I hadn’t kept bantams until, about six years ago, a friend gave me two Lavender Pekins. Quickly named Pam and Betty, after my beloved Bolton aunt and granny, they proved as feisty and formidable ...

Out in the woods on a rural chicken farm just days before April 1 in Pierce County, Washington, the bantam Silkie and Satin chickens were waiting for the perfect time to escape. “Bawk bawk bawk,” the ...