General Chicken managing questions

[stevearino]

So I have been into chickens for about a year and a half now, and I have REALLY enjoyed them. I have about 33 chickens total. Some for laying, and some for show. My laying chicken group is quite large, since I have different breeds I am trying out and different aged birds, and I have hamburgs (bantams and large fowl), and sebrights for show. Hoping to get some buff orpington show birds this season too.

Anyways, the past six months or so I have not done a great deal with the chickens since my wife and I had a baby and are juggling work schedules. But I finally have a chance now to do some managing in my coops. This brings me to two questions.

1. I have some chickens that I would like to place in a new chicken pen that I build which I would classify as my "old enough to not need a light but still too young to be with the big chickens" pen. My question involves different aged birds. I have a white leghorn who is the oldest, probably 7 months or so, and an americauna which is probably 5 or 6 months old. I also have 6 chicks about 5 weeks, maybe 6, that have been in my outdoor brooder but no longer need the light source. (They are 4 buff orpingtons and 2 Rhode Island Reds) My question is, would it be safe and wise to put these 8 birds together in this new run I've built? Would the 2 older chickens hurt or harass my younger chickens? I'd really like to have the younger chickens associate with some older chickens for a change, but I don't want to hurt them.

2. For egg laying flocks, I understand that having a rooster around can be helpful. (Especially for hatching future egg layers obviously). But is having 2 roosters among 6 hens a problem? Would 2 roosters prevent hens from laying normally in any way?

I will probably have more questions as I work on organizing and arranging my birds in their coops, but for now that is all I can think of. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[Den in Penn]

Have you built the pen for the fully feathered chicks yet? If it is next to the run for the layers it will get them used to each other. You could also put a small door for the chicks that the adults can' go through so the chicks can mingle at their leisure. If you free range you can let them mingle that way. Anything to get them used to each other makes it easier when you put them all in the same house. With six chicks I think I would let the leg horn and the americuna just say with the layers, and when till the chicks are full size to integrate.

Roosters can be a help when you are free ranging, and for fertilizing the eggs. But many get along without. It is a question of what you what want. Two roosters can be a problem with only six hens, they tend to over mate when there aren't enough hens. Two roosters may harass and stress them and that may effect laying.

 

[stevearino]

I have quite a few coops and runs that I use for different birds. My current layer pen is a little small, so I'm moving it and my "growing up" pen which I mentioned is not that close to it. The Leghorn and Americauna are quite a bit smaller than the layers I have still, and they have been with my hamburgs since they all hatched about the same time.

 

[Den in Penn]

If they are all are being moved new for them housing, it should work. With the two older ones being out numbered and in a new place, their size advantage should be canceled out. Still as always watch.