Keeping mixed sizes of chickens

[TheBirdBabe]

Hey y'all!

I have a flock of bantams... 10 of my original flock, 4 of their babies (which are mature now) & then I have 10 more chicks. Unfortunately all the new chicks won't make the "cut", only about 4 or 5.

My concern is that we would like to start raising chickens for egg production. (My girls aren't laying right now. I don't blame them though, it's been 100°+ for almost a week now. 4 of the hens are broody & breaking them has been a game. ) I'm worried about integrating "regular sized" chickens in to the flock. I've looked in to some bantam that lay more often, but is there really a bantam breed that is a good layer?

 

[Feather queen]

I have a mixed flock with 2 mature isa browns, two 2-3-month-old SS hamburgs and 1 mature silkie hen and a 2-3-month-old silkie rooster. one of my isa browns are top hen but my silkie hen with a deformed foot is 2nd, now that the flock has its pecking order in place they get along wonderfully. I was unsure about having silkies but they are decent layers and are really funny.

 

[Penpal]

Read up on the breeds. Some do not do well with others. We had RIR 20 years ago and keep them until about 10 years ago when fox moved in and our neighbor also let his two Labrador retrievers run loose. I found even the hens were aggressive with smaller hens. I now have Orpingtons and they have not been aggressive with the chicks I brought in, so I would agree they get along with others. Just be and watch them as they grow.

 

[TheBirdBabe]

I have a mixed flock with 2 mature isa browns, two 2-3-month-old SS hamburgs and 1 mature silkie hen and a 2-3-month-old silkie rooster. one of my isa browns are top hen but my silkie hen with a deformed foot is 2nd, now that the flock has its pecking order in place they get along wonderfully. I was unsure about having silkies but they are decent layers and are really funny.

Do you have any bantams? I'm worried about mixing big & small together, not necessarily breeds. I have a few varieties right now, they're all just mini sized.

 

[TheBirdBabe]

Read up on the breeds. Some do not do well with others. We had RIR 20 years ago and keep them until about 10 years ago when fox moved in and our neighbor also let his two Labrador retrievers run loose. I found even the hens were aggressive with smaller hens. I now have Orpingtons and they have not been aggressive with the chicks I brought in, so I would agree they get along with others. Just be and watch them as they grow.

Unfortunately, I'll never own another RIR. I had a rooster that traumatized me for life!

But I'll definitely do some research, here is just my brainstorming ideas. lol

 

[Feather queen]

Do you have any bantams? I'm worried about mixing big & small together, not necessarily breeds. I have a few varieties right now, they're all just mini sized.

unfortunately not I live on a farm and they would either be squashed by horses, killed by dogs, foxes or hawks and picked on by my isa browns.

 

[TheBirdBabe]

unfortunately not I live on a farm and they would either be squashed by horses, killed by dogs, foxes or hawks and picked on by my isa browns.

Unfortunately Hawks have gotten a few of mine. Thankfully the only other predators we've encountered are chicken snakes!

I'm just scared to get some big chickens & having them pick on my bantams. I'll just have to read up on them a bit!

 

[Feather queen]

It's a reasonable fear, research is one of the best things to do.

 

[Mrs. K]

I would be Leary of mixing bantams with an established large flock...but you might be much more successful if you mix chicks of large fowl, and let them grow up under bantams? Those constantly broody hens, give them some chicks to raise.

I think that the BO would be a good choice, BA's or barred rocks would be a good choice, but really I think just being raised up under and established flock might swing it your way.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've looked in to some bantam that lay more often, but is there really a bantam breed that is a good layer?

Breed can have some influence but strain is much more important than breed. If the person selecting which chickens get to breed uses egg laying as a criteria, in just a few generations they can have a flock that lays really well. If they don't use egg laying as a criteria you can have a flock that doesn't lay well at all. This is with any breed, not just bantams. Your challenge is to find chicks from a flock that lays really well, not what the breed is supposed to lay. Some people on this forum say they have Silkie bantams that lay 5 or 6 eggs a week while the breed is supposed to lay less. I don't know how you find those flocks.

I'm worried about integrating "regular sized" chickens in to the flock.

Many people have mixed sizes in their flocks and it is not an issue. You can have issues integrating bantams to bantams or full sized to full sized, not just bantams to full sized. With living animals you don't get guarantees on behaviors. The only way you will know if you are going to have trouble is to try it. I don't know how much room you have or what techniques you use to integrate but you will probably have as much luck with full sized as you would bantams.