Booted Bantam

Booted Bantam chickens are distinguished by the exceptionally long feathers on their legs and feet. These feathers make the chickens look like they are wearing long, fluffy boots. Although the Booted Bantam is a naturally small bird, with a short stature and weighing less than two pounds, the feathers on their feet can exceed six inches in length. These long feathers make life a little complicated for the birds, who cannot move around as quickly or easily on the ground as other breeds. But luckily, the Booted Bantam is an excellent flyer. These birds are considered rare, but thanks to their wide variety of colors and their friendly demeanor, they are popular ornamental and exhibition birds in many countries.

Incredible Booted Bantam Chicken Facts

• Booted Bantam chickens are true bantams that developed naturally on their own.
• The standard for this breed is slightly larger in Europe than in the United States.
• Some organizations recognize more than 30 different color variations in this breed.
• The Booted Bantam has been around for hundreds of years, originating in the Netherlands.
• The breed also has a long history in neighboring Belgium and Germany.
• Booted Bantams are also known by their Dutch name, Sabelpoot, across much of Europe.

Where to Find Booted Bantam Chickens

Booted Bantam chickens most likely originated in the Netherlands. They were also commonly found in the bordering countries of Belgium and Germany and in the United Kingdom. Exporters later moved the birds to countries including France and the United States. According to the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, Booted Bantam chickens also occupy facilities in Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Poland, and Russia.

Chickens with feathered feet were commonplace throughout Europe since at least the 1600s, based on artistic representations during that time. One of the earliest descriptions of feather-footed bantam chickens came from English naturalist Eleazar Albin in 1738. In 1867, another English naturalist and bird expert, William Bernhardt Tegetmeier, wrote a lengthy description of the Booted Bantam chicken in his popular reference, The Poultry Book. 

Scientific Name

Like other domesticated chickens throughout the world, Booted Bantams are part of the species Gallus gallus domesticus. Based on molecular research, experts believe that modern domesticated chickens evolved mainly from the Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus, of Southeast Asia. Even though Booted Bantams are naturally much smaller than full-size chickens, weighing in at a little under two pounds at their heaviest, they still share this common ancestry.

Booted Bantam chickens have been called many different names. Some people call them Dutch Booted Bantams. However, writers should be careful not to confuse them with the Dutch Bantam breed, which also originated in the Netherlands, but which has bare legs.

In many parts of the world, organizations call Booted Bantams by their Dutch name, Sabelpoot. This name derives from the characteristic vulture hocks, or stiff, downward-pointing feathers on the back of the bird’s legs. Sabelpoot translates to sabre-legged. Germans call the chickens Federfüßige Zwerghühner, which translates to Feather-footed Bantam.

Appearance

Booted Bantam chickens are naturally small. They are true bantam chickens in that they are naturally occurring in bantam size. People did not selectively breed the Booted Bantam from a large-sized bird, nor did they cross it with other breeds to achieve its diminutive size. Yes, Tegetmeier wrote in The Poultry Book that the Booted Bantam breed displayed in the 1860s was smaller than historical feather-footed bantams, but the breed was always of bantam size.

These tiny, ornamental chickens are short in stature and lightweight. They have broad backs and rounded breasts, and they hold their tail and head upright, giving their body a graceful U-shaped profile. They have long, straight, downward-pointing feathers on the backs of their thighs called vulture hocks, a feature seen rarely among poultry, and they carry their long wings pointed down toward the ground much like the Sultan chicken. Booted Bantams have bright red, single, upright combs with five to seven evenly serrated points. They have red wattles, earlobes, and faces.

Heavily feathered legs and feet are the most distinguishing features of this breed. Their four toes are almost completely camouflaged beneath the long feathers that look like boots. The feathers on the feet of Booted Bantams can grow up to six inches or more.

Booted Bantam hens typically weigh up to 20 ounces, while roosters can reach up to 22 ounces, according to the American Poultry Association breed standard.

The Many Colors of Booted Bantams

This breed, also known as Federfüssige Zwerghühner, is recognized in more than two dozen different colors in Germany. In the United States, the American Poultry Association recognizes only five colors, including White, Black, Mille Fleur, Porcelain, and Self Blue. The association added the White variety to the Standard of Perfection first in 1879, followed by the others.

