I just ordered 25 chicks for my coop. They will be here at the end of this month. I ordered a "mixed bag" of chicks because I wanted a variety but now reading into it more, some people have had a bad experience with mixing different breeds in one coop. I haven't built my coop yet so i can build it to separate different breeds if i need to but i need to get it built soon. Has anyone had any experience mixing my breeds? Should i see about changing my order before they ship or just wait it out and see what happens? I am not beyond turning aggressive chickens into a meal but i obviously don't want to have to cook a substantial amount of my flock and would rather have a bunch of "pet" chickens for eggs. I did order 1 rooster specifically and SOME straight run (i would rather have 1-2 roosters so hopefully they will be mostly hens) because i want the option to breed some chicks in the future and want the rooster for protection of my hens. I have ordered the following chicks: 1 Golden Wyadotte rooster 3 Rhode island red hens 1 white chochin straigt run 4 light brahma hens 5 buff orpington females 3 Buff Laced polish females 3 golden polish females 5 dominique straight run 1 FREE rare exotic chick (no clue what it will be, was a freebee from the hatchery) I am hoping they will be fine since none of my chicks are complete outcasts, i didn't order all red chickens and 1 white or all standard and 1 polish. I hope they will form groups and take care of eachother.
I have Belgian d'Uccles, Cochins, Silkies, Delaware, Brown Leghorn, SLW's, Sicilian Buttercup bantam, Sumatra bantam, Sebright, BLRW, GLW's, Polish, hatchery Saipan and Thai, GSL's, and mixed breeds hatched out from the flock all together in a pen and coop. Plus a BBW turkey hen. Will also be adding more Silkies, d'Anvers, OEGB, Welsummer, Ancona, and Guinea. No problems at all, even introducing new members to the flock.
Rhode Island Reds can be somewhat aggressive, but normally aren't aggressive enough to need separation.
Odds are they'll all be fine together. While each breed has its tendencies to be one way or another, there are always those who don't fit within the "norm" for a particular breed. One never knows until the real chick arrives. Getting them all at the same time will help your chances of their sorting out the pecking order on their own. I don't think it's necessary to build the coop with breed sections. It might make some sense if you have the space, time, and money to build a separated section you could use for "time out" or quarantine if you ever needed that. Enjoy the new family members!
x2 on this I mix breeds ALL the time and have ran most of the major breeds at one time or another, turning over my flock in portions as I age out the older layers to add in the newer. RIR's can be pushy and noisy, but you are raising them together as chicks, so they'll simply establish a pecking order and you have a roo to enforce it and settle it if any hen gets too bossy. You just need to be sure there is always plenty of "elbow room" and places for the more timid birds to hide away if a pushier bird wants to enforce flock order. If per chance you ever get a real nasty, they make a nice side dish to dumplings...ie never put up with a truly vicious bird as there is no need. The only breed I've been warned that does not mix well is Favorelles..they do not tend to mix well with other birds as they are so timid and laid back. I also do not mix my banties with my LF as the LF tends to hassle my banties a lot, especially the Silkie as it looks so different...so I keep my brooding queens in their own pen and run...which works well anyway for general hatching/grow out purposes. One funny thing I've noticed is that birds of a feather do tend to flock together, and my breeds do tend to stick together even in the free range....but there are times they are one happy family, er flock. LofMc
I have Easter Eggers, Red Sex Links, and Cuckoo Marans in the same flock. They all do great. I have new chicks out in the run at the moment, but of course the Littles are separated from the Bigs so they can see each other but not get at each other. The new babies - Easter Eggers (just LOVE them, does it show?) Buff Brahamas, Light Brahmas, and more Red Sex Links.
Chickens have individual personalities just like people, then birds of a feather tend to flock together. I have witnessed this in my small flock of 4 hens. I have two Rode Island Reds and two Barred Plymouth Rocks, they flock together but tend to be two together with their breed. They will be fine. Not sure about how one single in a breed will do, may be a loner in the flock. If that makes any sense. lol I lost two due to disease and will be getting two Buff Orpington pullets/hens as replacements for a total of 6. Good luck with your new flock. I put mine out the back so I could watch them and they are so enjoyable to see. They hear me walking around the glass sliding door and they come running as I give them treats from the kitchen. lol BTW they have good color recognition.
x3 ...especially on being able to have separate sections of coop(and separate runs) for a plethora of reasons! I built one extra coop section with run, (held a nasty cockerel last winter, growout for replacement chicks last spring/summer, and a broody mama this winter and will have more chicks this spring/summer), and now wish I had several sections with runs.
I mix breeds too, but having separate pens as aart suggested is a good idea. I have a couple of breeding coops and runs and several smaller enclosures. I use them to separate specific birds to breed or house extra cockerels awaiting slaughter or hens with chicks. I've never had a problem mixing different breeds, except for my Silkies. They don't see well and tend to get picked on by faster moving or larger birds. So, they have their own coop, but everyone else shares my big coop (turkeys, cuckoo Marans, Chanteclers, Easter Eggers, Anconas and they'll soon be joined by a few ducks)