My name is John deSaavedra. I am a breeder of Japanese Bantams, the secretary of the JBBA, and a 4-H poultry advisor. I welcome all questions regarding the raising, showing, breeding of Japanese Bantams. Please feel free to ask and answer all questions, and to start general discussion.

Are japanese bantams just a catagory of several breeds of ornamental bantams, or is it a specific breed?

Japanese Bantams (also known as Chabos) are a very old breed--as the name indicates--from Japan. They are a unique shape (not a mix) and lovely little birds in a nice assortment of "colors". The American Bantam Assn. has a very nice book about Japanese Bantams ($ll, includes postage). Just came back from a visit to Holland, where I stayed with Anna Banning, author of the book on Chabos! They are recommended, if you are attracted to them! CJR

This is a general invitation for anyone interested in Japanese Bantams to join the club supporting this breed in the US. Overseas fanciers are invited too. The Japanese Bantam Breeders Association is dedicated to promoting the breeding, raising, and showing of Chabos, and fellowship among members. Dues are $10 for individuals, $15 for families, and $5 for youth 18 and under. Memberhip runs the calendar year and entitles members to a bi-monthly newsletter, awards at sanctioned JBBA meets, and an annual breeders directory. Dues may be sent to JBBA c/o John deSaavedra 5899 Blacks Rd. Pataskala, OH 43062

I'm about to get some black and white tailed japanese bantams and I wanted to know if they are a good showing breed.

Japanese Bantams are an excellent showing breed. Properly conditioned and bred, there is nothing like them. They can be quite personable and once trained, can really show off in the show coop. Of course they are one of the more challenging breeds because they are bred to many extremes of nature. They are for the dedicated fancier who is not easily discouraged by hearsay and a few defeats. Don't be discouraged if your first generation don't win--it takes a lot of learing to win with any breed. Can I ask who you are getting yours from?

John

HI!
Hi am a man from norway who are looking for some hatching eggs from black japanese. My fiancee from Youngstown Ohio will visit me in norway arround the 20th of march so I would like to get in touch with some in ohio/pA that have standard chicks of black japanese with high quality.

Bjarne Lie Røyland

We are considering adding Japanese Bantams as a hobby breed, not for show. How will they do if allowed to range in the warm weather? Will they look unkempt because they are not confined all the time? Could anyone recommend a breeder in the NE Wisconsin, Upper Peninsula of Michigan area? How many should we have to constitute a large enough flock for them to be comfortable amongst themselves? Thanks.

In regards to the question about keeping Japanese Bantams on range, I did this last year. I kept several groups of 12-25 birds out on the yard in central Ohio. The only damage to the birds was some sun-bleaching of the backs. The size of the groups seemed to have little effect on their behavior. What did, was whether or not they had adequate cover available to feel secure. Other than being easy prey for hawks, the only other trouble they had was with the more aggressive Rhode Island Red bantams bullying them away from their feed and water. This would also be the case if you let long-legged cull Japanese run with them--the long-leggers will bully the ones with poroper leg. The one thing I liked most about the Japanese was that they are natural homebodies, never straying more than 100 feet or so from their coops. Also they had very little impact on their surroundings, unlike the other breeds. I would recomend starting with a small flock of 3-5 females and one or two males, more if you are able. Beware of hatcheries that try to tell you there is no purebred Japanese, and only long-legged birds are for sale. This is a scam motivated my profit, and it has served to create some unfortunate misconceptions about this wonderful breed. Long legged culls breed like rats, and are cheap to produce, but they are not Japanese Bantams--only the culls from breeding Japanese.

Garrett,

I strongly recommend that you find a copy of the ABA Standard. It will describe the breed you seek in much greater detail than the APA standard, and give you a good starting point regarding the history. Also I recommend you join the breed club for support and contacts. The Japanese Bantam Breeders Association distributes a booklet that contains articles from breeders of the past, as well as some historical facts about the breed. Contact me for more details--I am the JBBA secretary.

We live in a semi rural commuity in Minnesota. I heard from a friend that Bantams are great foragers and will help keep down the tick population in our yard. Since then I have come to really admire Bantams. I have looked on the Net nad Chabos look really interesting to me! I have decided to turn my kids onto 4H, and I thought that Chabos would be good to show. My kids are 13, 11 and 10. Does anyone know of any Chabos available in Minnesota?

