Mixed flock question....

[porkchop48]

Being that I change my mind on a daily basis on which kind of chickens I want, here comes my question.

If I wanted to mix some brown egg layers, Say BR, orphington, manans, ect, would it be ok?

I would like to have a rooster as well as I am sure I will want to hatch some chicks as well as raise up some extras for the freezer. Which type of rooster should I get?

OMG who did not tell me this would be so hard?

I thought it would be kinda easy but no I am

like an idiot trying to figure it out. I think I get it done and then I read some more, maybe I should quit reading.

Damn it I want a silkie chick.... Where do they fit into the mixture? Can I stick them with other chicks? Are they tiny? OMG what happens if the rooster gets her? I sooooo need to quit reading... But I really want a silkie too.... Oh and a crested duck ( but that is a whole nother pen )

 

[WhetzelMomma]

Uhhhhh

I just DID it. lol I have a mutt rooster, that is well behaved, and hatched a billion eggs. I have cochin cross bantams that are in with my regular girls. They are the ones that have gone broody for me this year, and are hatching out some MORE eggs (not theirs, the full sized gals) I just figure, back in "the day" people just HAD chickens. They did it, and ate them, and they didn't have access to, or stress out about whether they were "doing it right".

 

[pinkwindsong]

Quote:
you are soooo not alone... I have what I think is a good mix now.. and 3 roos so Ill have to have three pens,( 1 gorgeous dark Brahma, 1 barred rock- super sweet. 1 little big man EE- don't tell him he's little.. hahah ) I have then my 2 dark Brahma girls, 2 barred rock girls, 2 golden comet girls, 2 whit leghorn girls and only one EE girl ( have to get 2 more girls )
so then on the South Carolina thread.. oh my gosh.. a lady close by.. has..... OOOOHHHHH blue orphingtons.. I want sooo bad but they are roo's no girls to go with the boy... so I am really gathering up restraint to not say oh ME MEMEMEMEME pick mee I want one.. .. I would love to have a trio or quad of the blue ( go to the sc thread to see how beautiful they are) and I want the lavender orphingtons.. so Im going to hold back..... but oooh its tough..

one of my probems is I thought that I was going to get some hlep to build my coop.. but my hubby and kids have flaked out on me and now I need not one pen but 4 pens to keep the breeds seperated. OMG i did not intend on this getting to be sooo hard.. I do not however regreat getting the chickens int he first place. I love them,, they make me happy and these days that means alot to me..

where are you at?

keep in touch, Im interested in what you decide to do...

blessed be
)O(
Pink

 

[JLS]

I had a flock of Orps, RIR x, & Faverolles. Like you, I wanted a couple silkies. I knew that they were a strait run so I got 2 and raised them with several EE's. One of the silkies turned out to be a little man. He has been the BEST roo ever!! I have absolutely no concern about any person/child being around when he's out in the yard. He services all the ladies in my flock no matter what the size difference is

The other benefit, besides a sweet tempermant, is that he is smaller therefore his crow is more pleasant to the ears than a huge roo. The bigger the roo, I have come to realize, the more it's crow sounds like a man yelling. I would get a breed that is know for being gentle like a silkie, cochin, or a faverolle.

 

[porkchop48]

Quote:
really? I can get a silkie roo... I might just have to look into that a bit more.

Are silkies much smaller than orps, rir, etc?

 

[Chicken Chat]

The silkie will be roughly half the size of your standards, but then there is a bit of variation in size. Some of my silkie roos are a little bigger and then I have one that is somewhat smaller than the other boys, although he doesn't think so. If they all grew up together, it shouldn't be a problem, although since the silkie chick will be smaller, some people have had trouble in the brooder with the bigger chicks picking on the smaller bantams. Since the silkie's skull has a hole in it, you want to make sure that the other chicks aren't pecking it in the head aggressively. Just keep an eye on them but I say go for it.

 

[porkchop48]

Oh my such decisions..... I was thinking.

If I want to end up raising up some bird for freezer camp a few times a year - I guess a silkie roo would not be the best idea...

So back to having a Silkie hen or two?

which would be better? Roo? Hen or two ?

Again why did no one tell me it would be this hard..

 

[WhetzelMomma]

I'd use the silkies as your "broody" hens and let them hatch out the bigger hen's eggs. That's what I'm doing with my cochins... they are hatching eggs from the "meat" birds (really dual purpose laying hens) and my family eats the smaller cochin eggs so I can sell the larger laying hen eggs.

 

[heather112588]

Ive found that RIR and BR are the best starter birds...they are dual purpose: both amazing egg layers and meat birds.

They get big too- When i raised my first chicks (rirs), I ended up with 3 out of 5 of them being males. I spoil all of my animals and couldnt butcher them myself so I went to a butcher. Her chickens after butcher are normally around 4-5 lbs, mine were 6-7lbs. must have done something right

 

[cbreezerentals]

yep, having similar issues here. Have some great roos, great hens, great pullets with their roos and too many different breeds. They free range, no pens but could do a pen for breeding purposes. Not sure I care about breeding yet.