Backyard bantams

After you've established the breed of your choice, go ahead and build a shelter. Bantams are small birds, so it won't take much. Just make sure that the coop has no drafts, is well insulated, and has enough ventilation.

To achieve this, make two openings, one above the other, on the south or east side of the coop, and cover them with cloth.

If you are interested in raising more than one variety, be sure to keep the breeds separated to prevent their bullying or even cannibalizing one another. This can also happen among the same breed if you put two males together in a pen that is too small.

If you're raising your bantams from chicks, be sure that their first week is spent in a comfortably warm 95° F. environment. For every week that passes, you can turn the heat down 5° in the coop until you've reached the environmental temperature. Be sure to keep their litter dry and their feed and water clean.

Select the feed

Bantams eat commercial chicken starter mash until they're 8 weeks old. After that, you'll want to gradually switch them over to growing mash.

While their size indicates uselessness as a food source, surplus bantams can be butchered and eaten just as any full-size chicken. Older birds will have tougher and darker meat than their younger counterparts (the same as ordinary chickens) but are still very palatable.

Collect the (tiny) eggs

As far as eggs are concerned, bantams produce them proportionate to their size. "Bantams are typically a one-fifth miniature of the full-size chicken, so the eggs are going to be at least a quarter of the size," Clauer says. "There are no differences in nutrition; the proportions are the same - just smaller."

If you intend to use your bantams purely as a source of eggs, you should consider raising a breed that is better suited to higher egg production. Typically, the bantam variation of full-sized chickens that are adept at laying eggs will be a similarly good choice for egg production.

Be aware that the more productive egg-laying breeds tend to be more flighty. "They tend to be a little more active, a little more high strung," Clauer says.

With those birds, don't wear loose, floppy clothing that may be perceived as a threat or challenge. If you're looking for kid-friendly birds, high-strung breeds may not be right for you.

Have fun!

While bantams may not be the most useful or functional variety of poultry, their unique size and comical mannerisms will make you smile every time you head towards the coop.

"Bantams are neat little things in the bird world," Clauer says.