Diverse Flock??

[gryeyes]

My flock is very diverse as well. All kinds of chickens, standard "Large Fowl" and bantam breeds. Feather-legged and clean legged. White egg layers, and almost pale pink, tan, light brown, dark brown, light green, light blue, and olive green egg layers. My first several chicks were purchased at [my favorite] feed store from the breeds they offered, but all different because I really thought I wouldn't be able to tell them apart if they were all one breed. (I now know that's silly - I CAN tell duplicate breeds apart from each other!)

But I did research breeds first. Henderson's Handy Dandy Chicken Chart is a very useful website to keep as a "favorite" or "bookmark." I refer to it on a regular basis.
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

If I see a breed here on BYC that I like, I check Henderson's chart to see the breed characteristics.

 

[Coopacabana]

If you raise them together, they usually along. Problems come when one chicken is the odd one out (feathered feet, crests, etc.) and worsens if they are very docile (silkie, faverolles). My speckled sussex are big, beautiful, friendly, great layers and are the most tolerant of others. Good luck with your flock!

 

[lolita117]

I have several different breeds in my flock and will be adding some white egg layers, and green egg layers this spring. You can mix different breeds. The problem comes in when some are extremely different. In my last order from a hatchery I got a Buff Laced Polish roo as a bonus chick. The other chicks that I got beat him up through out his whole life. Even when he got older they still picked on him. Unfortunately one day he didn't go up in the coop when it was time to roost and my dog killed him. As long as all the chicken will be in similar size and build they should be alright. Don't start mixing polish breeds with standards and maybe not even mix bantams with standards. I'm wanting to get some silkies but I'm hesitant on getting them because they will be so much smaller than my standard size chickens. I will attach a picture of my flock - I even have a duck.

 

[berniezahm]

gryeys beat me to the handy dandy hendersons chicken chart, I was going to give you that link but you already have it. The one breed that I didn't see any talk of was the large bodied or giant cochin. They are the cuddliest chicken I think, and they lay really nice brown eggs. The ones I have lay a terra cotta colored egg. Jersey Giants are nice birds, but take a long time to mature, 1 year to 18 months for full growth. I have one Black Jersey Giant Rooster that stands on the coop floor and drinks out of the top of an 8 gallon galvanized waterer when I'm filling it. He isn't agressive or pushy just big.
Good Luck with whatever you pick. I've never met a chicken I didn't like, just like some more than others.

 

[Coopacabana]

Quote:
I knew nothing about chickens when my teacher offered me a silkie, two cochin bantams, and a rhode island red. I then got a leghorn, black star, ee, and two golden laced wyandottes. the wyandottes picked on her mercilessly, so i quickly relocated them. She is near the bottom of the pecking order, but she is not being starved, hurt or unable to leave the nesting boxes. the cochin banties are actually on the bottom. I am getting three more silkies b/c i've heard they do best in a group. Also size is less important than personality; my tiny oegb rooster is decidedly above my bc marans roo.

 

[Coopacabana]

oh and cute duck by the way!

 

[lolita117]

Thanks. His name is Howard. lol. I think I might wait to get some silkies, I was going to get some with my order that I placed for March but decided against it. Maybe whenever I do get some, I'll get 10 or something and raise them in my separate room in my coop until they are fully feathered and only do this when I can keep a close eye on them whenever I introduce them to the flock without chicken wire separating them. I really love the look of them silkies, I would love to touch one! (I don't know of anybody that has them. Actually I don't know anybody, personally, who has chickens. Oh well, I'll just have a monopoly on country eggs

.)

oh and cute duck by the way!

 

[Tnchickennewbie]

Everyone here is very helpful. Will definitely bookmark that link. Quick question though.......has anyone had any experience with the production blacks from Ideal?

 

[maizy'smom]

I used mypetchicken.com and am very pleased with the results. They also have a search tool for picking breeds by priorities; how important is weather tolerance, how important is egg production, how important is temperament, what color eggs, etc. That way you don't get (as) tempted by the looks of something that isn't going to fit your criteria. Also, I ordered all females and had no surprise roos, and everyone arrived happy, healthy, and promptly. If I had more room, I'd succumb to "chicken math" and do it all again.

mm

 

[Bullitt]

Take the advice from www.mypetchicken.com with a grain of salt. I see that some of the information there is not correct.

For example, it states that white leghorns are cold hardy and that non-white leghorns are not cold hardy. Most chickens are cold hardy, unless you live in a very cold region. It is just their combs that get frostbite. Well, there are varieties of brown leghorns with rose combs, making them more cold tolerant than the single comb varieties. All the white leghorns have single combs, which are more prone to frostbite.

I suggest seeking out multiple sources of information before making a decision.