SuMac

All chickens are foragers, and bantams are just small chickens--differing only in size. Japanese Bantams (Chabos internationally) make one of the best choices because they have very short legs. The leg on a Chabo is only 1" long. They can do very little damage to the yard and garden. The only problem is getting purebred stock. Most hatcheries sell long-legged culls--the ones I would destroy at hatch. Long legged Chabos can't be shown, and they scratch up the yard every bit as badly as any other breed. Your best bet is to find a breeder locally who would sell you some "rejects" or better yet get involved in breeding purebred Chabos and enjoy them to the fullest. The cost of shipping is prohibitive unless you are purchasing breeding stock, and Chabo breeders generally don't sell chicks

Hi John,

I have some questions I thought you could help me with. My roosters got the tips of their combs froze off during the winter. I've heard this can affect the fertility of eggs. Is that so? I haven't had much luck in hatching either. What is a good way to keep the legs mites off?

Thanks, Tyler Langton

Tyler,

When a rooster gets his comb frostbitten, it hurts! As long as his head is sore, he'll have little interest in mating, eating, etc. As soon as it heals, he's as good as new, minus whatever froze off the points. Right now I am using a Gray cock that had his comb points freeze before I bought him, and he is very fertile. As for scaly leg mites, I use Ivermectin hog wormer, given orally @ 1/20 cc per bantam bird. I repeat this in two weeks to take care of hatching mites. Another suggestion is to treat the legs with Campho-Phenique fever blister medicine. Turn the bird upside down so the medicine runs under the scales--repeat every two weeks until cured. There are many things that can affect your fertility--age of the roosters, length of daylight, amount of fluff under the vent, mite infestation, exercise, nutrition in the hens, etc. I will e-mail you privately with a list of things I do.

John,

Thanks for the information. I'll keep working with what I have and try to get some to hatch. Here is my e-mail address: langtont@hotmail.com

Can you briefly describe the leg size genetics in Japanese? Specifically, what is the percentage lethality of the gene in what type of breeding pairs. That is, if you breed 2 short legged birds how much lethality would you expect?

Gary,

Leg length genetics in Japanese Bantams is described in terms of the short legged gene being a simple recessive, with a fatal recessive factor associated. Any living short-legged Japanese Bantam carries the gene for long legs and short legs. A mating of two short legged birds produces 50% short, 25% long and 25% dead in the shell at day 19 of incubation.

A short-long mating will produce 50% short, and 50% long--no more yield than a short-short mating. The problem with using a long-legged bird in the breeding pen is that generally body carriage is unselected, leaving the mating purely to chance and degrading your flock over time. A mating of two long-legged Japanese will not produce any short-legged offspring.

The long legged birds do not meet the general breed requirements, and therefore have no value as purebred birds. A further complication of keeping long-legged offspring of Japanese Bantams is that they tend to trample and bully the desirable birds.

The only circumstances that I would ever recommend mating a long-legged bird would be if you were many generations line bred, and you found an otherwise exceptional male with long legs. He would by virtue of his agility, improve fertility in early matings. His genetic makeup would be so nearly identical to your other males, that you would be reasonably sure of his ability to produce offspring with proper carriage.


John

I want to show my black tail buff japanese bantam in 4-h next year but I've only showed dogs in 4-h before and want to know the rules and stuff for showing them. Please E-mail me if you can help me.

Hello, I'm 17 and just starting with Japanese Bantams. Can you please tell me how much they weigh, how loud their call is, and all the basics you think I will need to know.
Thanks,
Ebrahim Oomerjee

My 11 year old son is wanting to show his White Black tailed bantams in 4-H this october at our fair. The chicks are only 9 weeks old and we are not sure how to tell the male and female apart.Any help at all would very much be appreciated.

It sounds like your birds are a bit young for showing this year. When they are old enough to show, it will be very easy to tell the males from females. The male should have a very large five-pointed comb which should be a couple inches tall. He will have sickle feathers and pointed hackle and saddle feathers. The female will have a much smaller comb, probably no bigger than 1/2 inch tall, and no sickles. All the female feathering will be rounded, whereas male feathering is pointed on the ends. Also the male will crow. All chickens are shown as adults. About the youngest I have ever shown a female Jap is 6 months, and males at 10 months. It sounds like you bought chicks through a hatchery, and if you did, they will not be show quality. You might consider contacting a breeder next year far enough in advance of your show to reserve some stock, if your son is serious about showing at the fair. Since I know of no breeder who sells chicks or eggs, purchasing adult stock is the most desirable way of getting chickens for a first attempt at showing.

hi john,

I have recently posted you a letter, however now that I can use my sisters internet I thought I'd talk now. It is 9/5 and 5:00p.m. I will be here till tomorrow around noon. Paul's company is now discouraging use of unofficial e-mail. So I will have to either call or write ok? A judge the other day told me that if the japs legs were longer than a finger nail at birth then you cull it. Is this how you decide? although I only have three chicks I'd like to be able to monitor and keep an eye on the standard of japs if you know what I mean. I had this judge take a look on my RIR.'s He found some smut although he felt it was undesirable even in breeding chicks his caution was not to breed to a female with any smut or just to use with a light colored bird. I am really looking forward to the show season this year. I'm kind of anxious to get diferent feed back on this years hatch. I hope to hear from you soon.

