Exhibition Poultry
All of the poultry pictured on this page are part of our miniHatch program. The birds pictured here are our breeders in the breeds and varieties listed below. We are expecting to have birds available to prepared people within Canada in 2010. We do encourage our customers to be members of local organizations in their area. In Greater Vancouver, please join the Fraser Valley Poultry Fanciers Assoc. to ensure you will be kept updated on poultry information and events within our region.
Our exhibition poultry are housed in our brand new facility, offering spacious enclosures, featuring plenty of sunlight and clean, well-maintained bedding.
Bantam Breeds:
- Rhode Island Reds
- Dark Brahmas
- Birchen Modern Game
- Silver Duckwing Old English Game
- White, Bearded Silkies
Bantam Ducks:
- White Calls
- Grey Calls
Large Fowl:
- Salmon Faverolles
- Barred Plymouth Rock
Rhode Island Reds
We currently breed two separate lines of Rhode Island Red bantams, one out of Washington State, and the other from Ontario. The breeding program will soon begin to introduce the genetics from the different strains as soon as we attain enough stock to establish our breeding program and also provide enough eggs to continue their role in miniHatch.
Rhode Island Reds are an incredibly docile breed that become very tame and make great pets. They lay a cream-colour egg, usually evey second day in the peak laying period. This breed also tends to be very long-lived.
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Dark Brahmas
The silver pencilled plumage pattern of the Dark Brahma and their classic-brahma demeanour make these birds incredibly striking. Our line of Dark Brahma's originated from a line out of Ontario, where our original stock came from. This strain does require some work in terms of their exhibition quality, thus we likely will only be offering very few birds for sale this year. This breed appears to be a very early layer, with our birds laying the most eggs thus far in the season before February 15th. They also appear to molt earlier than some of the other breeds. They lay a beige-coloured egg.
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Birchen Modern Game
Modern game are a brand new addition to our farm. Our line originated from stock from Heather Hayes, an APA licenced judge. They are amazing little creatures, very tame and inquisitive in nature, yet very active. It is not often they can be found sitting still. The chicks are easily reared and hatch quite well, although it appears they do better hatching and incubating at a lower humidity. We have found that a humidity of about 43% is optimal for incubation. They lay a fairly small, white egg.
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Silver Duckwing Old English Game
The Silver Duckwing Old English Game is a very classic breed. Like other members of the game bantam class, they are very active, prolific layers and extremely attractive. Our strain originated from a line kept by a breeder in Langley who has had them in his family for 3 generations. These striking little birds are a great starter breed as the hens readily go broody and make excellent mothers. They lay small white eggs, often every day. The soft colouration of the female and sharp contrast of the male make them great birds for someone looking to build up a small flock.
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White, Bearded Silkies
The classic silkie is highly prized in oriental cultures for its dark-coloured meat and skin. This heavily-feathered breed is also known for its incredible instinct to incubate eggs, no matter what the species. There have been reports of silkies incubating everything from quail to ducks and geese, and in one case, a sandhill crane. Silkies are a very pleasant breed for juniors, since they get very tame, but they require an extremely clean environment, both to maintain their health and their cleanliness.
Silkies lay a white egg, usually every second day. Often, females will need to be artificially inseminated due to the heavy-feathering around the male and female's vent.
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miniHatch Website
Birds for Sale
- Taking orders for the following quality birds in 2012:
- Silver Duckwing Old English Game Bantams
- Bearded White Silkies
- Rhode Island Red Bantams
- Birchen Modern Game Bantams
Local Organizations
- Fraser Valley Poultry Fanciers Assoc.
- Vernon Pigeon and Poultry Club
- Cowichan Feather Fanciers
- Alberta Chickens Etc.
National Organizations
- American Poultry Association
- American Bantam Association
- Internation Waterfowl Breeders Association
Breed Clubs
- American Silkie Bantam Club
- Rhode Island Red Club of America
- American Brahma Club
- Modern Game Club of the United States
- Canadian Araucana Society
Other Breeders
To have your group listed, please send us your website to webmaster@cbotkin.ca.