Chooks - do stds and bantams copulate?

We have 5 hens of a standard size and I've been quite happy with that
a) because I'd heard that cockerels were vicious
b) because I didn't fancy eating fertilised eggs (maybe that's just weird???)

However, a friend has a bantam chinese fluffy style coq that he's offered us cos I always say how cute it is.  He says that the breed is very frindly and certainly this one is.

The question is... will it copulate with std sized hens (cos then I'll have the fertilised egg issue)?

Yes.

Yes, but if you don't leave the fertilized eggs out where it's warm, you won't really be able to tell the difference between them and an unfertilized egg.  I often leave eggs out on the kitchen counter, sometimes for several days, before I have room for them in the frig, and in the summer when the temperatures are high, I've had fertilized eggs start to grow -- you can see blood vessels around the yolk.  But as long as they are chilled and kept cold, they won't start to grow so it's really not an issue.  (And we used those eggs, anyway, just in something other than fried eggs!)

Kathleen

Hmmm, despite your experience Kathleen (and thanks for sharing it in case I change my mind) I'm going to decline the offer.