5 July 2023
An Indian Game bantam was sold for a record price of R11 000 at an online auction at the weekend.
According to the breeder, Willie Schmidt from Stellenbosch, this price is a “game-changer”.
The Asian Hard Feather bantam with the record price has feathers tightly pressed against its body and is well muscled.
Schmidt says it comes from a good bloodline of champions and its father usually won the breed category at shows.
The previous record price for a bantam chicken was R7 000, also for one of Schmidt’s birds. He breeds more than 100 different types of chickens.
The only other chickens that usually achieve high prices at auctions are Orpingtons.
The buyer’s policy is to buy the best breeding material to improve his breeding stock.
Chicken auctions had poor sales at the beginning of the year but they have picked up in the past two months.
Bantams are particularly popular because they are smaller than other chickens, eat less and require less space.
