Are mixed flocks good?

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
very well said
I like a mixed flock for the variety of looks, eggs, personalities but if I want purebreds I have a separate pen.

X2

 

[Jeffross1968]

We really enjoy our mixed flock. All the differing eggs, personalities...and now that we've been hatching our own eggs, the flock is REALLY mixed, LOL. We've never had a problem that would be associated with a mixed flock, so you should be fine, except for the breeding thing which others have already covered.

 

[7L Farm]

Quote:
Chickens are what they are they scratch & peck. Get some good laying chickens a big roo & roll on. Purebreds are for show. I want eggs theres a difference. I want strong big hens that lay alot of eggs.

 

[Magic Birdie]

If you only have one roo you can just take eggs from a hen of the same breed...

 

[nabors]

How do you find homes for extra roosters???They were supposed to be hens...but they turned out to be beautiful roosters??? Thank you...

 

[galanie]

Quote:
That was where I was going by suggesting the hens be breeds that laid different looking eggs. Unless one will just let them lay and hatch willy-nilly or just has to have those that lay all brown or whatever color, should work. Another option is trap nests. There's a long thread about trap nesting here but I realize most won't want to deal with that. You'd have to be around all day every day for that to work well.

 

[galanie]

Quote:
If you make a new thread with that as the title you might do better at getting an answer. Haven't had a problem myself but I know there are those on here with experience at it.

 

[aoxa]

I have a large mixed flock.. They work well together. You should only focus on one or two breeds to hatch, and just separate them into two groups. Or you could have only one breed you want to hatch and just know what the hen's eggs look like. IE: I can tell my BR's eggs from all the others, and I have only 1 large breed rooster (BR) so I will hatch out those eggs if I want only purebred. I have one silkie rooster, and he does not breed my BR hens. Just as my large breed rooster does not breed my silkie hens.

It's funny, because both my roosters really prefer the girls of the same breed as they are.

 

[shellyga]

I have a large mixed flock with several roosters as they free range during the day and I like the extra "eyes in the sky" that multiple roosters provide.. they all pretty much get along - I only introduce younger roosters if I buy new chickens.. I have four different breeder pens and keep the groups I want pure eggs from separate. I just hatched out 11 chicks from my mixed flock.. the pullets will grow up to lay nice eggs..regardless of their heritage.. and I enjoy the variety that I get from them. Many folks around here don't care too much about breed per say.. so I can sell a mixed breed laying hen as easily as a pure one.

Shelly

 

[RedDrgn]

Just don't have a rooster and then you get a mixed, non-crossbred flock.