Pure Breed
Pekin Bantam
- Price
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- Temperament
- Gentle, friendly and easily tamed
- Eggs
- Small cream to tinted eggs · modest layer, often pausing to go broody
Choose Variety
Clean, pure white plumage throughout.
Select your preferred Pekin Bantam variety.
The Pekin Bantam is a true bantam, meaning it has no large-fowl counterpart, and it is one of the most popular ornamental breeds in Britain and Ireland. Its rounded, low-slung shape and profuse, fluffy feathering give it a tilted, almost ball-like outline, with the head carried slightly forward of the tail. The legs are short and well feathered down to the toes, which is part of the breed's distinctive appearance but does mean the birds appreciate dry, clean ground to keep their foot feathering in good order.
Pekins are gentle, easily tamed and well suited to families and smaller gardens, as they do little damage to borders and are not strong fliers. Hens are reliably broody and make attentive mothers, often used to hatch and raise other birds' eggs. They are kept primarily for their looks and temperament rather than for the table or for heavy egg production, and they come in a wide range of colours that has helped keep them a firm favourite among hobby keepers.
Key characteristics
- True bantam with no large-fowl version
- Profuse, soft feathering and a rounded, tilted shape
- Feathered legs and feet
- Short-legged and low to the ground; poor fliers
- Reliably broody and excellent mothers
- Available in many colour varieties
