Bantams! First time with these little ones

[Acre4Me]

We have 25 straight run bantams. Several breeds that are 6 weeks old. We’ve raised regular chickens for several years, so we know pecking order, feeding etc.

Two of the breeds seem a bit larger than the others. Can I integrate these into the regular flock? Do the bantams get picked on as a rule (bc they are smaller) or does it just depend on the flock dynamics?

Male bantams: any different than regular sized males in noise, aggressiveness, leadership, etc?

Egg laying: do the girls begin to lay at the usual 18-20 weeks, or does it take longer?

 

[fluffycrow]

Just like you, after many years of raising LF birds, this is my first year raising bantams. I will not answer the first question, since I simply don't know, I keep mine separate. As for your second question, I've only had one cockerel, but here are my observations. The crow sounds about the same, a little more high pitched and a little less melodic. My LF cockerels are definitely more assertive at his age, he's a sweetie. I'd say they start laying at about the same time as the LF pullets, some breeds are known to lay a little sooner though