Poultrymad Dutch Bantam

The Old Dutch Bantam also known as the 'partridge-bantam' is a true bantam, which means there is no large counterpart of this breed.

On the European continent, the partridge bantams are regarded as the ancestors of all the Dutch bantams. They are also slightly related to the Rosecomb and Old English Bantam. The breed was recorded in the 1850's and has been recognised since the beginning of the 20th century by the Dutch Poultry Standards authority.

They are short bodied with a medium to high carriage. Breed characteristics are blue legs, white earlobes and single upright well serrated comb. The most popular colour is partridge, other colours are golden duckwing, silver duckwing, blue duckwing, cuckoo duckwing, red shouldered silver duckwing and blue silver duckwing, black, white, blue and cuckoo.

Unusually, for a bantam, they lay a large number of eggs. The white to light tinted eggs weigh between 30-35 grams (1oz - 1.25ozs). Old Dutch Bantam hens, are very good broodies.

The Standard weight for Dutch Bantams is between 0.45Kg and 0.55Kg (1lb to 1lb-3ozs) making them one of the smallest bantams.