Final Flock Composition - Approve/Critique/Suggest

[AmyJane725]

I have finally made all but one of my decisions as far as the birds that will comprise my flock.
Please let me know if I'm making any horrible mistakes that will get any of them killed.

Rooster:
-Silver Spangled Hamburg (5lbs)

Hens:
-Barred Holland (6 lbs, though members here say more like 5 lbs)
-Australorp (5.5 lbs)
-Silver Spangled Hamburg (4 lbs)
-White Cochin Bantam (1.75 lbs)
-Self Blue Cochin Bantam (1.75 lbs)

I was originally going to have a Barred Rock hen, but several people told me they were very mean to smaller/odd looking chickens, so I subbed out for a Barred Holland, which I have been told is much friendlier to her fellow bird. Please let me know if I'm believing this in error. I was also considering a Dominique (5 lbs) but if they're essentially the same as Barred Holland I'd prefer a bird with a single comb vs. a rose comb. If they're significantly nicer than Barred Holland I'd sub in the Dominique.

My final dilemma is a red. I'd really like a red hen for my flock, but I've been told that Rhode Island Reds and New Hampshire Reds are also aggressive toward other chickens (though perhaps less than Barred Rocks). I could get a bantam version of either the RIR (2.125 lbs) or NHR (1.875 lbs). It is my understanding that bantams are generally gentler than LF, so I may take this route. Can anyone recommend a red LF bird that isn't going to rip my banties to shreds?

Can anyone report owning a RIR or NHR that is NICE to her flockmates? Or are they really all aggressive?

Thanks for all input/suggestions.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You could do a red cochin bantam unless you are "cochined out" already

 

[AmyJane725]

You could do a red cochin bantam unless you are "cochined out" already

The cochins are adorable, but if I'm gonna do bantam anyway I'd just do a straight RIR bantam. I'd really like to just get a LF RIR. I had one when I was a kid and I loved her to death. She wasn't ever mean to the others as far as I could tell. None of them were as tiny as banties though, so idk.

 

[AmyJane725]

I suppose I could get a LF red cochin, but I was trying to keep the weights at least somewhat in the same ballpark, and cochin hens are like 8.5 lbs. Though if they have a sweet/gentle personality hopefully being so much bigger would be ok.

 

[Mrs. K]

I am guessing this is your first flock? If so, I would suggest either LF or Banties. Mixing them up can cause problems. And problems are hard to predict based on breeds, they are more based on individual birds.

Also, if you are new to this game, I would wait a year to add a rooster. Get some experience with an all hen flock. A full size rooster and banty hens, if I read that right? I think I would go the other route, a banty rooster and full size hens.

In small flocks, which tend to be kept in smaller set ups, different sizes in birds can really cause problems.

Mrs K

 

[AmyJane725]

I am guessing this is your first flock? If so, I would suggest either LF or Banties. Mixing them up can cause problems. And problems are hard to predict based on breeds, they are more based on individual birds.

Also, if you are new to this game, I would wait a year to add a rooster. Get some experience with an all hen flock. A full size rooster and banty hens, if I read that right? I think I would go the other route, a banty rooster and full size hens.

In small flocks, which tend to be kept in smaller set ups, different sizes in birds can really cause problems.

Mrs K

Well, this is the first flock that I'm in charge of. We had a flock when I was a kid. I'm not quite new to the game, it's more like I took a long hiatus and now I'm back and better than ever.

Our original flock was all LF. They were just chicks out of a bin at the local feed store. My parents didn't really know a ton about chickens, and the internet wasn't nearly so popular/full of information at the time, so we were pretty much on our own. Looking out our old setup I can't help but cringe a bit. The coop was definitely too small (though the run was large, so that's good) and didn't even have any nesting boxes, so the girls would lay their eggs in these cylindrical compost bins near the coop. We had 2 roosters (one very much dominant and the other very meek). And lots of hens. Everyone was a different breed. We had a few duplicates, but overall a very diverse flock. (As diverse as you can get out of a bin at the feed store anyway). The boys were both Buff Orpingtons, and the girls were Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, one Australorp, and one Cornish Cross. With the exception of the bully rooster, everyone got along very well. Even though their coop was way too small they never fought or anything (rooster was a rough customer when it came to the ladies. He went bye bye eventually). The only injury we ever had to treat was the less dominant rooster's foot (when he was a tiny baby) where it got stepped on by a member of my family who shall remain nameless. (No, it wasn't me)

I have done a lot of reading and asked a lot of questions here on BYC. I'm really trying to do my due diligence. I've read a ton of threads where people say they keep LF and bantams together with no issues. The only thing that comes up on those threads is when people have LF roosters that accidentally snap the little tiny bantie necks/smoosh them during mating. This is why I went with a very light rooster.

