New Hampshire Red & Japanese Bantam

New Hampshire Red

With its bold, red and orange body and black tail, this bird is a classic vision of a chicken.

It is an American breed derived from the popular Rhode Island Red.

Originally, these birds were bred for laying eggs, but their hearty bodies make them good meat providers. 

Their eggs are brown and typically classified as large. 

Their red single combs have five points, and their eyes are red. 

They make great show birds because of their colorful coats. 

This is one of the easiest breeds to raise, and they are versatile to show, to use for egg laying, or to produce meat.

New Hampshire Reds are great for beginners because of their friendly nature and tame attitude. 

They are not aggressive or as flighty as other breeds and are easy to handle. 

Roosters weigh about 8 ½ pounds, and hens weigh about 6 ½ pounds. 

The bantams weigh about 5 ½ pounds.

Japanese Bantam

This bird is a true bantam, meaning it does not have a large counterpart.

The color varieties are white, black, black-tailed white, black-tailed buff (buff is a rusty color), barred brown red (meaning they have a red body with brown stripes), grey, and wheaten (a creamy tan). 

They have a single red comb, red earlobes, and black eyes. 

Their legs are short and clean with four toes.

The most notable feature of this bantam is its tail. 

The body is petite, but the tail is large and often reaches over the chicken’s head. 

The males sometimes are disqualified from competition because their tails are rye, or fall to the side rather than standing erect. 

The females have profuse tails, but not as large as the males’.

The Japanese Bantam is not a proficient egg layer, and the eggs they lay are tiny and rare. 

They make good pets because they are easy to tame and gentle on landscape, and they are social birds that will interact with people.