mix breeds

[rfcreek]

Hello, after buying meat birds from a hatchery (I can't think of the name) we got a free rare bird with the order a crested chicken (the one with the afro ) anyway long story short she had been with the meat birds the entire time but they are now 4 Weeks old and getting to be 3 plus times her size. I have 7 additional hens and I was wondering what I should do with the show bird: keep her separated unto she can hang with the big hens, give her away, or when she is 6 Weeks put her with the hens and hopefully it will all work out. Thank you in advance ;-)

 

[rfcreek]

It was Murry mcmurry farm for a great deal too

 

[annewandering]

Has your pretty bird had any problems with the big ones yet? If not then why move it?

 

[Ridgerunner]

You don’t ask easy questions. Welcome to the forum, by the way.

First, you’re dealing with living animals. They don’t come with guarantees. And there is often a big difference in what might possibly happen and what definitely will happen. A piece of space junk could fall out of the sky and hit your house. You might have a fender-bender next time you go somewhere in a car. You might see sunshine today, even in Washington State. Any of these could happen, but the odds can possibly vary.

It’s possible you could integrate that chick without any problem. It’s possible it could wind up dead. If you try to integrate it, it’s probable you will have some disruptions. Not guaranteed, but probable. There are a few different things to worry about.

One is just straight integration. Chickens can recognize who belongs in their flock. Not all the time but sometimes they will attack a strange chicken. It happens often enough for it to be a concern. You can really help out with this out by housing the chick next to the older ones for a week or more, just on the other side of the fence. This may not solve the problem, but it can maybe help a lot.

Then you have the pecking order. Every chicken has to know its place in the social order in the flock. What generally happens if two chickens meet that haven’t worked this out, one pecks the other or tries to intimidate it. If one runs away when there is a confrontation like this, they’ve worked it out. There may be some chasing involved so they do need enough room to run away. I think plenty of room really helps them work this out.

You have something else working. Your chick will be very immature compared to the older hens. A mature chicken always outranks an immature chick and can be a real bully about that. They may actually seek out and try to hurt a younger chick. That’s a real risk. I integrate 8 week old chicks with my adult flock all the time. I’ve never lost one doing this which means I’m probably being overly cautious, but I’m OK with that. But mine basically grow up across a fence from the adults and I have a lot of room. These chicks basically form a second flock and totally stay away from the adults and I have a separate place for them to sleep until they are about 12 weeks old. I don’t know what your set-up looks like.

You have something else working against you. You have a lone chick. Chickens are social animals. They really like being with other chickens. With you only having a single chick, it probably will not want to form a separate flock of one but will probably want to hang around the adults. It’s possible your adults will be OK with that but it’s also possible they won’t like it. It’s a real gamble. I’d be a bit uncomfortable trying that.

The other possible problem is that you have one of those fancy ones with the topknot. Since that is different, it’s possible the others will want to peck at the head feathers. I’ve never had a fancy one like that but others have reported it is sometimes a problem. Then others have them mixed with their flock without any problems at all. Again it’s something that can happen, not necessarily that it will.

I can’t tell you what to do or even what I’d do in that situation. If you really want that chick you can try it. Maybe keep it with the meaties until you process them, then house it next to the adults for a week or more before you let them mix.

Whatever you decide I wish you good luck. Sometimes these go really well but sometimes they don’t. Living animals just don’t come with guarantees.

 

[leghornfarm]

I really just looked here to see what Ridgerunner's answer was. He does so well explaining things. My advice would have been through her in there and watch what happens. If it gets to rough for her take her out and try something else. If it does get to rough try housing her separate but right next door until they are better acquainted. Then try again.