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333113
Guest
Sorry, got so caught up in the breed topic that I forgot to fully answer the other questions.
I don't think that there is much we humans can do to influence the relationships between birds in a flock. Not that I don't try. Just today I had to remove the lowest hen in the pecking order from my Buff Orpington layer pen. I had added hiding places, extra nestboxes, a more mellow rooster, and she was still getting chased and pecked by the other hens.
The best way to keep one bird safe from another is to put them in separate cages.
So, you might want to consider a separate pen for some of your birds, which brings me to another point. When people first start with chickens, sometimes they get a lot of different breeds. If you are thinking about hatching or showing, you will want to consider that most shows don't include a category for birds that are mixed breeds. This also somewhat reduces the market for your mixed chicks. (Except for breeding for colored eggs, which is an entirely different discussion!)
Separate cages for separate breeds will guarantee that the eggs your hen lays will be the same breed that she and her roo are. Sounds like you could have a Brahma pen and a Buckeye pen right now and have purebred offspring.
You can look up all breeds at the chicken pages of www.feathersite.com. If they are heritage chickens like Crevecoeurs, Buckeyes, Houdans you can look them up on the poultry pages of the Livestock Conservancy at https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/conservation-priority-list#Chickens
If you really want show quality Crevecoeurs, I would be happy to trade a pair for your cockerels.
I don't think that there is much we humans can do to influence the relationships between birds in a flock. Not that I don't try. Just today I had to remove the lowest hen in the pecking order from my Buff Orpington layer pen. I had added hiding places, extra nestboxes, a more mellow rooster, and she was still getting chased and pecked by the other hens.
The best way to keep one bird safe from another is to put them in separate cages.
So, you might want to consider a separate pen for some of your birds, which brings me to another point. When people first start with chickens, sometimes they get a lot of different breeds. If you are thinking about hatching or showing, you will want to consider that most shows don't include a category for birds that are mixed breeds. This also somewhat reduces the market for your mixed chicks. (Except for breeding for colored eggs, which is an entirely different discussion!)
Separate cages for separate breeds will guarantee that the eggs your hen lays will be the same breed that she and her roo are. Sounds like you could have a Brahma pen and a Buckeye pen right now and have purebred offspring.
You can look up all breeds at the chicken pages of www.feathersite.com. If they are heritage chickens like Crevecoeurs, Buckeyes, Houdans you can look them up on the poultry pages of the Livestock Conservancy at https://livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/conservation-priority-list#Chickens
If you really want show quality Crevecoeurs, I would be happy to trade a pair for your cockerels.
