Can I house bantams with regular sized chickens?

chasshan

Hatching
8 Years
Mar 15, 2011
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This is my first post. I've tried doing a search for this topic but without success. We have 25 assorted baby chicks arriving soon. We are just beginning our chicken coop/hen house and run. Still in the planning stages.
They will be safe indoors in our make shift brooder until their outside house is ready. I have lots of questions, but my first is, can I keep the smaller bantams in the same hen house and run as the bigger chickens? Specifically, will they be safe? Will they get their fair share of food and water etc.? We have the room and materials to build them a separate section but would rather keep them all together if possible. Thanks.

Something else to consider.(another question). In addition to the hen house and large fenced enclosure, I do plan to let them all out to free range on our 10 acres, for most of the day. Confinement is recommended for bantams. Anyone let their bantams free range with success? If not, will it be hard, if not impossible to separate them out and keep them penned up while the others go freeranging? Thanks.
 
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from minnesota if you raise them together it should be ok
 
I have 33 cickens in a relative small space (until I am done withremodel) This includes three bantams. However the only roo is a bantam who thinks he weighs 10lbs. The temp space is 20by10 with a 8by10 house.
 
I have four standard size hens living with two bantom roos and three bantom hens, we have not had one problem with them. Had the standard size hens for about four months, about 10months old, when we got the bantoms and intergrated with no problems. The one bantom roo runs the whole flock, even the standard hens listen to him.

By the way...
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Thanks for all the prompt replies. Very helpful. I think we will move ahead with plan A which will be housing them all together, but building at least 2 "isolation" enclosures to be prepared for any safety issues that may come up right away.

Something else to consider.(another question). In addition to the hen house and large fenced enclosure, I do plan to let them all out to free range on our 10 acres, for most of the day. Confinement is recommended for bantams. Anyone let their bantams free range with success? If not, will it be hard, if not impossible to separate them out from the 25 chickens and keep them penned up while the others go free-ranging? Thanks.
 
Nearly all of my 55 birds are Bantam, they free range from 7am til 6pm, never had an issue. I've only got 4 standard sized chickens who live with them and free range/roost with them.
 
Sounds like you've got some good coop/run plans!

I think bantam and standard hens can live together fine - but I wouldn't keep a standard roo with bantam hens, he could injure them during mating due to the size difference.

Mixed sized hens with a bantam roo would work fine.

Roosters will fight each other, so keep that in mind especially if you have standard and bantam roos. Bantam roos think they're 10 feet tall, but I'd think a standard roo could do a lot of damage to a little bantam.

I don't let my bantams free range, but many others do. I think any free ranging chicken is in danger from predators regardless of size. Free ranging comes with the risk of losses, so it just comes down to personal choice and how one handles those losses. Seperating the standards to free range every day seems near impossible, and the bantams will go absolutely nuts, like stark raving mad if they see the others out ranging while they're locked up! Flocks of chickens like to stay together and sometimes panic when they can't get out to be with their flock-mates. If your enclosure is large enough, maybe you could keep them all in there and only free range when someone can supervise. That way the bantams could free range too, under supervision.

Congrats on getting chickens and good luck!
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