CluckyMcCluckington
Chirping
I currently have six 11-month-old hens (Lavender Orpington, Welsummer, 2 California Whites, Leghorn, and some kind of hybrid who is slightly smaller than the other ladies.)
I have 10 new 5-week-old chicks that are in the coop next to them until ready for integration.
(5 Ölandsk Dwarf bantams, 1 Old English Pheasant Fowl, and 3 Swedish Flower Hens.)
I am pretty sure that 3 are cockerels. (2 bantam brothers and 1 Flower Hen.) My question is how to choose which one/ones to keep. I know a lot will depend on future behavior. So far, all are docile and submissive to me. 1 Bantam is clearly the alpha of the 2 brothers. My concern is how my 4 bantam pullets will fare with a full-sized Flower Hen cockerel. He's going to be beautiful and so far he's sweet, but I don't want to keep him if he will be crushing or hurting the bantam ladies. I don't care if the roosters successfully mate, but I don't want bantams that get too frisky trying with the big girls and hurting them, either. The total number of females with the older flock included will be 13. But hey, we all get surprises.
I have a big run, the 2 coops, separate water and feed stations, and a couple of acres that everyone can forage under supervision. So those aren't factors. I am more concerned with the dynamics of mixing the chicken sizes and what are other people's experiences?
I have 10 new 5-week-old chicks that are in the coop next to them until ready for integration.
(5 Ölandsk Dwarf bantams, 1 Old English Pheasant Fowl, and 3 Swedish Flower Hens.)
I am pretty sure that 3 are cockerels. (2 bantam brothers and 1 Flower Hen.) My question is how to choose which one/ones to keep. I know a lot will depend on future behavior. So far, all are docile and submissive to me. 1 Bantam is clearly the alpha of the 2 brothers. My concern is how my 4 bantam pullets will fare with a full-sized Flower Hen cockerel. He's going to be beautiful and so far he's sweet, but I don't want to keep him if he will be crushing or hurting the bantam ladies. I don't care if the roosters successfully mate, but I don't want bantams that get too frisky trying with the big girls and hurting them, either. The total number of females with the older flock included will be 13. But hey, we all get surprises.
I have a big run, the 2 coops, separate water and feed stations, and a couple of acres that everyone can forage under supervision. So those aren't factors. I am more concerned with the dynamics of mixing the chicken sizes and what are other people's experiences?