Jackie,

When I cull for long legs, I only keep the shortest, which are about 1/4" in the shanks at hatch. A good rule of thumb is to have the shank shorter than the foot. Even with experience, a few slip by me because they are medium in length. They end up growing much too long, because the shanks need to be no more than in inch long at adulthood--and I mean an inch from the hock joint to the first toe. A good Jap male should hardly be able to wear a #7 pigeon bandette between the spur and the hock.

As for your Reds, a small amount of "smut" is desirable as long as it is only in the back between the shoulders. The judge is correct in that you should not mate this to a female that shows undercolor. I have to differ with him that none should be used. Ken Bowles was possibly the best breeder of Reds ever, and it is from his writings that I decided to try using the male with limited "smut" or undercolor. It works.

Jackie,

To answer your post about Silver Duckwing, the closest match is the Gray. Your BTW would be the second choice to a Gray, because BTW carries part of the genotype for Gray. A BTW crossed with a Black will produce Grays of questionable quality. Good luck with them. Let me know if you want to borrow a Gray or two some time. I am working on Grays, and a friend of mine may have some to spare, too.

Feel free to call or write any time.

John

hi john, thanks for getting back to me before I leave.so you think the grey would be better to mate with a oe.siver duck wing than the btw? I find the more I do with the chickens the more I want to do. I love the potential available with the genetics. As you know paul has dutch and they are pretty flashy with the contrasts of color. I know that we had discussed silver duckwing last year, didn't you say that their were some in Germany? I guess I am looking for approval to try with the mix. Although I want to be solid with the btw first. You sent me a beautiful trio. I know I'll be busy with my "first batch " I really would like to have 20 to choose from for next year. So yes, I would like to have the greys if you think thats the best way to get the silver duckwing jap. I'll just have wait till next year. So please keep me in mind. I am signing off. my kids and mom are getting impatient with me on the internet down here but its so fun,and quick I think paul and I will have to sign up. thank you for the great advise and let me know when you can ship any eggs. thanks again. jackie

I have been told that Jap tails should be very far back toward. I've also been told that they should be not so angled. I've been told that the sickle feathers (on cocks, of course) should be rounded, but I've also Been told they should be straight. Which is it? Also I've noticed that most Jap males have longer legs and are often more upright than many females. Is this correct? Where I live judges often choose males like this to win. What should i breed for? Do Jap chicks grow into their legs? All my chicks seem to have fairly long legs. What is a good age for culling chicks. What is a good age to start showing? Thanks in advance for any help!

The tail on the Japanese Bantam, according to the ABA and APA Standards, must be slightly forward of perpendicular, but not so far as to interfere with the head. They may touch the comb on the male. The tail may touch the comb, but only because the back is very short, and not from having a long back and a tail that leans forward badly.

Rounded sickle feathers are a serious fault, and should this trait be obvious it is a disqualification. This trait is called hen feathering. Sickles, lesser sickles, hackles, and saddle feathers must be pointed. You said straight which makes me think you meant to say curved instead of rounded--they should be slightly curved to the back, according to the standards. A forward curve at the tips is pictured in the APA Standard, but the description states that a forward curve is a serious fault. This was a case where one fancier who sponsored pictures and starched his tails dictated that the pictures all looked like his with starched tails. This is bad because all beginners look at the pictures and ignore the standard specifications. The APA Standard pictures represent culls if your birds looked like them--cute, but culls all the same. The have reverse curved sickles, small combs, and thin saddles--all serious faults that you would not breed.

To be ideal, the leg lenght on the Japanese Bantams should be short enough that the shanks do not show while standing or walking. Leggy birds are often placed by uninformed judges, but really should be disqualified because short legs are essential to the breed type. Jap chicks do not grow into long legs, though at around 4-5 months many cockerels will look a little leggy due to being a juvenile and not having full plumage. The length should never be over about 1 1/8 inch measured from the "elbow" to the first toe "thumb." Japanese Bantam chicks are best culled for leg length coming out of the incubator. At hatch, a short leg will be 1/4 and a long one 3/8. Comparison is the best method. If you use long leg birds to "breed" you will never have short legs. I use quotations because to breed means to select, and if you put long legged birds in a mating, you are not selecting for a very important breed characteristic--you are just mating someone's culls. The best age to start showing Japanese Bantams is around 7 months for pullets and 11 months for cockerels. This will vary depending on whose strain you bought. If you got hatchery chicks, they will not be show quality.

