Happy Friday! Coo Coo Cachoo!

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Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! Sorry about the loss of your Australorp. Ya, Wyandottes tend to slow down laying when it gets hot, and older hens don't lay as well as younger ones (a hen will lay the most eggs her first year, and about half that at age five). With the pecking order, It is best to wait until the birds are about the same size and have a long period of the two flocks being able to see each other but no touching, through wire seem to work best, ie dividing the coop into two sections or keeping the new/younger ones in a cage inside the coup for a couple of weeks to a month at least. The chickens will get to know each other and sort of work out a pecking order before actually coming in contact with each other. Letting them free range together is a good idea and should help... It will take a couple of weeks to get the pecking order sorted out. There is a nice article in the Learning Center on integrating flocks you might like to check out, the part about actually combining them is after the quarantine section https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/adding-to-your-flock
 
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AZchknmama said:
The Wyandottes are still very healthy and beautiful, however their laying has decreased quite a bit. Is that mainly b/c it's summer time or their age?
It may be because of both things. Hot weather can cause chickens not to lay many eggs, and I expect it gets quite hot in Arizona! My Wyandottes (I have two large fowl- a Columbian and a Silver-laced) have actually laid quite well this summer, even when temperatures reached nearly 90 degrees F. Age is a factor. By the time a bird reaches 2-3 years old, it will have slowed down in laying slightly. With that said, my two birds are still consistently laying 4-6 eggs a week in the summertime, each. It all depends on the individual bird.

They are not so happy about our new arrivals. I assume it's b/c they are all much smaller? Any addtion to a flock will cause some strife and problems. Because the new birds are much smaller, they are easier to pick on. Old birds in an established flock are often wary of newcomers and feel the need to assert their place high in the pecking order.

My older girls do fine with them when distracted with treats, but if left alone they go straight to pecking at them. This will go away as the chicks grow larger I hope!??
It should go away, as they work out the pecking order. The younger birds will also learn to avoid the older ones.

One of my polish girls also pecks at the little Silkie too! I'm still trying to figure out this pecking order. Is it based mainly on size?
Not always. The temperament of the bird has a lot to do with it as well. A small bird may be fiery and think that it is a big bird, and a large one may be terrified of small ones even though it could overpower them. I have a rooster that used to be dominant and confident. One day he and another rooster got in a fight because the other rooster(Stalker) had seen this bird (Tuck) breeding hens. Tuck was defeated by Stalker in the fight, and ever since, has been afraid of Stalker and other roosters. Stalker, for months, even though he was a larger bird, had lived with Tuck and was submissive to him. Tuck can no longer live with other males.
Some of my birds "come to power" through size, and others by temperament. I have some hens that have fiesty temperaments and rule over birds that weigh twice as much as them.

Do you think bringing a Buff Cochin to the flock is a bad idea b/c of their size or do you think it will be ok?
If you get the Cochin when it is young, and it grows up being submissive to the other birds, it may be ok. Many people say that Cochins have gentle temperaments and can live fine with other smaller birds. I've had two Cochins before (they were actually Cochin bantams). One of them (a Brown Red) was sweet, but still dominant over some other birds and over the other Cochin (a black). She had no need or ambition to be higher in the pecking order. The other bird, the Black Cochin Bantam, was third in the pecking order out of about 15. She submitted to two other birds higher than her, and to the Brown Red. This is just my experience with Cochins- yours may be different.
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Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Sorry for your loss! You've received tons of great advice above.
 
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Thank you! glad someone caught the Beatles reference! The more I've been looking online and such, yes I have realized there are Bantam Cochins.... now I just have to try and find one for sell! :)
 

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