Henderson's Chicken Chart:
True Bantams and
Game Fowl

Bantam breeds are little birds of ornament and pleasure. Game fowl are birds of various sizes that were originally developed for cockfighting (and are still used that way), but were further developed for ornament and display. Neither types of chicken have as their primary use meat or egg production, so to make the main chart more handy dandy, these breeds are found on this separate page.

The term bantam comes from a small chicken that originated in the Bantam region of Java, but after they were introduced to Europe centuries ago, any small variety of fowl was called a bantam. Bantams include both miniature versions of the large standard breeds and True Bantams, breeds for which there is no matching large standard. The descriptive term True may be misleading, however, because it includes both naturally diminutive breeds and miniatures so highly engineered they no longer resemble any standard size breed. It is a matter of speculation whether some True Bantams were developed naturally or by human intervention. The Japanese Bantam, for example, has existed as early as the seventh century, but it may have developed no more naturally than did bonsai trees. There is not even agreement on which breeds have no corresponding larger breed. In Europe the Pekin is recognized as a True Bantam, but in North America, the same breed is considered a miniature Cochin.

Although there are bantam-sized versions of most standard breeds, only True Bantams are listed in this chart. For information about bantam version of standard breeds, see the main chart. Except for size, the information holds the same for standard and bantam varieties of most breeds.

Since humans first domesticated chickens for fighting, some Game Fowl breeds are among the oldest breeds in existence. The one breed sometimes considered to be a game breed that I have not included is the Cornish or Indian Game, since it was developed to be a meat bird (with thick legs, large thighs, and a broad breast) out of various game fowl stock.

Bantams: Belgian D'Anver, Belgian D'Uccle, Booted, Japanese, Nankin, Rosecomb, Sebright, Silkie

Game Fowl: Aseel, Cubalaya, Malay, Modern, Old English, Sumatra

A key to the numbers used for links, as well as notes to other symbols and keywords, is found below the chart.

True Bantams

Belgian D'Anver, or Antwerp Belgian, Barbu d'Anvers
FS PP

The bearded bantam.

Quail, Porcelain, Black, Blue, Buff, Cuckoo, Mille Fleur, White, Mottled, and more

APA (1949):
Bantam: Rose Comb Clean Legged
PC: True Bantam

Developed in Anver region of Belgium many decades ago. Rumpless versions are called De Grubbe. Breed is often referred to simply as the Quail bantam, after the most popular variety.

Belgian D'Uccle or Barbu d'Uccle
 FS PP club

The bearded, booted bantam

Mille Fleur, Porcelain, Black, Buff, White, Blue Mottled, Splash, Golden Neck, others

APA (1914):
Bantam: Feather Legged
PC: True Bantam / Rare

First bred in Uccle (Belgium) before 1900 by Michel Van Gelder. Breed is often referred to simply as Mille Fleur, the most popular variety.

small single with large spikes

Booted or Sabelpoot
FS PP club

The booted, unbearded bantam

Black, Blue, Buff, Mille Fleur, Porcelain, White, Mottled, others

APA:
Bantam: Feather Legged
PC: True Bantam, Rare

One of the more ancient bantams; developed in the Netherlands.

slow; some reports indicate
chicks difficult to rear

Japanese or Chabo (and still called Japs in some parts of the world)
FS PP

The short-legged, low-built, squirrel-tailed bantam.

APA (1874):
Bantam: Single Comb Clean Legged
PC: True Bantam

Nankin or Nankeen
FS

Named for fine fabric.

Black tailed buff, only

APA: Not recognized
PC: True Bantam /Rare

Introduced to Britain from Asia, likely Java or India or the Nanking region of China, by the early 18th C.

single or rose

Rosecomb
FS PP

The original rosecombed, clean-legged bantam

Black, White, Silver Laced, others.

APA (1874):
Bantam: Rose Comb Clean Legged
PC: True Bantam

Origins unclear & disputed. Claimed to be direct descendant of the original Bantam, but may be related to Hamburg.

Sebright
FS PP club

The beautifully laced bantam

Silver, Golden

APA (1874):
Bantam: Rose Comb Clean Legged
PC: True Bantam

Developed before 1810 in England by Sir John Sebright, after thirty years of breeding. Sebright's pamphlet The Art of Improving the Breeds of Domestic Animals in 1809 helped inspire Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. The Sebright Bantam Club, founded by Sebright, was the first chicken breed association.

Silkie
FS
 
An oddity of oddities

Bearded & Beardless; Black, White, Blue, Buff, Partridge, Gray

APA (1874):
Bantam: Feather Legged
PC: Soft feathered Light & Bantam both

Already developed in China by the time of Marco Polo (13th century)

Standard & Bantam classes are recognized in some countries

Game Fowl

Aseel or Asil
FS AL PP PB

Ancient Indian athlete.

