Do different breeds of chickens get along with eachother?

[ChickenClo]

Thanks! But.... can i have step by step details on how to introduce new chickens? Please?

 

[Davaroo]

Do different breeds of chickens get along with eachother?

Yes. They are non-partisan. They dont care what breed another chicken is.
What they don't do is get along well with newcomers to the flock.

 

[elizabethbinary]

OMG I have racist chickens. Mine don't mix colours very much. They separated into their own groups, different ages, all the same colour (not breed, haha). Except for the duck I have that's in love with a chicken.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Sure.

Step One - open the gate
Step Two - toss the new chickens in with the old.
Step Three - Close the gate.
Step Four - Step back.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

my girls have always got along really with with new introductions, but i also have a very small flock of five, so that may be why

 

[ChickenClo]

Step One - open the gate
Step Two - toss the new chickens in with the old.
Step Three - Close the gate.
Step Four - Step back.

Haha! Thats funny! Really, I thought it would be harder!​

 

[gryeyes]

Well, first bit of wisdom to really understand is that Pecking Order behavior is necessary for chickens. It is The Chicken Way. As painful as it is for us humans to observe it, if we mess with it, it just prolongs the process.

Each and every time you change their location (new coop, move from brooder to coop, etc.) they start it over again. Every time you introduce another bird, it starts over again. That's one reason why it's best to introduce more than one chicken at a time, rather than introducing one, and then another later, and another later, etc. Try to do a couple or more at a time, so the pecking order process isn't keeping your flock all a'flutter for a prolonged period of time.

The method I use is this:

First, quarantine new birds. The recommended time period is 30 days, and this is away from your flock, because some stuff is air-borne.

After that, put the bird(s) into a separate coop, either next to the chicken run or inside it. If you set it up inside the run, use garden stakes and some chicken wire to make a small pen around the "integration/segregation" coop. Give them their own feeder and waterer. Keep them there for two weeks.

During that time, they will see the original flock through the chicken wire, and the original chickens will see the new ones, as well. They'll hear and smell each other, too. And be able to do chest bumps through the chicken wire but NOT injure anybody. There will be interest, and posturing, and maybe even some pecking through the chicken wire, but not enough to injure anybody.

After two weeks, take down the temporary fencing and let them mingle. The new chickens will not be "Strangers" any more, and most of the pecking order business will be conducted around feeders and waterers, so keep the second set up for the new birds for a while.

There will be some squawking, some running, some pecking, but probably nothing more than that. Keep an eye out for any blood-letting; if there is no bloodshed, leave them alone to complete the process, no matter how loud somebody squawks, how much somebody runs and hides, or how much chest-bumping or neck feather flaring goes on. That HAS to occur, whether it bothers US or not.

Do not interfere unless there is blood shed. Feather plucking is normal.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That's good stuff there Gryeyes.
Research is a good thing.
I might also add that I love a mixed flock for feather color and egg color variety. Raising together solves a lot of issues but some breeds are docile and some bullies. Probably best starting out with some docile breeds.
Polish and Silkies IMO can get picked on. Fayoumis, Rhode Islands, Cubalayas can be bullies.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Sometimes mixing breeds is no problem and sometimes it is. Some chickens do like to hang out with their own breed or with other breeds of the same feather color. More aggressive breeds do sometimes pick on more docile breeds. I've seen all of that in some of my past flocks, as well as when I was raising extra chickens for a friend, along with my own.

If you choose all more aggressive breeds or all more docile breeds, it works better. If you have one of each color in a small flock, I don't think you see them segregate like you can if you have a half dozen of each in a larger flock.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Haha! Thats funny! Really, I thought it would be harder!

It can be as hard as you want to make it - read gryeyes' post for an example of the other end of the spectrum.

There are all kinds of people to tell you what they need to be happy. I'm not one of them.

I once knew of an old chicken lady, a long time back, and she would put them all together at night. She entered the coop quietly, in the night, when her flock was asleep. There she placed the new birds, in among the original flock.
In the morning, she would go out bright and early and make a big clattering noise of feeding the lot of them. In the confusion of the morning's feeding frenzy, the old chickens would pay little attention to the new ones - everyone would eat together. This led to fewer pecking order squabbles thereafter. Feeding is a bonding experience, it would seem. Few of the "chicken psychologists" make mention of this, oddly.

Later, I discovered all of those night time shenanigans weren't really needed. I had to re-home some birds in a rush, once, and was forced to unceremoniously deposit the new in among the old.
They squabbled and fussed and chased each other around, for sure. Since I always have shelter structures in the chicken run, there were places for everyone to run to.
After a few days, this settled down to the normal dusty din and all was well.

It kinda dawned on me afterward that all the introduction business of caging in proximity was mostly fruitless. Since they are going to assault each other once they finally get face to face, it seemed like a waste of energy. It made me feel good, like I was doing something worthwhile. But the chickens didn't seem to care, nor appreciate the effort.

Since they are your chickens, you can pretty do much do what makes sense to you.