What color eggs do Nankins lay?

Small **creamy-white to tinted** eggs. Nankins are bantams, so the eggs are small, and hens lay roughly 80–100 a year — this is a breed kept for broodiness and history, not heavy egg production.

Are Nankins good for showing?

Yes — they're exhibited as a Single Comb Clean Legged bantam (and there is a rose-comb form too), judged on their rich buff-chestnut body color, clean black tail, and neat comb. Classes are small because the breed is rare, so a well-conditioned Nankin can stand out.

How hard are Nankins to hatch?

No harder than any chicken — **99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch**. The eggs are just small, so secure them in the turner. Better still, let a Nankin hen do it: they're outstanding natural broodies.

Why are Nankins so rare?

They nearly disappeared during the 1800s 'hen fever' era as breeders turned to flashier breeds. Today the Nankin is a conservation-priority breed on The Livestock Conservancy's list, kept going by a small community of dedicated breeders.

What do Nankins look like?

A small true bantam with a warm **buff-to-chestnut body and a black tail** (cocks are darker with black in the flights; hens are lighter chestnut with black-edged tails), bright red wattles, a light horn beak, and either a single or a rose comb.

Very — broodiness is the Nankin's claim to fame. Hens are exceptional, diligent setters and were historically used on game farms to hatch pheasant, quail, and partridge eggs, which helped keep the breed from dying out.

Nankin: The Oldest True Bantam and a Broody Legend

Verified September 2026Cream eggs

The short version

The Nankin is one of the oldest known true bantams — a naturally tiny breed with no large-fowl counterpart. Cocks are a rich buff-to-chestnut with black tails and flight feathers; hens are lighter chestnut with black-edged tails. It comes in both single-comb and rose-comb forms and lays a small creamy-white / tinted egg. The Nankin is best known as an exceptional broody — hens were historically kept on game farms to hatch pheasant, quail, and partridge eggs, a role that helped save the breed from extinction. It is a conservation-priority breed on The Livestock Conservancy's list.

APA class: Single Comb Clean Legged Bantam

Egg color: Cream

Broodiness: Frequently broody

Varieties: 2

Egg-color genetics

Nankins lay a small egg that reads as creamy white to tinted rather than a strong brown or any blue. There is only one color to breed for here, so selection is about size and lay rate, not shell pigment — the shell has no blue oocyan and only the faintest tint, which is why keepers describe the eggs as cream.

Why the Nankin is famous as a broody

Long before reliable incubators, gamekeepers needed a small, steady hen to hatch the delicate eggs of pheasants, quail, and partridge. The Nankin filled that role: hens are exceptionally good setters and attentive mothers, and they were kept on English game farms specifically to brood game-bird eggs. The Livestock Conservancy notes this usefulness as a brood chicken is a large part of why the breed survived at all.

For a modern small-flock keeper, that history is a practical selling point. If you keep a more sensitive or poorly-broody breed, a couple of Nankin hens on standby give you living incubators that will happily hatch and raise chicks each spring.

A conservation-priority true bantam

The Nankin is one of the oldest true bantams in existence, thought to have reached England before the 1500s, and it nearly vanished during the 1800s 'hen fever' craze when fanciers chased newer, more exotic breeds. It remains rare today and sits on The Livestock Conservancy's Conservation Priority List. Keeping and breeding Nankins to type is genuine conservation work, not just a hobby.

Breeding notes

The Nankin is a true bantam: there is no large-fowl version it was shrunk down from, so you are breeding a naturally small bird — don't chase size, breed to the standard's compact type and rich buff-chestnut color.
Because the breed is a conservation priority (threatened/critical on The Livestock Conservancy's Conservation Priority List), every well-bred bird you hatch matters — keep detailed pedigrees and place surplus stock with other serious breeders rather than letting bloodlines dead-end.
Both single-comb and rose-comb Nankins exist; keep the two comb types in separate pens if you want to produce clean, predictable comb type for exhibition, since crossing them muddies the comb in the offspring.
Select for the signature plumage — a warm chestnut/buff body with a clean black tail and black in the flights — and cull washed-out, mealy, or off-colored birds. Historic sources credit the Nankin as the ancestor of many buff bantam varieties, so color is central to the breed's identity.
Lean on the breed's own broodiness: a good Nankin hen will happily sit and raise chicks, so you can propagate the breed naturally instead of relying only on an incubator.

Showing notes

Nankins are exhibited as a Single Comb Clean Legged bantam; enter by comb type and note the buff-chestnut body with black tail — judges want the rich, even ground color and a clean black tail, not a smutty or faded body.
Condition matters on a bird this small: a tidy, close-fitting comb (rose or single), bright red wattles, a light horn beak, and clean, unbroken tail feathering all read from across the show hall.
Because so few Nankins are shown, a well-prepared bird stands out — but classes can be tiny, so travel to shows that draw a real bantam entry if you want meaningful competition and feedback.

Hatching & incubation

No special incubation requirements — Nankin eggs are ordinary (if small) chicken eggs: 99.5–100°F forced-air, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch.
The eggs are notably small, so they fit many quail/bantam rails; make sure your turner cradles them so they don't roll, and expect small, quick chicks.
The breed's best-known 'quirk' is the hens themselves: Nankin hens are such reliable, diligent setters that many keepers skip the incubator entirely and let a broody Nankin hatch and brood the clutch.

Recognized varieties

Single Comb (buff/chestnut body with black tail)Rose Comb (buff/chestnut body with black tail)

Frequently asked questions

What color eggs do Nankins lay?: Small creamy-white to tinted eggs. Nankins are bantams, so the eggs are small, and hens lay roughly 80–100 a year — this is a breed kept for broodiness and history, not heavy egg production.
Are Nankins good for showing?: Yes — they're exhibited as a Single Comb Clean Legged bantam (and there is a rose-comb form too), judged on their rich buff-chestnut body color, clean black tail, and neat comb. Classes are small because the breed is rare, so a well-conditioned Nankin can stand out.
How hard are Nankins to hatch?: No harder than any chicken — 99.5–100°F, lockdown day 18, 21-day hatch. The eggs are just small, so secure them in the turner. Better still, let a Nankin hen do it: they're outstanding natural broodies.
Why are Nankins so rare?: They nearly disappeared during the 1800s 'hen fever' era as breeders turned to flashier breeds. Today the Nankin is a conservation-priority breed on The Livestock Conservancy's list, kept going by a small community of dedicated breeders.
What do Nankins look like?: A small true bantam with a warm buff-to-chestnut body and a black tail (cocks are darker with black in the flights; hens are lighter chestnut with black-edged tails), bright red wattles, a light horn beak, and either a single or a rose comb.
Are Nankins broody?: Very — broodiness is the Nankin's claim to fame. Hens are exceptional, diligent setters and were historically used on game farms to hatch pheasant, quail, and partridge eggs, which helped keep the breed from dying out.

Sources

Nankin Chicken (breed history, plumage, eggs & conservation status) — The Livestock Conservancy (Reference)
Nankin (rare true bantam breed page) — The Poultry Club of Great Britain (Breed club)
Nankin Chicken (breed characteristics) — Oklahoma State University — Breeds of Livestock (University extension)

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