Can bantams live with one standard size bird?

[Amelise]

As you may know, I am looking into getting some show quality birds to show later this year for FFA. I would like to show mostly any clean legged bantam. Before I jump into this, I need to make sure I have an ideal situation to keep them. I have a coop in my garage that at least 16 square feet (not including the enclosed area) and I think it has plenty of perches (though I can add more if need be).
I have one standard size chicken right now (Easter Egger), and as far as I know, she was never a bully or at the bottom of the pecking order either. Could I keep her with birds half her size? Or even three times smaller (like seramas?) If I was to get really tiny bantams I would probably keep about 5. If I choose larger bantams, I would probably keep about 3.
I would take them out to free range for around an hour daily (under supervision) until I find some sort of discreet thing (like maybe a tall garden cart with chicken wire??) I can use to wheel them around and allow them to safely scratch around in different areas of the yard without being seen or needing to be under supervision.

To get back to the point, would they get along? Do I have enough space? Also, in terms of raising chicks, is there anything special I need to do for bantams? Thanks for the help!

(I will insert some pictures of my coop later today)

 

[DobieLover]

I keep bantams and mid-sized birds with LF birds.
Why the need for them not to be seen?
A flock size of 4 should have at least 60 sq ft of run space available to them during all waking hours. Keeping them locked up in a coop in your garage for all but an hour a day is highly inadequate for good quality of life and health. Why not build a nice covered run for them to be outside?

 

[Amelise]

I owned a chicken coop in my backyard with Henrietta and some other chickens. In 2020, I was forced by my HOA to get rid of them and I gave them to my relatives.
I ended up taking back Henrietta because she was the only one left when her sister was eaten by a hawk.
We have been working all summer to build this garage coop which she is currently living in and just finished it and we got her about 3 weeks ago. We installed a screen door and got 2 fans for the garage, so we are well ventilated. I clean out the coop weekly.
I was under the impression that chickens need a minimum of at least 2 square feet per bird, and that as long as they have enough stimulation, they will do fine enclosed? She gets fresh fruits and vegetables hung up for her entertainment. I throw in grass clippings too.
I let her out for an hour a day because that is how much time I have when I get home. I was looking into bantams because they take up less space and tolerate being enclosed better than a standard size bird. I also am currently working to find a way to let her outside more often.

 

[Amelise]

We’re trying our best to make this work and we’ve already put so much money and effort into this coop.
The best way we can think of to get the chicken(s) some more enrichment without being easily noticed by the neighbors or HOA (drones?? I assume? Because how would they have seen the chickens in our backyard without going into it?) is by creating some sort large of cart we can move around the yard that the chickens can be under. Like... a disguised chicken tractor??
If anyone has any other ideas, I would really like to hear it, because we are trying our best to make this situation work. I love my chicken and would really like to give her the best possible life we can provide.

 

[DobieLover]

2 square feet per bird

That is factory farming practice. The minimum recommended space for a LF bird is 4 sq ft in the coop and 10 in the run, which I never recommend because it's to small IMO.

bantams because they take up less space and tolerate being enclosed better than a standard size bird

They still need more space than what you quoted.

Because how would they have seen the chickens in our backyard without going into it?)

They probably heard them. Hens make quite a racket when they lay.

I think you should try to find someone to take Henrietta. You aren't permitted chickens where you are and by trying to hide them you are not able to provide them with appropriate housing.
It's just a matter of time before she is discovered.

 

[Dakota8472]

@DobieLover is my go to authority on ventilation and space. I cut an extra window recently for their night time ventilation, and it seems to work great as they dont mind going in the coop in the heat. Sounds like u have a few constraints on u rather than just the birds needs, the hoa is not ur friend.

The best advice i could give anyone is to get out of an hoa, a township or city ordinances are bad enough, an hoa is so much worse.

I think the 1 chicken with bantams is probably fine in theory, as for the practical space, could create an issue. I had two bantam roos with about 10 normal chickens. they did okay. but this was a free range situation in my case. ( which is a no no in my "township")

 

[Amelise]

That is factory farming practice. The minimum recommended space for a LF bird is 4 sq ft in the coop and 10 in the run, which I never recommend because it's to small IMO.

They still need more space than what you quoted.



They probably heard them. Hens make quite a racket when they lay.

I think you should try to find someone to take Henrietta. You aren't permitted chickens where you are and by trying to hide them you are not able to provide them with appropriate housing.
It's just a matter of time before she is discovered.

I definitely have thought about giving her away. Not to get too personal about the situation, but my family has invested a lot of time and money over the summer to help me get Henrietta back, because they knew how upset I was when we had to give them away and then even more so when we found out her sister was killed by a hawk.
Finding a different home for her now after putting in so much work to get her back feels like giving up, like a waste of all the time and money we spent. I am definitely working up plans to make her a low-key run outside (with plenty of space) where she can be most of the day.
With that being said, although her situation right now is not as perfect as it could be, she is not sick, or depressed. She gets sunlight, enrichment, food and water. Although she may be lonley, which is why I want to find a way to keep her and 2-3 other chickens in the yard for most of the day and in the coop at night.

Also, I want to state that I’m not getting any other chickens until I know that we can arrange for this space in the yard to be built.
With that being said, here are her coop and my plans.

This coop right now is where she and the other chickens would be for only a small part of the day, and what Henrietta’s current setup is.

She has roosts, (with dropping board underneath) nesting box, more roosts, and small run space.
We also have a pipe food and watering system (pipe watering system a work in progress, hence the extra waterer)
Excuse all the excess feathers, Henrietta started molting 3 days ago

(Edit: I forgot to mention that we have a screen door which is open virtually all the time, two fans and cracked garage doors).

 

[Amelise]

Here’s Henrietta outside with me right now, surrounded by feathers. I will post some photos outlining my run plans, too

 

[Amelise]

We would make somewhat of a chicken tunnel run, I think. In between our house and the fence, no neighbors can easily see it. On the very end would be something like a garden cart that would have food, water, and even a nesting box underneath if need be. This is where they would be for most of the day.
It would be 2 or 3 feet wide, and I don’t know how many feet long. We would do it along the house and along the fence. There would be a tunnel in the middle where they can cross to the other side.
(FYI, the neighbor who is right next to it knows we have chickens and is ok with it.)
Here’s some pictures with a drawing, and picture with Henrietta for reference. If there’s any critiques or ways I can make this idea better, please let me know.

 

[Amelise]

We would make somewhat of a chicken tunnel run, I think. In between our house and the fence, no neighbors can easily see it. On the very end would be something like a garden cart that would have food, water, and even a nesting box underneath if need be. This is where they would be for most of the day.
It would be 2 or 3 feet wide, and I don’t know how many feet long. We would do it along the house and along the fence. There would be a tunnel in the middle where they can cross to the other side.
(FYI, the neighbor who is right next to it knows we have chickens and is ok with it.)
Here’s some pictures with a drawing, and picture with Henrietta for reference. If there’s any critiques or ways I can make this idea better, please let me know.