My best advice is to read the standard, and ignore most of what people tell you. I have gotten the most advice from people who have never bred Japanese, but the only good advice was from successful breeders. The traits have been spelled out in the APA Standard, unchanged since 1871, but what people think they know changes daily.

wonderful site, and thank you john for your quick response on my inquiry, this is a wonderful way to learn about the breed thank you, mark iseki

I am from South Africa and am interested in the mottled bantams. they are very pretty. Do you export fertilized eggs to south africa.

Jaiswanth, For additional browsing, write to Jan Ubels in The Netherlands, who has a Chabo (Japanese Bantams) website for their Club--pictures etc. JanUbels@consunet.nl

A couple of things. Firstly, I'm wanting to write an article for a Malaysian magazine about Japanese Bantams. I am therefore looking to contact serious breeders in the Kuala Lumpur area. I did have a name - maybe it came from you John - of a guy who sells for a couple of thousand $ - is that right? Seems a lot for a chicken! Any names of addresses of real enthusiasts would be most helpful. If anyone konows of breeders in Thailand too I'd like to know. I live there but finding quality breeders is hard.

Secondly, my black Jap cockrel is sick. All the colour has gone from his comb and cheeks and he lacks energy. He's just sitting around on his own. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mick Shippen

I have a black Japanese rooster who is 5 yrs. old and still going strong. What is the expected lifespan of such a bird?

I want to raise Black Japanese. I don't know anything about how to show them. It will be fun to learn. I just sent in my JBBA membership and hope I can buy some breeder birds this year. I have three questions.

First, I have a little book on Japanese that says in Japan there is an all black Japanese with a purple black comb and legs. This would be really cool. Does anyone know if there are any chickens like that in the US?

I have four 2' by 8' cages with coated 1/4" wire floor and nest inserts. Is this type of wire OK for their feet? How many Japanese could I keep in this size of cage?

Also, I have 9 Easter Egg hens, no rooster. We keep them for eggs and fly control. They are free range so I want to raise some chicks in case we lose any to hawks or other predators. They are not bantams. Would a Japanese rooster be big enough to breed these hens? Would it be worth keeping a long legged cull rooster to breed to them? If so, would size would the chicks grow to?

John,

I raise 2 males and 3 females Serama Bantam, the crowing at early 5 am cause a lot of disturbances. Any way to change their habitual crowing time or any method to de-sound them.

Thanks - Martin

Only complete darkness all night until you want them awake. And even then, noise may stimulate a crow response. Or bring them in your house for the night! CJR

Cjeanr, thanks for the reply. John had sent me a email as well. What I am doing now is to relocate them into a ventilated plastic container early in the morning. This container serves to shield them from seeing any light Even if it ever crows, the decibel level is very much reduced.

I am trying to change its biologicial clock by doing this over an extended period. The success or the long term effect of this is yet to be known.

Thanks - Martin

There are some professional breeders in Malaysia and you could probably get from them or from any pet shop in town. Most of the people raise those chickens on a small scale. Owing to the small size of the hen, they could probably brood or hatch 3 to 4 eggs at one go. Unless one is using an incubator to produce them in bigger quantities otherwise they are not available commercially. Another alternative could be looking out for friends who'd got fed up of keeping them and are ready to part with a low price.

Get a small OEG or Dutch Bantam hen and small Japanese cock. Keep working with smallest offspring. You can do it yourself. Color doesn't matter with Seramas, but if you want another novelty, add a very small Belgian d'anvers to the mix. Seramas do not breed really uniform, are not worth the very high price and even though some have come along at under 300grams (still do not produce true to size) you, with a little patience, can do as well. You know what Barnum said. . . . . CJR

Get a small OEG or Dutch Bantam hen and small Japanese cock. Keep working with smallest offspring. You can do it yourself. Color doesn't matter with Seramas, but if you want another novelty, add a very small Belgian d'anvers to the mix. Seramas do not breed really uniform, are not worth the very high price and even though some have come along at under 300grams (still do not produce true to size) you, with a little patience, can do as well. You know what Barnum said. . . . . CJR

Is anyone still discussing japanese bantams?
Terry Wible

My name is John Orlowski,
I am just getting started in Japs. I am 13 years old and i am a very sucessful breeder of Leghorn Bantams. I am taking on Japs as a second breed. I am getting stock birds from my good friend Paul Kroll. Could anyoen send me some info on Japs.

