Belgian Bantam

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Belgian Bantam
Origin	Category	Egg Colour	Sitter
Belgium	True Bantam	White	Yes

Belgian Male by AO Schilling from American Standard of Perfection 1947

Belgian Female by AO Schilling from American Standard of Perfection 1947

THE BELGIAN BEARDED BANTAMS

All Antwerp Bearded Bantams (Barbu d'Anvers) are clean-legged, and all Uccle Bearded Bantams (Barbu d'Uccle) are feather-legged.

BARBU D'ANVERS (ANTWERP BEARDED BANTAMS)

THE COCK

Head - Skull rather large. Beak short, strong and curved. Eyes large and prominent, brows heavily furnished with feathers. Comb "curled," broad in front and tapered behind, the spike following slightly the outline of the neck, covered with small points or hollowed - in ridges. Face muffled. Muffling fairly long, standing away from the head, sloping backwards and forming the whiskers, which cover the ears and lobes, and with the beard form a collar. Earlobes small. Wattles rudimentary only, preferably none.

Neck rather long, the hackle thick and arched (convex), entirely covering the back and joining in front as much as possible.

Body broad and short; broad breast, carried well up; short back slanting downwards; medium length wings sloping towards the ground; nearly perpendicular tail, the main (or "hen") feathers not being hidden by the narrow sickles, of which the two largest are slightly bent round, but the others rise above one another fan-like, as far as the saddle feathers.

Legs short. Shanks smooth and free of feathers. Toes (four) strong and short. Carriage proud and upright, the head well back, appearing as though always ready to crow.

THE HEN

With the exception of the head (broader, and reminding one of an Owl), the neck-hackle (forming a ruffle behind, broader and more developed, but diminishing in thickness towards the bottom of the neck), the general characteristics are similar to those of the cock, allowing for the natural sexual differences.

COLOUR

THE BLACK

Beak and Nails black or very dark horn. Eyes black. Comb rudimentary. Wattles and Earlobes red. Legs and Feet blue, rather black in the first year. Plumage black all over with a beetle-green lustre.

THE CUCKOO

Beak and Nails white. Eyes orange-red. Comb rudimentary. Wattles red. Legs and Feet white in adults, often spotted with blue-grey in the young. Plumage uniformly cuckoo, formed by transverse bars of a dark blue-grey on light grey, each feather having at least three bars.

THE WHITE

Beak, Legs, Feet and Nails white. Eyes orange-red. Comb rudimentary. Wattles and Earlobes red. Plumage white all over, free of any yellow or foreign tint.

OTHER VARIETIES

Among other varieties are Black with golden neck-hackle, Black with silver neck-hackle, Blue, Buff with black in neck-hackle and tail, Golden, Millefleurs, Mottled (black with white tips) and Porcelain.

BARBU D'UCCLE

THE COCK

Head - Skull slender and small. Beak short and slightly curved. Eyes round, surrounded with bare skin, the brows heavily covered with feathers, becoming gradually longer, upright, and with a tendency to join behind the neck. Comb single, small, fine, and upright, regularly serrated, the back following the line of the neck. Face muffled. Muffling full and well developed, composed of long feathers turned horizontally from each side of the beak and under the beak vertically towards the bottom, the whole of the face forming three ovals in a triangle. Wattles very small.

Neck fairly long, the hackle very thick and much arched (convex), reaching to the shoulder and the beginning of the tail and covering the whole back; furnished with silky feathers, which start behind the beard on the sides of the throat and with a tendency to join behind the neck to form a mane.

Body broad and short; very broad breast carried well up; broad back entirely hidden by the profuse neck-hackle; tightly fitting wings, sloping and curved in towards the abdomen but not beyond it, the wing butts covered by the neck hackle, and the end of the flights by the saddle hackle; close, well-furnished tail, carried perpendicularly to the line of the back, the two large sickles slightly curved, and the others in regular tiers and fan-like, down to the saddle hackle.

Legs short, strong, well apart, and hocked; a cluster of long stiff feathers close together from the lower outside part of the thigh, inclined towards the ground and following the outline of the wings. Shanks (front and outside) feathered, the feathers shorter at the top (of the shank) and gradually increasing in length, stiff, turned horizontally outwards and raised at their ends. Toes (four), the outside and middle covered with the same kind of feathers as those of the shanks.

Carriage upright and very graceful.

THE HEN

With the exception of the beard (formed of softer and more open feathers) the general characteristics are similar to those of the cock, allowing for the natural sexual differences.