In the United Kingdom, the Booted Bantam Society, formed in 2014, recognizes color variations, including the solids, Black, White, Blue, and Lavender. The standard also includes Mille fleur varieties, including Gold, Silver, Lemon, Buff, and Porcelain, as well as Silver Birchen, Gold Birchen, Lavender Mottled, Black Mottled, and Cuckoo. The society also lists more than a dozen different non-standard colors, but breeders cannot show those in the standard competitions.

Behavior

Booted Bantam chickens are usually raised as ornamental birds. They are docile and friendly toward humans and are reportedly easy to train. They get along well with most other chickens, although others may bully them due to their small size. Within their own flock, Booted Bantams tend to establish a hierarchical order. Chicks fight for their place on the social ladder, then continue to assert their dominance over birds of lower rank as they get older.

This breed is particularly adept at flying. They have long, strong wings and lightweight bodies made for the air. Many owners report that the chickens spend much of their time in trees, preferring even to roost among the branches if they can. To keep them from flying away, breeders should provide covered enclosures and secure coops. Otherwise, simply expect that they will be sitting somewhere high and out of the way.   

These chickens do well in confinement or as free-range birds. They do not tolerate cold and wet weather as well as many other breeds, due to the heavy feathering on their legs and feet. If their feet stay wet, they are prone to illness and infection. Owners should keep coops and enclosures especially clean and dry.

The feathers on the Booted Bantam chicken’s feet also greatly affect their behavior. They are more likely to walk about deliberately than to run amok. The feathers also make them less likely to scratch aggressively in the garden than many other fowl. Booted Bantams have to move carefully or risk breaking their feathers, which can be painful and bloody, depending on where the breakage occurs. These long feathers can also prove treacherous for their young, as they often sweep eggs and even chicks right out of the nest.

Diet

Booted Bantams need high-quality poultry feed with plenty of protein to support the growth of their feathers. If allowed to forage, these birds are likely to eat plenty of seeds, weeds, and other green plant material. They will also gobble up insects and larvae, and other small invertebrates. They especially love worms.

Owners of Booted Bantam chickens can supplement their birds’ diet with treats. These chickens love fruits and vegetables, especially the leafy green varieties. They enjoy melons, berries, pumpkins, and even the occasional banana.

Reproduction

Booted Bantam hens reach sexual maturity by about 22 weeks of age. They lay between 100 and 120 white or lightly tinted eggs each year, but the eggs are tiny. The hens tend to go broody, and they make a solid effort at sitting on their nests and raising their chicks.

Unfortunately, the abundant feathers on their feet make it hard to avoid stepping on their eggs and their chicks. Sometimes the long feathers even sweep eggs or baby chicks out of the nest, leading to their demise.

Predators & Threats

Predators such as hawks, owls, and eagles present a serious threat to Booted Bantam chickens because they are very small and easy to carry away. The chickens have an advantage, though, thanks to their excellent flying skills. If they can fly into trees, they may find safety among the branches. They fare much better against ground predators such as foxes, weasels, and raccoons than heavier breeds like the Brahma chicken or the Cochin chicken. As long as they can spot a terrestrial predator approaching, they have a great chance of escaping on the wing.

Booted Bantams are most at risk on the nest. Those same earth-bound predators mentioned above, as well as domestic cats and snakes, can easily raid a nest and eat all the eggs or chicks. Owners must supply their birds with secure coops if they are to avoid predators at night.

Another threat that Booted Bantam chickens face is disease. Because these chickens have such abundant feathers, parasites are a particular problem. They can get out of control if the birds’ enclosures and coops are not kept exceptionally clean and dry. Water sources should be changed frequently, as the birds can hardly help getting their feathers damp. Many breeders suggest nipple based waterers for heavily feathered birds like these.

Lifespan & Conservation

Although the Livestock Conservancy does not include the Booted Bantam breed on its Conservation Priority List, most sources indicate that the breed is indeed rare. These scrappy chickens are considered a hardy breed, though, and individuals can live up to 10 years. Interest in Booted Bantams is strong among hobbyists, especially in the Netherlands, Germany, and other nearby countries in Europe. Their wide variety of colors, docile nature, and cute appearance make them favorites among both backyard breeders and poultry show enthusiasts.