Tikki Masala, Curry, Tibault and Roxanne have been holding down Bantam Annex for going on two years now.
Bantam Annex is on the left
While way more skittish than our Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks, they have their own endearing qualities. Tibault, our black and glam rooster, has taken on a more fatherly role than our previous standard rooster, Sal. He is also much quieter. I think it is because he has a smaller voice box. The crowing, though nearly constant, is more charming than grating, and our next-door neighbor has even remarked that Tibault’s exclamations are a welcome reminder of a childhood spent on a farm in rural Virginia. Bonus!
Roxanne is bitty and quick but doesn’t seem to mind when my two-and-a-half-year-old throws grain near her. Curry’s a bit of a kook. She’s like that crazy aunt you learn to stay away from because you never know when she’ll just go off squawking and making everyone within earshot think that you’re pinching her or something. And Tiki, well, she’s just a follower, like every good chicken ought to be.
The Annex itself is a small raised elongated box-like structure with two nesting boxes and two doors. It is painted red with the leftover larger chicken coop paint, which is the leftover claw foot tub paint.
Does that red look familiar?
All of the annex materials are leftovers from something: from drawer pulls to pine paneling. It’s quirky, just like the bantams that live in it.
The run of Bantam Annex (Tibault is on far left)
Do you keep bantams? Have you noticed a difference between the standard/large breed chickens and the smaller breeds?