Hola!
So I'm finishing up my chicken tractor/coop this week and next weekend I will go get my hens. I'll probably get them off craigslist - I don't want to get chicks, I want to get pullets that are either already laying or about ready to lay.
Chances are, I won't get all my birds from one place. My daughter has her heart set on a barred rock, I really want to try leghorns and black stars, and I also want some colored eggers... you know how it goes!
Anyway so if I end up getting multiple birds from different places, they may also be different ages... here's my concern.
I've got a couple leads on hens. One farm has 1 yr old leghorns & eggers that I want (4 total), and another has as many 3 month old black Stars as I want, I'd probably get 4 of them. I also need to find a barred rock, but I'm worried that the other hens would pick on her because she'd not have any "friends" that came with her.
Am I overthinking this? Or would it be better to try and find a barred rock that came with a friend? I know it's inevitable that someone ends at the bottom of the pecking order, I just don't like the thought of "dooming" one of the girls to that position.
So I'm finishing up my chicken tractor/coop this week and next weekend I will go get my hens. I'll probably get them off craigslist - I don't want to get chicks, I want to get pullets that are either already laying or about ready to lay.
Chances are, I won't get all my birds from one place. My daughter has her heart set on a barred rock, I really want to try leghorns and black stars, and I also want some colored eggers... you know how it goes!
Anyway so if I end up getting multiple birds from different places, they may also be different ages... here's my concern.
I've got a couple leads on hens. One farm has 1 yr old leghorns & eggers that I want (4 total), and another has as many 3 month old black Stars as I want, I'd probably get 4 of them. I also need to find a barred rock, but I'm worried that the other hens would pick on her because she'd not have any "friends" that came with her.
Am I overthinking this? Or would it be better to try and find a barred rock that came with a friend? I know it's inevitable that someone ends at the bottom of the pecking order, I just don't like the thought of "dooming" one of the girls to that position.
