I need some advice on adding Bantam hens to my existing flock of standard size

[stargraham]

I have 4 Ameraucana (3 hens, 1 rooster), 2 polish hens and a splash silkie rooster (he runs the flock...lol) . Mine all get along great now, but my Ameraucana roo is really big - he has 2 of my Am. hens almost bare on their hind quarters from aggressive mating.

Question - a local person has Mille fluer hens and I've wanted to add some of these for a long time, they are so beautiful!! do you all think these bantams will mix well with the flock? I dont' know anything about generalized Mille Fluer behavior. i will have them isolated for sure for the first week or 2, a run within my large run with the flock. thankx

here's wikipedia def of mille fleur,...mille Fleur may refer to: Birds. Mille Fleur, the common U.S. name for the Belgian Bearded d'Uccle chicken. Decorative Art. Mille-fleur, French for " a Thousand flowers." when I have ordered from cackle hatchery or ideal poultry they are under cochen bantams, cochen is the feathers go down the legs also, adorable! cackle has 3 different breeds of mille fleur bantams,....we have kept up to 12 chickens in a 7x7x4 foot chain link dog cage. we cover it with tarps partially and move it to new grass every other day....that way they aren't living in their poop field! when they are fully grown, usually 6 months, we'll put them in with all the others in an electric fenced area that has a chicken barn, roosts inside. we also keep a couple of the same chain link cages, open doored , inside the fenced area and they regularly go into them, probably because they are familiar....have fun and let us know how it goes, star in texas at chickenscratch farm

 

[ErnieBerley]

Bantams are too small to be with big roosters. Not a good mix.

I've learned fast it's really not the rooster in my flock i have to worry about with the bantams, its the other standard hens!! They're aggressive and peck at the d'uccles and chase them around my chicken run. Luckily, there are a lot of hiding places, including up in trees and under a huge wisteria vine, for the bantams... I think like some have said, that's the ticket if you're gonna have mixed flocks - standard and bantam . - make sure there are plenty of hiding places in the run. Here's to happy chicken raising!!!!

 

[chickens really]

Yes. Things can happen within minutes so watch carefully that the bigger Hens don't corner one and try to peck her to death. That's why I don't have standards with my Bantams.

 

[ErnieBerley]

Yes. Things can happen within minutes so watch carefully that the bigger Hens don't corner one and try to peck her to death. That's why I don't have standards with my Bantams.

Yes, luckily i work at home and the run and coop are right outside. !!

 

[featheredplanets]

a color? really thanks for the info! i'm new at this. here's what the add says -5 Mille Fleur bantam chicken hens $15 each. thanks for you help !!

Many bantams come in mille fleur. I’d ask what breed they are if you want them. But yeah, I’d still go for bigger hens of that’s possible

 

[featheredplanets]

hey thanks for all your comments....here is a picture of the birds for sale that i'm looking to purchase - i think 1 of these is a roo but I'm not getting him

They’re D’Uccle’s. How many are you getting? I just don’t personally think it’s a great idea at the moment while your large rooster is being rough with your large hens. But I will tag @aart as they’re far more knowledgable than me and may be able to help you more or tag someone else that does.

 

[ariri30]

hey thanks for all your comments....here is a picture of the birds for sale that i'm looking to purchase - i think 1 of these is a roo but I'm not getting him

Really pretty

 

[ErnieBerley]

They’re D’Uccle’s. How many are you getting? I just don’t personally think it’s a great idea at the moment while your large rooster is being rough with your large hens. But I will tag @aart as they’re far more knowledgable than me and may be able to help you more or tag someone else that does.

thanks.... i was thinking about 2 hens - the woman has 5 . but it's dead of winter here and i worry about introducing new chickens especially bantams, into my flock...so i know it comes down to me making a decision !! .

 

[BDutch]

They’re D’Uccle’s. How many are you getting? I just don’t personally think it’s a great idea at the moment while your large rooster is being rough with your large hens. But I will tag @aart as they’re far more knowledgable than me and may be able to help you more or tag someone else that does.

I’m not sure these are Belgium Uccles. The photo’s are not sharp enough for me to see any details, Hoe old are the chicks/pullets?
I agree with Aart that the one chick with the red comb probably is a cockerel.

I agree with other posters that it would be wise to handle the problem with the rough rooster first.
IMO If you want to keep the rooster you probably need a larger run / more hiding places. Especially If you add more and smaller chickens they should have places where the hens can escape from the rooster.
How much coop/ run space do you have now?
Pictures?

 

[ErnieBerley]

I’m not sure these are Belgium Uccles. The photo’s are not sharp enough for me to see any details, Hoe old are the chicks/pullets?
I agree with Aart that the one chick with the red comb probably is a cockerel.

I agree with other posters that it would be wise to handle the problem with the rough rooster first.
IMO If you want to keep the rooster you probably need a larger run / more hiding places. Especially If you add more and smaller chickens they should have places where the hens can escape from the rooster.
How much coop/ run space do you have now?
Pictures?

i'll take pics - the coop is like this one (15 chicken coop and i have only 7) - the run is very long and diverse, probably in feet 100ft all fenced and covered with poultry mesh so no predators. so all this wont be a problem. I also maybe made my large Ameraucana rooster to be a "bad" guy. he's actually pretty calm, but does have 2 girlfriends (his sisters....) that get mounted several times a day. I have a smaller splash silkie roo 1yr old that will probably love the mille fleur bantam hens - they are 1 yr old hens. I think i will get them and just be diligent in making sure they are treated right within the flock.