Thanks

John O., You must be South of Buffalo , NY ? Have you checked back in the Jap files at this site. There are a couple knowledgable breeders here .

Hello i am 15 years old and have been raising bantams from chicks for 3 years now. i have recently become interested in showing my japanese fantail bantams. However, i do not know how to go about doing this or what makes a good show chicken. I get my chicks from murray mcmurray hatchery. do thay have good chickens?
also, when should i start training, or conditioning, or whatever, my chickens. they are 13 weeks old. (as i said, i dont know what im doing!)
thanks for any help.

I was wondering if any one had any solid white japps that live in the sate of kentucky that they would be interrested in selling or trading to some old english game bantams i have many differnt types of them that i am wanting to trade to some jappense bantams ccause i lkie them better tehn the old english.And if you have any that you would kie to sale or trade you can email me at jason6939@yahoo.com or you can call my house at 1606-886-0197.I would really like to have some white jappense bantams

HI JOHN, IM DR. ALLAN DEL ROSARIO FROM THE PHILIPPINES. I JUST WANT TO ASK ABOUT THE POSIBBLE OUTCOME OF A BACK TAILED BUFF TO A PURE WHITE MATING.

HI JOHN, IM DR. ALLAN DEL ROSARIO FROM THE PHILIPPINES. I JUST WANT TO ASK ABOUT THE POSSIBLE OUTCOME OF A BACK TAILED BUFF TO A PURE WHITE MATING.

Hi
is there anybody in or near northeast kansas that i can buy good show black tailed buff chicks from. If so is there a posability to get chicks from you the spring of 2005.

giblerr@aol.com

I am trying to decide on which breeds I want for showing next year. I thought that the japs look like a good breed but they look very complicated with the legs. how can I tell if the legs are the right length after I hatch them?

I would be very grateful to anyone giving me good advice ,on colour breeding!I breed black and black tail whites! Do I have to cross only black tail X black tail? What about crossing black to black tail ones?Which is the best colur to cross to get good black tails?My name is giuseppe ,I am writing this from Italy,my personal email is:iokarabot@tele2.it
THANK YOU ALL so much!

Hi
I was wondering if any body new of a good jap breeder in Northeastern Kansas. I'm in 4-H and need show birds.My name is Jessie.
Please repley
P.S. thank you

I thought I had a very large red hen but now it's started crowing so I assume it is probably a rooster. The problem I'm having is it shows no interest in the other hens. My other rooster just won't leave the hens alone. My other rooster also ignores the large red whatever I have alone. Are there just some roosters that just don't want to mate?

HI,

Are there any Breeders in the Columbia or Washington County areas in Oregon?

Shari

this is probably a stupid question here i go.Do the jap bantams make good layers and what size are the eggs.I'm just getting into raising chickens and any suggestions would be appreciated.Also i recently bought 4 black australorp hens and two roosters if you know about that breed pleaswe share with me.
James Cope

Hi John,
There are very few jap bantam breeders and fancier's in Australia. I am interested to know about lethal gene's. Can you help me?
Thanks

I'm from South Africa and a couple Japanse Bantams was given to me by a friend (White with black tail feathers). I've relocated and a stray dog killed the Cock. Are there any breeders in South Africa?

WANTED: Black tailed white Japanese bantam. A young hen or a chick .We are a clown show that uses a chicken in the act and our hen is getting old. Does anyone know who in minnesota might have a hen who could run away with the circus? The hatcherys I called are all out .
Thanks
RC

WANTED: Black Tailed White Japanese Rooster. We have a young hen and would like to find her a mate. We live in Northeast Kansas.

I NEED A JAPANESES BANTAM ROOSTER AND HEN IF YOU HAVE ANY YOU WOULD LIKE TO GIVE AWAY FOR FREE TO A GOOD HOME I WOULD LIKE TO START RAISING THEM. I LIVE HERE IN TEXAS AND CANT FIND ANY. YOUCAN E-MAIL ME AT carolg_75638@yahoo.com

Any history of a rosecomb rather than single comb in the Japanese bantams or have these always been culled?
Thanks

Where can I buy japanese bantam chicken in Cebu? How much is their price usually? how manyy chicks will they hatch mostly?

I have a rooster that I hatched from an egg. The eggs were sold as Japanese Black Tailed but he looks like a miniature version of a Silver Laced Wyandotte rooster. Could someone take a look at his picture and help me figure out if he is pure bred or not?

"Most hatcheries sell long-legged culls--the ones I would destroy at hatch."

I was horrified to read that statement & more horrified that it seemed to bother no one else. I love my Japs, & I want to select & breed the best for show, but I would never destroy a life for something as insignificant as a show quality characteristic.