Yes, a LF rooster, but only 5 lbs. Not one of those 13 lb behemoths like a cochin, even though they're sweet birds. Largest weight discrepancy would be 3.25 lbs.

My flock may be small, but I didn't compromise on size. For 7 chickens, that's 28 sqft minimum for the coop and 70 sqft for the run (and perhaps slightly less needed even since 2 of them are bantams). My coop is 56 sqft (double the required size) and the run is 320 sqft (over 4 times the required size). Everyone should have plenty of room, so no squabbling over crowding.

I'm also hoping to minimize fighting by getting everyone at the same time so they all grow up together and are the same age. Not adding chicks piecemeal all the time and risking integration problems. People have reported their older BR and RIR hens being very mean to newcomers, so I'm trying to avoid that.

I realize it's very difficult to predict what will happen with individual animals, so if I get everyone home and a clear problem child emerges I may have to adjust my plan on the fly. I realize this. Best laid plans and all that. And it might just be confirmation bias, and my own desire for this to work telling me to go ahead, but I didn't google, "Cases where LF and Bantams live together peacefully" I searched "Can LF and Bantams be kept together?" If all the results had said "No way. The banties will all get murdered." No, I wouldn't even consider it. People seem to be able to do it just fine though, so why not me?

 

[Mrs. K]

You sure can try it any arrangement that your want. And it is great that you did get a large coop and run. A lot of people don't.

Your original post asked if there were any weakness in your plan. I do think that you will have better luck going either large fowl or all banties. However, you are correct in that some people can make it work. Some people report that it doesn't work too.

I will add the note, that when you say this rooster will weigh this amount, often times these are just average weights, so a particular rooster can be quite a bit heavier or even lighter than the weight given.

These are your birds and you can do it the way your want. It might work and it might not. You asked for advice, and that was mine, no need to pay any attention to it at all.

Good luck,

Mrs.K

 

[AmyJane725]

You sure can try it any arrangement that your want. And it is great that you did get a large coop and run. A lot of people don't.

Your original post asked if there were any weakness in your plan. I do think that you will have better luck going either large fowl or all banties. However, you are correct in that some people can make it work. Some people report that it doesn't work too.

I will add the note, that when you say this rooster will weigh this amount, often times these are just average weights, so a particular rooster can be quite a bit heavier or even lighter than the weight given.

These are your birds and you can do it the way your want. It might work and it might not. You asked for advice, and that was mine, no need to pay any attention to it at all.

Good luck,

Mrs.K

I appreciate your advice Mrs. K. I am willing to take a shot, but I don't want to do anything that totally flies in the face of reason/common sense. Thank you for your knowledge. I feel comfortable to go ahead now.

My order has been placed. I decided to go for it. I got a RIR hen. I've seen many many threads with people saying theirs are fine (especially when all raised up from the same age), and that their banties are as far up as 2nd in the pecking order. If she turns out to be awful I'll have to rehome her, but it's worth a try. I'm not going to let it get to the point where someone dies. If I see her being bad she'll be removed early on. I'm hoping she's sweet just like my hen when I was little though. We'll see. Wish me luck. Chicks are scheduled to ship 6/5/2019.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Luck!

(I admit to being one of the people who said RIRs are aggressive. I love 'em though, so if you can make it work, great!)

 

[AmyJane725]

Luck!

(I admit to being one of the people who said RIRs are aggressive. I love 'em though, so if you can make it work, great!)

I really hope I can. I'm gonna feel like an idiot if she ends up being awful.

You love yours even though they're mean, huh? Are there lots of them, or just a couple mixed with other birds? What does your aggression look like? Have they ever killed anybody, or just have to be first to eat, go in/out of the coop, etc.?