Help..Adding to the flock

[The Accidental Coop]

We rescued 3 bantam chicks when they were 3 weeks old. The bantams are now 4-1/2 months old. Now we would like to add 2 standard sized hens to the flock. Oh yes......We have 2 cockerels and only one hen. Would the bantams get along with standard sized hens or should we stick with bantams?

 

[keljonma]

If you have 2 roos and 1 hen, I feel sorry for your hen!

When you add to your flock, always quarantine for 30 days. Remember that you will have changed the dynamics of the flock and there will be pecking order adjustments, which could get nasty.

Will they get along? Depends on the breeds and the birds' personal temperaments.


edited: now if I could just type

 

[The Accidental Coop]

Thank you...I am worried about our little Emogene. That is why we are thinking about adding 2 hens. We would like standard size hens for the eggs of course.

Our chickens free range in the garden during the day then return to their coop in the late afternoon. Should we keep the new girls in a seperate coop all day?

 

[keljonma]

You really only need 1 roo for 15 hens...

Keep them completely separate from your flock for at least 30 days to quarantine. Then if you see they are healthy, add them to the flock at night when they are on their roosts. After you add the two hens, keep an eye and ear on the flock to make sure everyone is adjusting well. Good Luck!

 

[The Accidental Coop]

Great! We can do this. Today we finish up our new larger coop and will have the old one available to quarentine the new girls.

The cockerels get along fine with each other. But I wonder how long that will last. They do fight briefly (almost like play, no harm done). Curious George will loose interest first then Drum Stick does the same....Usually a bug is involved. Is it possible that two roosters can live together without a lot of fuss?

 

[bangor777]

i keep my bantams with my standards. Aside from the fact that they don't hang out together when out free ranging, it's worked fine. The standards never bother the bantams, but I laugh because they have definitely formed two groups.

 

[keljonma]

Quote:
Some people say yes. But my experience has been - as soon as grown sexually active males are involved with a flock of hens, you will have some fighting for Alpha roo position. This will be something you will definitely want to watch for when you do add the new ladies to your flock.

Right now, you see they are starting to fight and one loses interest. My guess is that Drum Stick may be the Alpha roo and Curious George just goes along with that. But don't be surprised if things get bumpy when the flock dynamics change with the new additions.

Our Single Comb Brown Leghorn and Golden Campine grew up together and got along fine until they started hitting the 5 month age mark. Then the Golden Campine ended up with most his back feathers torn out and he was pretty bloody. Our flock forages our farm, so the boys were able to avoid each other during the day. But we had to separate them at night at lock down.

 

[Chickenaddict]

Quote:
Unfortunately probably not. My 2 boys lived together for about 8 months even slept together until one day BOOM huge fight and i ended up rehoming both because i also had bantam hens and they were really rough with them. However i also bought 2 EE's last fall to keep over the winter so the banties would have someone big to hide under when they got cold. Worked great so as far as adding standard sized hens to the banties they should be fine once they get over the pecking order.