3 of my new chicks are supposed to be bantams and 6 of them are straight run chicks. In theory of my 17 chicks 11 of them are supposed to be pullets. I suppose I will just list my questions out since I do have several. . . Can I keep the bantams and large fowl in the same coop or do I really need to make a bantam coop and have a large fowl coop? Worst case scenario, if I end up with 6 roosters is it possible for 6 roosters to coexist or will I be better off trying to rehome some? Weird question here but not really sure how chicken reproduction works. I know that with dogs and cats you want to try and breed a larger female to a smaller male, or have them near the same size to prevent birthing complications. If a large fowl rooster were to breed with a bantam hen would that result in unusually large eggs for that hen and possible laying issues? Or is egg size dependent on the hen? And my last question for now I think . . . . Since my chicks are all different ages and people tend to suggest feeding grower food until they lay their first egg, if all my chickens are in the same pen should I start mixing grower and layer foods together when I get my first eggs or switch everyone over to layer food if they are of the correct age? Also if I have roosters in with my hens will it hurt the roosters to feed them layer feed? Aren't you glad I am here to entertain you all with lots of new chicken owner dumb questions Any suggestions/opinions are VERY welcome!! Even if not everyone agrees that is still helping me educate myself!
the only things I can even attempt to help you with is the rooster numbers. I have 2 and 10 hens. The older bigger roo likes to chase the younger one now and then. No blood shed yet. Six roos would more than likely fight a lot. Not to mention "overuse" your hens. Rehome the extras or eat them, we ate ours (we let the local Amish actually do the butchering). The general rule of thumg seems to be 1 rooster for every 10 hens. I'm not there yet, but I've got some more birds on order. Welcome!
Breeding a large rooster to a small hen isn't going to affect the size of her eggs. The large roo could injure the small hen, however, so it's best not to let the standard roos mate the banties. As far as keeping banties & standards together, though, it should be fine. I've got a single banty in with my standards and she's able to hold her own.
Oh, and re: feed. There are as many opinions on feed as there are belly buttons. You can feed them all grower or flock feed until they're full grown. Layer feed isn't ideal for roosters. Just make sure the hens have access to oyster shell (for calcium) when they come to point of lay.
