Bantam Ducks are bright and varied

Bantam ducks, like bantam chickens, are the miniatures of the breed. They range from the small Mandarin and Wood ducks, maxing out at 24 and 25 ounces respectively and popular Call ducks at 26 ounces to 30-ounce East Indie ducks and Mallards, which top out at 40 ounces. Those are the maximum Standard sizes...

If it walks like a duck…

Ducks! Colorful and varied, good producers, effective pest foragers, attractive. Some quack more than others – they call them Call ducks  for a reason – but many owners enjoy that sociability. Husbandry is different from that for chickens, but once you have them set up, they are no trouble. Take a look...

Orpington Chickens: A Royal Breed

Consider the Orpington Chicken Breed. It’s a general purpose breed, useful for both meat and eggs. Orpingtons are large birds, roosters weighing around 10 lbs., hens 8 lbs. Orpingtons lay brown eggs. Estimates of laying on exhibition strains vary, from 50 to 120 eggs a year. (Purely Poultry’s Buff...

Waterfowl: Ducks, Geese and Swans

Waterfowl are different from their land-based relatives, the chickens and other gallinaceous birds such as quail and pheasants. Their plumage is oiled to resist water and their meat is all dark. They carry a layer of fat under their skin, an adaptation that helps them stay warm in cold water. All those...

Icons of the Farm: Rhode Island Red and White Chickens

The Rhode Island Red chicken is the iconic Red Rooster and Little Red Hen of folk tales. In the American Poultry Advocate of May 1912, poultry judge and breeder W. H. Card described the breed as so impressive “that the State of Rhode Island is obscured and almost hidden behind the glow, glint and glamour...