and wattles, creating a striking appearance. The white cochin bantam is equally striking in appearance; however, the plumage of this variety is silvery white.  The Call Duck is a bantam breed of domesticated duck. Although typically kept for ornamental purposes, the Call Duck was originally developed as a decoy. Their loud call would lure wild ducks into funnel traps and within range of hunters' guns. In fact, Calls are still known as decoy ducks in their native Holland. By the 1850s, Call Ducks had been imported to Great Britain, and in 1874 they appeared in the first edition of the Standard of Perfection. Calls became increasingly poplar in Britain and the United States through the 1920s. However, Call Ducks become scarce during the Great Depression era to the point of almost disappearing. During this time, they were only kept serious aviculturists. Since the 1970s, Call Ducks have made a resurgence. Call Ducks are now one of the most popular exhibition birds and win more championships than any other duck breed. At about 1 to 2 pounds, the Call Duck has a small yet plump body, a stubby bill, short legs, and a rounded head. Call Ducks are usually bred for small size and "typiness". There are many different color varieties including white, gray (mallard), butterscotch, pastel, buff, snowy, chocolate, silver, black, and bibbed. New color varieties, such as self-black, are still being developed by adventurous breeders. Here at Ozark Bantams, we raise the white color variety in call ducks. As you can see in the photo above, white Call Ducks have all white plumage, with bright orange bills and legs. Like other bantam waterfowl, Call Ducks require less food and space than standard size ducks. Keep in mind, however, that these ducks can produce a lot of noise in relation to their small size. If you have neighbors nearby, it may be best to go with a quiter breed such as Black East Indies. Also, keep in mind that call ducks can fly well. They are very socialable and tend to get along well with other duck breeds. Call duck hens are ground nesters, and they will lay between 35-100 eggs a year. The number of eggs will depend on whether the hen is allowed to sit and raise a clutch or the eggs are gathered and thus inducing the hen to continue egg laying. The call duck laying season begins in March. Although somewhat fragile when young, Call Ducklings tend to be fairly hardy once they reach maturity. They are fast growing, become fully feathered within a 8 weeks, and are mature at about 6 months of age.  Black East Indies are an ornamental breed of domestic duck known for their small size and exotic appearance. Many people consider the Black East Indies to be the most beautiful of the bantam ducks. The duck is distinguished by black feathers that have a metallic green iridescence, which is exceptionally beautiful in direct sunlight. The Black East Indies also has black bills, legs, and feet. Some Black East Indies hens can develop white feathers as they age. However, they will still produce all black ducklings. The Black East Indie is a bantam duck, weighing about two pounds when fully grown. Black East Indies are only slightly larger than Call Ducks; however, they are more streamline in build than the Call Duck. Black East Indies are usually kept as ornamental hobby fowl or for exhibition purposes. Generally speaking, the Black East Indie is quieter and shyer than the Call Duck. They are good flyers and are relatively easy to keep and breed. Although the Black East Indies have been known to waterfowl enthusiasts since the early 1800s, the origin of this small duck is somewhat of a mystery. Despite its name, which suggests a South Asian origin, it is believed by many sources to have been developed in North America during the early 19th Century, possibly deriving from the Cayuga Duck. Early sources sometimes refer to this duck as the Black Brazilian or Buenos Aires Duck. The Black East Indies was first mentioned in the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection in 1874. Black East Indies are seasonal layers, with the breeding season starting in March or April. Black East Indies will crossbreed with Call Ducks. As such, they should be separated from mixed bantam duck flocks and kept together as pairs or trios during the breeding season. The Black East Indies hen will lay one or two clutches during the laying season consisting of 6 to 10 eggs. Black East Indies are ground nesters and will usually lay in any simple shelter. Like most domestic ducks, the incubation period is 28 days. Eggs can be hatched naturally or gathered for artificial incubation. If the hen is not allowed to sit and raise her own ducklings, she will continue to lay eggs throughout the spring and summer months.  The Mandarin Duck (Aix Galericulata) is a small perching duck, closely related to the North American Wood Duck. The adult male is a striking and unmistakable bird. It has a red bill, a large white crescent above the eye, a reddish face, and orange "whiskers". The breast is purple with two vertical white bars and the flanks are ruddy in color with two orange "sails" on the back. The female is similar in appearance to the female wood duck with a white eye-ring and stripe running back from the eye. However, the mandarin hen has a paler underside than the wood duck hen. The female mandarin has a small white flank stripe and a pale tip to her bill. The mandarin duck was once widespread in eastern Asia, but large-scale exports and the destruction of forest habitat have reduced populations in Eastern Russia (Siberia) and China to below 1,000 pairs in each country. Japan, however, is thought to still have some 5,000 pairs. Feral mandarin populations have been established in parts of Europe and even California. These birds are presumably the result of escaped captive mandarins. The largest feral mandarin population resides in England. In the wild, Mandarin Ducks breed in densely wooded areas near shallow lakes, marshes, or ponds. They nest in tree cavities close to water. Shortly after the ducklings hatch, the hen flies to the ground and coaxes the ducklings to leap from the nest. After all the ducklings are out of the tree, they will follow their mother to water where they encounter the male whom rejoins the family. The Asian mandarin populations are migratory, overwintering in eastern China and southern Japan. The feral mandarin populations do not migrate. Like the North American Wood Duck, mandarins nest in raised nest boxes. Mandarins are capable of breeding their first year; however, fertility is usually better their second year. The mandarin breeding season usually occurs around April. Clutches range from 8 to 14 eggs and are incubated for 28 to 30 days. The young are easily raised and are fully feathered in about 8 weeks. In addition to the standard wild-colored mandarin, there are also several color mutuation in mandarin ducks including the white and apricot. At Ozark Bantams, we raise both the normal colored mandarin and the white mandarin. The white mandarin mutation began appearing several decades ago in captive birds. It is believed that this mutation also occurs in the wild but rarely survive to maturity as a result of predation. To our knowledge, there are no apricot mandarin breeders in North America.  Golden Pheasants
The Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus Pictus) is a wild game bird indigenous to the mountainous regions of Western China. The golden pheasant is known for the male bird's striking and exotic appearance, which is characterized by brightly colored feathers of yellow, red, green, and blue. The golden pheasant hen, on the other hand, is somewhat bland in appearance. Her color is tan to brown, and her feathers are barred with black tips. The golden pheasant belongs to a group of birds known as ruffed pheasants. This group of birds also includes the Lady Amherst pheasant, which is also a native of China. The golden pheasant is a popular zoo and aviary bird, and has been kept in ornamental fowl collections here in the United States since the mid-1700's. In fact, it is believed that George Washington kept golden pheasants as part of his personal bird collection. Unfortunately, most golden pheasant specimens in the United States have actually derived from Lady Amherst/Golden Pheasant hybrids. Although these hybrids may be striking in appearance, it has made finding pure specimens of the golden pheasant very difficult here in the United States. As such, it is a major goal of respronsible pheasant breeders and aviculturists to aquire and propogate pure golden pheasant stock. In 2010, we were very fortunate to have aquired purebred F4 golden pheasant stock which more than likely originated from birds imported from China by Kurt Landig, a leading breeder and importer of ornamental pheasants in the United States. These birds will serve as the foundation stock for our golden pheasant breeding program here at Ozark Bantams.
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