Nankin

The Nankin is an old true bantam chicken, known in Britain and North America as the Nankin bantam. Its name comes from the old spelling of Nanjing, although the exact Asian sources and early route into Europe are uncertain. By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was established as a small chestnut or buff bird with darker tail feathers, short blue or slate legs, and a low, rounded carriage. Single-comb and rose-comb varieties are both kept, and the breed influenced the development of several later bantams.

Nankins are valued less for egg volume than for temperament, broodiness, and heritage preservation. Hens lay small tinted eggs and are often willing setters, which made them useful as foster mothers for pheasant, quail, and delicate poultry chicks. A secure pen is important because the birds are tiny and can be vulnerable to rats, cats, and hawks; covered runs also help contain active individuals. Breeders watch size carefully, since crossing or oversizing can quickly blur the type of a true bantam. Good stock may be scarce, so joining a breed club or rare-poultry network is often the simplest way to find sound birds.