Are Dutch Bantams good for showing?

Yes. They're exhibited in the APA's **Single Comb Clean Legged Bantam** class in several varieties (Light Brown, Blue Light Brown, Silver, Black, White, and more), judged on their extreme smallness, upright carriage, broad low wings, full high tail, and clean five-point single comb.

How hard are Dutch Bantams to hatch?

The incubation schedule is standard — **99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch** — but the **tiny eggs and chicks** need care: use bantam-size setting trays, guard waterers against drowning, and handle gently. Fertility can be lower than in large fowl, so set plenty of eggs.

Are Dutch Bantams a true bantam breed?

Yes — the Dutch is a **true bantam** with no large-fowl counterpart, and one of the smallest at roughly 400–550 g. It was never miniaturized from a standard breed.

Are Dutch Bantams broody?

Often, yes. Hens go broody readily and make attentive little mothers, which makes them useful for hatching and brooding small clutches naturally.

How big do Dutch Bantams get?

Very small. Cocks weigh about **500–550 g** and hens about **400–450 g**, making them among the smallest true bantam breeds kept today.

Dutch Bantam: One of the Smallest True Bantams

Q: What color eggs do Dutch Bantams lay?

Small **cream to white** eggs, sometimes with a light tint. They carry no blue-egg gene, so they never lay blue, green, or olive eggs — the notable feature is the egg's tiny size, not its color.

Verified September 2026Cream eggs

The short version

The Dutch Bantam is one of the smallest true bantams — a genuine miniature with no large-fowl counterpart, cocks weighing only about 500–550 g and hens 400–450 g. Recognized by the APA in 1992, it is shown in the Single Comb Clean Legged Bantam class and carries game-type coloration built on a light-brown (partridge) base. Popular varieties include Light Brown, Blue Light Brown, Cream Light Brown, Silver, Black, and White. Hens lay small cream to white (sometimes lightly tinted) eggs and go broody readily, making good little mothers.

APA class: Single Comb Clean Legged Bantam

Egg color: Cream–Tinted

Broodiness: Frequently broody

Varieties: 7

Egg-color genetics

Dutch Bantams lay small eggs in the white-to-cream range, sometimes with a faint light-brown tint. The shell has no blue (oocyan) pigment, so there is no olive-egger potential here — the interest for keepers is the egg's tiny size relative to a standard chicken egg, not its color. Hens are surprisingly productive for an ornamental true bantam, laying steadily through the season.

What makes the Dutch Bantam a 'true bantam'?

A true bantam is a naturally small breed with no large-fowl version to miniaturize from — the Dutch has always existed only as a bantam. That sets it apart from the many 'bantam' breeds that are simply scaled-down copies of a standard-sized fowl. Adult Dutch cocks run about 500–550 g and hens about 400–450 g, placing them among the smallest true bantams kept today.

The breed's roots trace to the Netherlands, with the first written reference as a distinct breed appearing in the 1880s and formal Dutch recognition by 1906. It reached the United States in the 1950s and Britain by the late 1960s, and the American Dutch Bantam Society was formed in 1986 before APA recognition in 1992.

What color eggs do Dutch Bantams lay?

Small cream to white eggs, occasionally carrying a faint light-brown tint. There is no blue pigment, so a Dutch will never lay a blue, green, or olive egg. Despite the ornamental reputation, hens are willing layers for a true bantam and set and mother reliably, so a broody Dutch hen is a handy natural incubator for other small eggs.

Breeding notes

Breed for extreme smallness combined with correct type: the Dutch is a true bantam with no large-fowl equivalent, and its charm is a tiny, jaunty, upright body — do not let size creep upward, and cull the largest birds even when their color is good.
Wing and tail carriage are the make-or-break traits. The ideal is broad wings carried low and close, and a full, high tail on the cock with a wide fan and well-developed sickles; overly horizontal 'game' tails or pinched, narrow tails are common faults to select against.
Coloration follows game-fowl (partridge/duckwing-type) genetics. In Light Brown the cock shows an orange-red hackle and back over a black breast, while the hen carries the finely stippled brown 'partridge' pattern — breed within a variety, since crossing colors muddies the delicate stippling and salmon breast that judges look for.
The comb should be a neat single comb with five even points on the male and clean white earlobes; select against side sprigs, thumb-marked or twisted combs, and any red or enamel-white lobe faults.

Showing notes

Exhibited in the APA's Single Comb Clean Legged Bantam class; enter by variety (for example 'Light Brown Dutch Bantam'). Because it is a true bantam there is no large-fowl division — every Dutch is a bantam.
Judges reward a very small, alert, upright bird with a broad low-carried wing, a full high tail, a five-point single comb, and clean slate-blue to white legs depending on variety. Condition the plumage so the stippling or lacing reads crisply.
Common disqualifying or heavily-penalized faults include birds that are too large, split wing, side sprigs on the comb, and legs of the wrong color for the variety.

Hatching & incubation

The eggs are tiny — expect roughly half the size of a standard hen's egg — so use bantam or universal setting trays and small egg cups; standard large-egg trays let them roll and can crack the shells.
Because the eggs and chicks are so small, moisture loss and handling matter more: candle carefully, avoid over-drying, and be gentle at lockdown. Standard chicken timing still applies — 99.5–100°F forced-air, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch.
Newly hatched Dutch chicks are among the smallest of any chicken and can slip through standard chick-waterer gaps or drown in open water — use marbles or pebbles in the waterer and fine chick crumb for the first weeks.

Recognized varieties

Light BrownBlue Light BrownCream Light BrownBlue Cream Light BrownSilverBlackWhite

Frequently asked questions

What color eggs do Dutch Bantams lay?: Small cream to white eggs, sometimes with a light tint. They carry no blue-egg gene, so they never lay blue, green, or olive eggs — the notable feature is the egg's tiny size, not its color.
Are Dutch Bantams good for showing?: Yes. They're exhibited in the APA's Single Comb Clean Legged Bantam class in several varieties (Light Brown, Blue Light Brown, Silver, Black, White, and more), judged on their extreme smallness, upright carriage, broad low wings, full high tail, and clean five-point single comb.
How hard are Dutch Bantams to hatch?: The incubation schedule is standard — 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch — but the tiny eggs and chicks need care: use bantam-size setting trays, guard waterers against drowning, and handle gently. Fertility can be lower than in large fowl, so set plenty of eggs.
Are Dutch Bantams a true bantam breed?: Yes — the Dutch is a true bantam with no large-fowl counterpart, and one of the smallest at roughly 400–550 g. It was never miniaturized from a standard breed.
Are Dutch Bantams broody?: Often, yes. Hens go broody readily and make attentive little mothers, which makes them useful for hatching and brooding small clutches naturally.
How big do Dutch Bantams get?: Very small. Cocks weigh about 500–550 g and hens about 400–450 g, making them among the smallest true bantam breeds kept today.

Sources

Dutch Bantam Chickens (breed overview, size & history) — Oklahoma State University — Breeds of Livestock, Poultry (University extension)
Dutch Bantams (breed profile: varieties, eggs, temperament) — PoultryKeeper (Reference)
Dutch Bantam (breed, weights, varieties, recognition history) — Wikipedia (Reference)

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