Black, White, Duckwing, Red Spangled, Pyle, others

APA:
Large: All Other
PC: Hard Feather Heavy

Developed in India more than 2000 years ago, perhaps even 3500 years ago. Thought to be the breed from which the Cornish was primarily developed.

below average

Cubalaya
FS AL

Cuba's fighting meat bird.

Black-Breasted Red, White, Black

APA (1939):
Large:All Other
PC: Not recognized

Developed in Cuba in 19th century from Phillipine or Indonesian stock.

Black Breasted Red, White, Spangled, Black, and Red Pyle

APA (1883):
Large: All Other Bantam: All Other Clean Legged
PC: Hard Feather, Rare

An ancient breed related to birds indigenous to southern Asia from the Indian sub-continent to Indonesia. One of the first breeds to be introduced from Asia to Europe, the breed spread quickly where cock fighting was enjoyed. It was standardized in the U. K. before being introduced to North America.

Modern Game or Modern English Game
FS PP club

The little game bird with style and carriage.

Black-Breasted Red, Silver Duckwing, Red Pyle, White, Black, many others

APA (1874):
Large: All Other Bantam: Game
PC: Hard Feather

Developed in England in 19th century for exhibibiton, not for cockfighting.

Old English Game
FS PP

Small fighting cocks and their mates.

Black-Breasted Red, Silver Duckwing, Red Pyle, White, Black, many others

APA (1928):
Large: All Other Bantam: Game
PC: Hard Feather

Developed in England in 19th & 20th century from ancient stock

Sumatra
FS PP

Lustrous black longtail

Black (and Blue as of 2010 for standard, earlier for bantams)

APA (1883):
Large: All Other
Bantam: All Other Clean Legged
PC: Light, Rare

An ancient breed, introduced from Sumatra, but found elsewhere in Indonesia. Uncertain origins that may include more than one variety of jungle fowl. Males can have multiple spurs, a unique trait among domestic poultry.

The links in the first column of the chart lead you to sites created and developed by other individuals. They are not part of the chicken chart site, and I have not helped create and do not claim responsiblity for them.
Numerous books (new and old, and including those by authors Harry Lewis, Lewis Wright, Alanna Moore, H. S. Babcock, Caleb N. Bement, Frank L. Platt, Louis M. Hurd, James E. Rice and Harold E. Botsford, Joseph Batty, Ian Kay, Eric Bailey, Page Smith and Charles Daniel, and Tamara Staples), articles from Mother Earth News, Organic Gardening, and Science News, the Murray McMurray and Glenn Drown's Sandhill Preservation catalogs, and multiple Web sites (especially the Web sites in the "KEY TO LINKS" section below) were consulted in creating the chicken chart. Sources, of course, do not always agree, so personal judgments, common sense, and some limited personal knowledge were also used in determining the final make-up of the chart. If you have corrections or suggestions, please let me know.

Notes on symbols and keywords:

• KEY TO LINKS: In order to squeeze all the information into one chart I have had to be brief. The links in the first column are marked with what may seem too brief and cryptic, but they are shorthand for links to excellent sources of information. There are many other good sources on the Web, but these are the sites I found most useful for information about specific breeds. Descriptions of sites are found on the page of of chicken links, but here at least are the names and authors of the Web sites:
  

  FS = Barry Koffler's FeatherSite (usually lots of photographs available)

  PP = PoultryPage from Britain

  club = a poultry club website

• VARIETIES AND RELATED BREEDS: Bantams may be officially recognized or not by both the American Poultry Association and the American Bantam Association in the US or by the Poultry Club in the UK.
• RARITY: Notes on rarity are primarliy related to availabilty in North America. The figures listed in orange after each short note are data gathered in February 2003 survey of hatchery catalogs and other poultry breeder lists. Some were obtained in the mail, and others were found online. For standard breeds, 25 hatcheries/breeders were used; for bantams 15 hatcheries/breeders were used. A list of sources used is available upon request. Availability of quality exhibition birds is not addressed in this data.
• EGG RATE:

  Bantams do not have a good reputation for egg production.
  

  Chickens, including bantams, tend to be much better layers in the spring and summer; Silkies seem to be especially productive only for a short time in the spring.

• EGG COLOR: Egg colors used on this page are inexact estimations and will also appear differently on different monitors. Egg colors, of course, will vary from bird to bird. All true bantams lay within a range of white to very light brown.
• EGG SIZE: Bantams lay tiny eggs, averaging 30 grams and under.
• COMBS: An illustration of male comb types from an old poultry textbook can be found several places around the Web. A hen's comb is generally smaller than a coxcomb, and in the case of the large single comb, the hen's comb flops over rather jauntily instead of standing erect like a large single coxcomb.
  The University of Illinois Extension site includes descriptions of combs with its illustrations. It also describes a Silkis comb [silkie's comb?], which is most elsewhere called a walnut comb.