Discover elegant Modern Game bantams with long legs and characterful personalities.
Modern Game bantams are distinctive ornamental chickens with long legs, compact bodies and an upright stance. Their elegant appearance and inquisitive nature make them appealing birds for a carefully planned garden flock.
Often friendly once settled, these small birds may become confident around a patient keeper. Their fine build calls for gentle handling and thoughtful companions, with protection from bullying and competition for food or water.
For Australian gardens, plan a secure, sheltered run with dry footing, suitable resting places, reliable shade and fresh drinking water. They are generally kept for companionship and exhibition rather than prolific egg production.
These slender bantams need gentle handling and carefully chosen companions. Avoid forceful flock members, introduce birds gradually and make sure quieter hens can reach food, water and sheltered resting places.
Chicken buying guide ›
Their curious nature can make Modern Game bantams enjoyable companions. Build trust patiently, support their bodies carefully and closely supervise children during handling.
An approximate guide to annual laying potential. Egg size and output vary with breeding line, age, season, nutrition and individual care.
Modern Game bantams are often alert, inquisitive birds with a striking upright stance. Their long legs and compact bodies give them an appearance quite different from many rounded garden breeds.
A calm routine and patient interaction help individual hens become comfortable around their keeper. Some enjoy gentle attention, but respect each bird’s handling preferences and avoid sudden grabbing or rough restraint.
Their fine build needs particular care around children and larger flock members. Supervise handling closely, introduce companions gradually and watch for bullying or competition at feeding and drinking points.
Provide a secure, sheltered run with clean, dry footing and safe opportunities to scratch and explore. Keep routes to food and water easy to navigate and choose gentle companions rather than relying on size or breed labels alone.
Offer stable resting places, safe access ramps or ladders and a predator-resistant house at night. These birds can fly, so assess boundaries carefully and use a covered enclosure where needed. Maintain dry bedding and shelter from draughts and prolonged rain.
In Australian conditions, reliable shade, ventilation and plentiful fresh drinking water are essential during hot weather. Feed an appropriate complete ration and check birds and housing daily, paying attention to quieter hens and changes in condition.
Modern Game chickens were developed in Britain during the nineteenth century as an exhibition breed. Breeders selected for the tall stance, long legs and close feathering that give these birds their distinctive outline.
Their ancestry includes Old English Game and Malay chickens. Modern Game later developed in large-fowl and bantam forms, with the small ornamental bantams featured in this guide attracting particular interest from exhibition keepers.
Today Modern Game birds are kept for their appearance, character and companionship. Their slender build remains central to planning suitable housing and flock company, while modest laying makes them a different choice from dedicated egg-producing hens.
