Belgian Bantams
These little itty bitties are true bantams, this means that they do not have a full sized version of the breed. They are incredibly sweet chickens with very calm dispositions making them great for children and beginners to start their exhibition journey. They make beautiful pets but are not a breed if you are looking for egg production. These little birds lay little eggs, but have big personalities. There are five varieties of the Belgian Bantams and we show and raise two, Barbu D'Anvers and Barbu D'uccle.
D'Anver Standards of Perfection
THE COCK
Head - Skull rather large. Beak short, strong and curved. Eyes large and prominent, brows heavily furnished with feathers. Comb "curled," broad in front and tapered behind, the spike following slightly the outline of the neck, covered with small points or hollowed - in ridges. Face muffled. Muffling fairly long, standing away from the head, sloping backwards and forming the whiskers, which cover the ears and lobes, and with the beard form a collar. Earlobes small. Wattles rudimentary only, preferably none.
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Neck rather long, the hackle thick and arched (convex), entirely covering the back and joining in front as much as possible.
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Body broad and short; broad breast, carried well up; short back slanting downwards; medium length wings sloping towards the ground; nearly perpendicular tail, the main (or "hen") feathers not being hidden by the narrow sickles, of which the two largest are slightly bent round, but the others rise above one another fan-like, as far as the saddle feathers.
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Legs short. Shanks smooth and free of feathers. Toes (four) strong and short.
Carriage proud and upright, the head well back, appearing as though always ready to crow.
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THE HEN
With the exception of the head (broader, and reminding one of an Owl), the neck-hackle (forming a ruffle behind, broader and more developed, but diminishing in thickness towards the bottom of the neck), the general characteristics are similar to those of the cock, allowing for the natural sexual differences.
Scale of Points D'Anver
The D'Anver
SCALE POINTS
Type 20, carriage 10 ..... 30
Head, uniformity (collar, bear, neck hackle).... 25
Colour .... 15
Size .... 15
Beak and nails .... 5
Comb .... 5
Legs .... 5
TOTAL: 100
Barbu D'Uccle Standards of Perfection
THE COCK
Head - Skull slender and small. Beak short and slightly curved. Eyes round, surrounded with bare skin, the brows heavily covered with feathers, becoming gradually longer, upright, and with a tendency to join behind the neck. Comb single, small, fine, and upright, regularly serrated, the back following the line of the neck. Face muffled. Muffling full and well developed, composed of long feathers turned horizontally from each side of the beak and under the beak vertically towards the bottom, the whole of the face forming three ovals in a triangle. Wattles very small.
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Neck fairly long, the hackle very thick and much arched (convex), reaching to the shoulder and the beginning of the tail and covering the whole back; furnished with silky feathers, which start behind the beard on the sides of the throat and with a tendency to join behind the neck to form a mane.
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Body broad and short; very broad breast carried well up; broad back entirely hidden by the profuse neck-hackle; tightly fitting wings, sloping and curved in towards the abdomen but not beyond it, the wing butts covered by the neck hackle, and the end of the flights by the saddle hackle; close, well-furnished tail, carried perpendicularly to the line of the back, the two large sickles slightly curved, and the others in regular tiers and fan-like, down to the saddle hackle.
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Legs short, strong, well apart, and hocked; a cluster of long stiff feathers close together from the lower outside part of the thigh, inclined towards the ground and following the outline of the wings. Shanks (front and outside) feathered, the feathers shorter at the top (of the shank) and gradually increasing in length, stiff, turned horizontally outwards and raised at their ends. Toes (four), the outside and middle covered with the same kind of feathers as those of the shanks.
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Carriage upright and very graceful.
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THE HEN
With the exception of the beard (formed of softer and more open feathers) the general characteristics are similar to those of the cock, allowing for the natural sexual differences.
Scale of Points D'Uccle
The Uccle
SCALE POINTS
Type .... 15
Colour .... 15
Beard .... 15
Feet and hocks .... 15
Head .... 10
Neck Hackle .... 10
Wings and Tail ..... 10
Size .... 10
TOTAL: 100
