This is probably a silly question but...

[SuzyB]

are bantam chicks a lot smaller than normal chicks? Or, are they all about the same size and bantams just dont grow as much?

What Im really trying to find out is, will it be obvious when my cream legbar and lemon millefleur sablepoot bantams hatch, which is which?

Feel free to pass the dunces hat if it is a stupid question!

[Nicos]

My bantam chicks were about 1/2 the size of my Marans chicks
The Marans had much thicker leg bones too.
Hope that helps?

[Nicos]

Actually- when you think about it- they are going to fill the eggshell- so your bantam eggs will be smaller yep??
I don't know your breeds but I'd have thought the bantam eggs will weigh about 40/45 g and the normal sized hens 60/70 g??

[RichmondHens]

Large fowl chicks are bigger, prob twice the size, but cream legbars are not really large fowl, really an inbetween sort of size. My legbars are not a great deal bigger than my bantams. So I guess there will be a size difference with yours but not a huge one. But you should be able to tell by colour anyway. Don't know what colour the poots will be and I guess same colour either sex but the CLs are autosexing - girls v similar to Welsummer with dark striping (think "chipmunk", to quote Jules) and the boys much paler, more grey and blonde blotchy.

[SuzyB]

Actually- when you think about it- they are going to fill the eggshell- so your bantam eggs will be smaller yep??
I don't know your breeds but I'd have thought the bantam eggs will weigh about 40/45 g and the normal sized hens 60/70 g??

Doh, you're right of course, why didnt I think of that!

Not long to wait now to find out. Fingers crossed for girls even though I have homes for any boys but after all this hassle it would be nice to have some to keep!

[jessmorris]

The chicks on my avatar are lemon mille fleur sablepoots if that helps (colourwise)....I hatched marans at the same time and the marans chicks grew much much faster (and were a completely different colour in that case).......

[its hilly]

Yep banties half size ish. My wyandotte banty chicks were still well smaller than my CL chicks. And your poots will have little bits of feather on their legs almost from hatch I think, while the CL definately wont.

Some CL chicks, the stripey ones down the right are girls, the goldy one at the front is a hybrid but the one behind it in the middle is a CL boy. You can see how clear and dark the stripes are on the girls and how the boy looks as if the colours are blurred and slighty softer and paler. My boys also seemed to have a little white spot on the top of their heads, not sure if this is always the case though.
Good luck..and picis

[jessmorris]

IH is right, the pooters have furry legs from hatch (if my memory is right!).

[SuzyB]

They do indeed have fluffy feet. This morning they've ventured to the other end of the hutch while mummy had a dust bath outside for 5 minutes. Tiny little things, so sweet! Im on standby with the incubator in case mum gives up on the others as they went under her later but so far so good.

[jessmorris]

I've changed my avatar to sablepoots a week old if that helps!