Hello! Chicken enthusiast in Wisconsin

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PriscillatheRooster

In the Brooder
Feb 3, 2022
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Hello! I am new a new member but have been using the forums over the last year. We purchased four chicks from our local farm and fleet around easter last year, 2 cinnamon queens (I believe a wyandotte/rhode island hybrid) 1 plymouth rock, and 1 gold laced wyandotte. The plymouth rock ended up being a rooster after we named her priscilla but the name stuck. She is a monster. Our flock so far has been very healthy and I have not yet had to deal with any serious issues (some minor pasty butt as chicks but that was an easy fix) I am hoping to build a larger better coop this spring as we bought a pretty shoddy prebuilt coop and modified it because we wanted to get started that year, I am glad we did because they have been so fun, but I want to build a better more efficient coop that can accomodate a larger flock, maybe an additional two-three birds. They do have a large run between a burm wall and our garage that protects them from wind. In the warmer months I do let them free range a bit in the yard, our predator pressure is pretty low due to the large population of crows in our neighborhood and they have plenty of grasshoppers on our acre to eat. My biggest concern is introducing additonal birds as the four we have are very close and have a pretty egalitarian pecking order. I have a vague idea of it but I have seen very little fighting or squabbling and they tend to all eat at the same time. I cannot tell if my existing flock will bully or be bullied by adding addtional birds. Is it advised that I buy adult birds or if we could get chicks/eggs and get one of the hens to raise them, and how to go about tricking them into raising them as none of them are very broody. I am interested in silkies and langshans but I am not sure if they would thrive in the part of Wisconsin we live in (Baraboo area). Any feedback would be awesome and I am excited to be a part of this great community!
 
Hi welcome to BYC. The likelihood of tricking a hen into raising chicks is pretty much zero. Being broody is a hormonal response.
It is best to raise chicks. Bringing adults in can also bring in disease. I wholeheartedly recommend langshans. They are sweet, but not shy, and can hold their own in an existing flock. They make excellent mothers when they go broody.
Silkies may not do well with your barred rocks, especially with a rooster.
I also recommend brahmas and naked necks, both are confident, sweet, and occasionally broody.
My roosters love naked necks more than any other breed of hens...must be all that skin they show. 😁
Good luck to you!
 

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