Diverse Flock??

[Tnchickennewbie]

I am new to chickens and we are about to start our journey with some new baby chicks. So this will probably be the first of many questions. My question is are there any chicken breeds that can't be in the same flock together? I apologize in advance if this topic has been asked numerous times as I am also new to the board. Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[theoldchick]

from South Carolina.

My advice is to read about the different breeds and see which have the right temperment for you and for the accomodations you can provide. When I started back into chickens I kept my chicken selection simple and chose one breed which is considered dual purpose. Jersy Giants are known for their docile nature and bear confinement well which was exactly what I wanted.

 

[Tnchickennewbie]

Thank you for the advice. Maybe I should include a little more info. We are constructing our coop that is 12' x 12' with a large run yard attached to it. We are wanting a mixture of white egg layers and brown egg layers if possible. We have small children so yes docile would be more suited for our situation. What I was considering was leghorns for the white egg layers but as I research finding out that they can be skittish and flighty and as our run yard will be uncovered at first not sure if that will be the best option. Are there any other white egg layers that you could suggest? We were considering Austrolorps for the brown layers but it seems like there are many options for brown egg layers those from my research just seem to be the best layers. Again all advice is appreciated and thanks in advance.

back from Tennessee

 

[poseygrace]

I'm all about diversity, I have 12 chickens and not more than 2 or 3 of the same breed. You can generally keep any type of chicken together, and it's particularly easy if you start them all off as babies together. Different breeds do like different circumstances, though, so be sure to find breeds that will fit your lifestyle. I wanted chickens that would be really friendly with my kids, good egg-producers, and able to free range without flying away. I have Wyandottes, Orpingtons, a Buckeye (my favorite!) a Minorca (good white egg layer, but slightly flighty), Ameraucanas, and Cochins.

I would also encourage you to try some rare or heritage breeds, and to order from a breeder rather than a hatchery. There are so many great breeds that are endangered, and you can really help by supporting those that breed them. Also, I have been so much happier with birds from breeders rather than the big catalogs. The birds are stronger, prettier, and just healthier all-around. There is an auction on here, and you can often find a "variety pack" of baby chicks that would let you try some different types from breeders. Good luck, hope I didn't give too much info!

 

[Tnchickennewbie]

Very good info thank you very much and I will check out the auction section you mentioned.

 

[ChicKat]

Hi Tnchickennewbie, Welcome to the forum and the fun that you will have ahead when you get chickens.

Raising your flock from chicks may help 'cure' the skittishness of your white layers 'leghorns' or may not. Leghrons are definitely good layers though. I have an "Ideal 236" which is a hybrid derived from white leghorns. She isn't 'cuddly' but she is presently a faithful egg producer of great quality white eggs. I think a bit less flighty than a purebred leghorn.


Consider getting a gold sex-link or two if you can get ahold of them. Because they are hybrids they produce large brown eggs. They are generally very sweet and docile, calm, curious and friendly. Very much a 'pet chicken'. a black sex link is another prolific egg layer that is reputed to be friendly.

One of the advantages of sex-links is that at hatching they can be sexed so there are no surprise roosters. If egg-laying is your goal for your first set of chickens...then roosters are not going to produce any. ;O)

many people have 'easter eggers' that are a mix of breeds that happen to have the blue egg gene. These are also reputed to often be friendly and sometimes good layers. They can lay white, brown, green or blue eggs. They are very pretty chickens as well.



Wishing you luck as you make the decisions, get your chickens and build your flock.

 

[Tnchickennewbie]

We had looked at the easter eggers because the idea of different colored eggs is amazing to our daughter who has only seen the store bought eggs

. There are a lot of choices and I know personal preference dictates a lot of the time. The more advice and info I can gather the easier my decision will be though, but it does look like that again personal preference and suitability to our situation is going to be the deciding factors.

 

[bloom chicks]

This is a great site and the people are awesome!

 

[Bullitt]

If you raise chickens from chicks, you can handle them and they will be more comfortable around people. This may help if you get leghorn chicks. You can also clip the wing feathers to keep them from flying if you are going to keep the chickens in a chicken run with an open top. Many people clip the feathers of one wing of each chicken, because this makes them unbalanced when they try to fly.

I prefer the brown leghorns because they are more attractive than the whites, in my opinion. If you are in a cold weather area you can get rose comb light brown leghorns or rose comb dark brown leghorns. Brown leghorns lay almost as many large white eggs as the white leghorns, but the brown leghorns are better at avoiding predators when they are free ranging because of the color of their feathers.

If you want very friendly chickens, some of the larger brown layers are a better choice. For example, Buff Orpingtons are very friendly chickens that lay brown eggs. Some other calm brown layers include Delaware, Australorp, Jersey Giant, Plymouth Rock, Sussex, and Wyandotte. Dominique hens are also said to be friendly, while the roosters can be aggressive. Many people call these chickens "Dominikers." They look like Barred Plymouth Rocks, but the Dominiques have a rose comb.

I think if you get a mix of chicks they will be fine together in the coop and run. Most of the time you only have to be concerned about a rooster becoming aggressive, but not always. But you should be able to find a good rooster, if you should want one or if you want to hatch out some chicks. In that case you will also need a broody hen, and in a mixed flock you should have several broody hens.

 

[Illia]

The only breeds not recommended to mix into a flock are ones that you really have to hunt for and pay big to get. Such examples are Oriental Gamefowl - Asils, Shamos, Thai, Malays, Malgache, etc.

Otherwise you're fine. All the eggs in my avatar come from about 9 different breeds plus random mutts, all of which the hens share the same pasture.