Mixed Flock or Not?

[want brahmas 2]

I've been reading chicken catalogs in anticipation of our first order this spring. I read the behaviors of chickens. Reading all the reviews here in BYC.
What do you think? A mixed flock or a single breed and why?

ok i read 4 pages on this forum and not one told you about the beauty of a flock of large brahmas this is a flock of dark brahmas the roosters and hens have a beautiful contrast of color males are black with silver on neck wings and saddle feathers while the hen are a silver pencile very beautiful and this is only one color you get light brahmas whitch is the light columbian patteren and buff brahmas whitch looks like the light but instead of white you have buff they are in the american poulty standard (APA) then there are other colors of brahmas like silver laced beautiful color looks like the silver laced wyndots buff laced brahmas another beautiful patteren guys are working on blue laced red brahmas and blue brahmas then one thats close to my heart it gold partridge brahma well thats alot of the colors you can get but not much about them well here we go besides the obvious reasons of size and beauty they are very doscile birds friendly good layers of a large brown egg varrying in color from light to darker brown very cold resistent and do good with summer to . they will set but not all will go broody on you thety take about 2 years to reach full maturety . the first year they reach there hight but through the second year they fill out and truley become THE MAJESTIC ONES as they are named well to all that posted on this page i dare you to try some brahmas . then whatch out because all your other birds will start to move to the back ground and one becomes 2 and so on soon you will be looking for breeders so you can see what they really look like they are way more beautiful and bigger then hatchery birds well give them a try and dont get mad if after awhile you want a flock of standard brahmas ps nothing plain about the birds in the picture if you want more pics google BRAHMA CHICKENS and click on images you will see all i told you about and more good luck and have fun thank you john

 

[BrendaJ]

My flock is mixed. I have chickens because i enjoy them & get eggs as a bonus I like the variety & all the personalities that go with them.

 

[Roger]

Hehe. Why don't you be different and instead of like most people who want a mixed flock, be like me and pick one breed. They will look uniform and be more of a decoration than the hodge podge you would have with one of this and one of that! What a statement it makes about people with one breed - practical, serious, conservationist, caring.

Since 2003 I have preserved Light Brown Leghorn chickens (see my first video on You Tube). 1.5 minute video link -

But like most chicken people I have had several breeds because it was fun to do so. But with few serious breeders left, we need people to pick a breed and help preserve it. It really is important. I'm grateful to all the people in previous centuries who have gotten us up to the point where we can enjoy so many breeds. Join in and be one of the heros because populations within breeds are down and the quality of the breeds too!

I sell fertile eggs by mail in the spring from Arizona if you care to join in having my lovely Brown Leghorns. They are easy to catch if you raise them on your own without the mother hen. They are just all around great birds.

 

[Sunflowergirl]

I like a small mixed flock because for the most part, I can tell who laid what egg. I had to get a minimum of 5 of each breed. (I got Buff Orpingotns -BO, Silver Laced Wyadottes -SLW and Easter Eggers -EE.) That makes it a little hard to tell who is laying what, except on my Easter Eggers!

Each EE has her own color that I can recognize. Then, during this year's Chick Days at Tractor Supply, I got one Rhode Island Red, one White Leghorn, and one Silver Spangled Hamburg. Their eggs are easy to recognize.
So, all this is to say that, to me, it is fun to know who is laying which egg.

 

[ShirMik]

I also started out with a mixed flock but fell in love with the Orpingtons, I now only have Orpingtons, they are so friendly and just a pleasure to watch. As for colours and feather designs the Orpingtons have got it all, I have Cuckoo, Lavender-Cuckoo, Lavender, Buff-Black-Lace, Blue, Splash, White, Buff, Black and Partridge. As you can see there is a wide variety of colours and feather variations, I am in South Africa so do not have the problems that you have with the cold, our problem is trying to keep them cool for most of the year as temperatures of above 38 degrees celcius are very common.Chicken Greetings from South Africa, Regards Bruce (ShirMik).

 

[paddydoda]

i prefer the mixed flock for a few reasons firstly a diversity of different coloured eggs & secondly its easier for my son to distinguish them from each other i started of with the original 8 which were 2 light brahmas ,2 speckled sussex ,2 silver wyondottes ,2 americanas im in new england so i need hardy breeds they seemed to tolerate the cold last winter ,then i wanted some silkies as i had them as a kid back in Ireland so went to get some on craigslist & ended up with a bunch 4 off which were roosters & 2 pullets ( never bring kids to buy cute chicks ) by the time the local redtail hawk was done & i hadnt the coop finshed i had a few less then , the silkie got broody & she raised 8 chicks from the grain store as only one of hers hatched & died the nxt day she raised the 8 chicks no problem they where 3 barred rocks ,3 astrolops 1 ameicana & 1 R R & a pair of gamefowl (morgan white hackle ) whom i want to show but with all the ones i have my son can name them all individually & they all have their wee personalities & of course everyone who buys the eggs loves the mixed coloured carton they get !!!!

 

[StarLover21]

A mixed flock. You can never just have one I have an EE, a Red Star, a Silver Laced Wyandotte, a Wheaten Maran, a Salmon Faverolle, a White Leghorn, and a Black Star.

 

[toddjmoore]

We got a mixed flock. No problems accept for the Mille Fleurs, a breed I personally loved. Great personality, but the white feathers on top were just too much of a temptation for the rooster to use as his a launching device. And the other hens would peck them afterward. (the rooster was a silkie). Anyway, their beautiful feathers were completely gone over time, no matter what we did.

 

[PirateFarmer]

I ordered a set of 'mystery chickens' from SandHills Preservation in Iowa - 25 chickens of his genetic crossbreedings (he sells lots of different heritage breeds) as something to get started on before getting Buckeyes. go 14 of them, and then (since he didn't have a full 25) he tossed in a Deleware, 7 Auburn Sumatras, a Krienhopf (sp?), 4 beautiful Golden Lakevelders...27 birds that give me a variety to explore & see what I like...for 17 bucks plus shipping. Good deal to learn on, I think. Weird, but I only got 4 roosters out of the whole lot.

 

[want brahmas 2]

YES MIXED FLOCKS ARE FUN TO LOOK AT AS A CHILD I HADE ALL KINDS AND MY ROOSTER WAS A TURKEN DID YOU KNOW THAT MOST OF HIS CHICKS TURNED OUT TO BE TURKENS IT WAS FUN . BUT AS I GOT OLDER I LEARNED HOW BEAUTIFUL IT IS TO LOOK AT A FLOCK OF BIRDS NOT A MESS OF THEM !!! AFTER A YEAR IF YOU HATCH FROM A MIXED FLOCK THEN ALL YOU HAVE ARE MUTTS !!! AND IF EVERY ONE RAISES MIXED FLOCKS THEN SOME DAY THERE WONT BE ANY PURE BREEDS TO CHOSE FROM !!!! SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT ???? AND UNTIL YOU TAKE ON A CHALLENGE OF A PURE BREED LINE AND THERE BEAUTY YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND THE PRIDE YOU GET FROM RAISING A FLOCK !!! P.S. ANY ONE CAN RAISE MUTS OR ORDER NEW CHICKS EACH AND EVERY YEAR BUT IT TAKES A REAL COMMITMENT AND DEDICATION TO RAISE A BEAUTIFUL FLOCK OF SHOW QUALITY BIRDS AND UR REWARD IS PRIDE AND THAT IS PRICELESS BRAHMAS FOREVER ... THE MAJESTIC ONES ARE SO BEAUTIFUL THANKS JOHN