COLOUR

Beak and Nails slate-blue. Eyes, iris orange-red, pupil black. Comb and Wattles red.

THE MILLEFLEURS

Plumage of the Cock - Head orange-red with white points. Beard black laced with light chamois with a round black spot and a white triangle end. Neck-hackle black with golden shafts broadly bordered with orange-red, each feather having a black end terminating with a white point, the extraordinary abundance of the hackle making it appear totally orange-red, the black part being scarcely visible. Breast chamois, each feather having a light chamois shaft and a pea-shaped black spot tipped with a white triangle. Back red graduating into orange towards the saddle-hackle. Wing-bow red mahogany, with white tip to each feather; wing-bar russet-red, with a green-black pea-shaped spot towards the end and a silver-white triangle tip, the whole of the spots and triangles forming regular bars across the width of the wing; the dappling on the wing is uniform chamois, each feather ending with a large pea-shaped white spot on a triangle of black, the triangles continuing in equal spaces towards the tip (or end) of the wing and along the back, the lower third of each feather (lengthways, and the only part visible) chamois and the upper (two-thirds) black; primaries black, with a thin line of chamois on the outside. Tail green-black, with a fine edging (lacing) of dark chamois and terminating with a white triangle. Hocks, Leg and Foot feathering, same colour as the breast.

Plumage of the Hen uniform golden chamois, each feather terminating with a black spot finished with a white triangle. The tail feathers are black finely laced with chamois, with white tips. The dappling of the wing, the primaries, and the remainder of the colour are like that of the cock.

THE PORCELAIN

Plumage of the Cock - Head straw tint with white points. Beard blue-grey with a lacing of light yellow (straw), pea-shaped blue spots ending with a white triangle. Neck-hackle blue-grey with yellow (straw) shafts and broadly bordered with light straw, each feather having a blue end with a final white point, the extraordinary abundance of the hackle making it appear to be totally straw (colour), the blue part of the feathers being scarcely visible. Breast light straw, each feather having a light cream shaft with a pea-shaped blue-grey spot, tipped with a white triangle. Back straw graduating lighter towards the saddle hackles. Wing-bow golden straw, the tip of each feather white, the coverts straw with a bluegrey pea-shaped spot towards the end and at the extremity a silver-white triangle, the whole of the spots and triangles forming regular bars across the width of the wing; the dappling on the wing is uniform light straw, each feather at the end having a large pea-shaped white spot on a triangle of blue-grey; the triangles continuing in equal spaces towards the tip (or end) of the wing and along the back, the lower third of each feather (lengthways and the only part visible) light straw and the upper (two-thirds) blue-grey; primaries blue-grey with a thin line of light straw on the outside. Tail blue-grey having a fine edging (lacing) of straw and terminating with a white triangle. Hocks, Leg and Foot feathering, same colour as the breast.

Plumage of the Hen uniform straw, each feather terminating with a blue-grey spot finishing with a white triangle. The tail feathers are blue-grey finely laced with light straw with white tips. The dappling of the wing, the primaries, and the remainder of the plumage are like that of the cock.

SCALE OF POINTS

The Antwerp

	SCALE POINTS
Type 20, carriage 10	30
Head, uniformity (collar, bear, neck hackle)	25
Colour	15
Size	15
Beak and nails	5
Comb	5
Legs	5
	100

The Uccle

	SCALE POINTS
Type	15
Colour	15
Beard	15
Feet and hocks	15
Head	10
Neck Hackle	10
Wings and Tail	10
Size	10
	100

SERIOUS DEFECTS

• Wattles very developed;
• Earlobes conspicuous;
• Squirrel or wry tail;
• Trailing wings;
• Excessive length of leg;
• Absence of muffling;
• Other than four toes.
• In the Antwerp, single comb, feather on legs or feet;
• In the Uccle, rose comb, clean legs (minus feathers), absence of hocks.

See also Disqualifications

SOURCES

• The American standard of perfection, illustrated. A complete description of all recognized varieties of fowls as revised by the American Poultry Association, inc., at its seventy-sixth convention in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, 1949; seventy-eight convention in Roanoke, Virginia, 1951; seventy-ninth convention in Fort Worth, Texas, 1952. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009169010

• The Poultry club standards, containing a complete description of all the recognised varieties of fowls, ducks, geese and turkeys, ed. by William W. Broomhead. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009202629