Mixed flock versus single breed flock - pros and cons? Which do you keep?

[Chickassan]

Just the overall personality quirks of the main breed in a mixed flock tend to spill over too.
The flock here have all save for the dominiques adopted the personalities and behaviors of the faverolles which are the largest majority.
The group that was once quite rowdy now spend the day napping and eating not at all the norm for them.
It is really very curious.

People keep mixed flocks because that's what they want (I've never understood this) and because they can. The prevalent hatchery and breeder arrangements in the US in particular allow people to do this.
I have yet to see any evidence that keeping a mixed flock benefits the chicken in any way and there is now mounting evidence that in fact the opposite is true and mixed flocks engender behavior and breeding problems not found in single breed flocks, I intend to add to this 'mounting evidence' as do a few other chicken keepers.
Unfortunately but not unexpected, the 'experts' are, as they have been throughout history, resistant to any new knowledge; it undermines their credibility and authority.
Here in rural Europe mixed flocks are not the norm and looking back historically the opportunity to acquire a mixed flock was limited.
While for example there are four recognized species of jungle fowl from which the 'domestic' chicken is derived that live in close enough proximity to interbreed, studies so far have suggested this rarely happens.
Current literature has already taken a step in the direction of questioning the wisdom of mixed flocks. Look through any authoritative literature on differing breeds and you will find recommendations on breeds that work better together than others.
The list of advantages in single breed flocks is extensive while the opposite is true for mixed breed flocks.
The average chicken keeper rolls around the floor laughing should you suggest that a chicken 'knows' which breed it is and to who it is related.
If you mention that at present the ability of a chicken to count to 109 is proven, you'll get laughed at.
Suggest that a chicken has abstract problem solving abilities and people will think you are mad.
Mention that in fact the egg song isn't some celebration of female fertility and you get the feminist movement throwing rocks at you.
I could go on, but my suggestion here is single breed flocks tend to fare better and if given the choice many breeds will gravitate to their own breed and genetically related individuals.

 

[Shadrach]

I have a mixed flock with the option to have more purebreds if I wanted due to the rooster having ladies of his own breed.
Iv'e had purebred flocks many times but found it extremely difficult to properly keep tabs on them even with banding.
I don't have that issue whatsoever now.

I expect chickens have similar problems correctly identifying us, or certainly would have should we all be naked.
All the different feather outfits we wear must seriously confuse them. Imagine if your chickens changed feather color and orientation every day!
Somehow these daft creatures manage it, of course we're bigger so that must make a difference.........

 

[D-Bar-B]

I currently have a mixed breed flock (Orps, Polish, Sussex, Wyandotte, Jersey Giant) but since half of my chickens are Orpingtons and there are still several other color varieties of Orpington I'd like to collect (like splash, chocolate cuckoo and crele) I've been considering eventually phasing over into a single breed flock as they get older, selling out my other breeds to make room for incoming Orps.

Which do you have, and why? What are some of the advantages of a single breed flock versus keeping several breeds all together?

Do you mix other poultry in with your chickens too (ducks, geese, quail)? Do you keep them segregated or are they comingling?

I have a mixed flock, and am new to having chickens. I started with 6 hens that were already laying (9-18 months old). I have 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Rhode Island Reds, and 2 Dominiques. I can say that my Rhode Island Reds are the dominant breed in the bunch. Babz (the one in my profile pic) is the mother hen for sure! And I just added 7 chicks to the flock, but they are far from ready for integration. With the new group I have 3 Golden Laced Wyandottes, 2 Light Brown Leghorns, and 2 Golden Campines. I can't wait to see their personalities and am praying they all get along once they're all together! Babz might have a new sheriff try to take over! I'd love to hear about other mixed flocks!

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

I have a very mixed flock of 22. I like the uniqueness of each bird and the colorful egg basket that I get from having all different breeds. It is so fun to watch chicken tv and enjoy each of my chickens’ personalities.
I currently have 2 Mille Fleur D’Uccle bantam hens and 1 rooster, 4 EE hens and a rooster, 1 SLW, 1 GLW, 1 California white x Polish, 1 BCM, 1 Blue Splash Marans, 1 Swedish Flower, 1 silkie mix, 1 brown leghorn, 1 Cochin, 1 buffed Brahma, 1 light Brahma, 1 ISA brown, 1 lavender Orpington and one barnyard mix.

I also have a brooder with 3 serama chicks and 4 babies from my EE roo. I wanted olive Eggers, so I incubated eggs from my Marans.

In the meantime, I am rehoming my roosters to give my ladies a break and to resist having any more chickens. Chicken math hit me hard and I don’t want to overcrowd my flock! There is plenty of room for the birds I have now. Anymore and my DH will have to build me a third coop! Haha!

 

[HenHouse4Life]

I have 2 separate mixed flocks and one BCM flock from a breeder that is kept separate from the mixed at all times. I like the colors and variety of the mixed flocks.

 

[Chickassan]

The chickens pay much closer attention than I ever could. They could identify me a mile away, and they've all seen me naked you'd think they'd want to forget.
My eyesight is terrible, depend more on sound to identify like birds now, so i'm fine as long as we are on speaking terms.

I expect chickens have similar problems correctly identifying us, or certainly would have should we all be naked.
All the different feather outfits we wear must seriously confuse them. Imagine if your chickens changed feather color and orientation every day!
Somehow these daft creatures manage it, of course we're bigger so that must make a difference.........

 

[The Moonshiner]

selling pure breed chickens, are lost if you mix different color/patterns of the same breed. If the offspring are not an approved color/pattern they are not pure breed. If you mix colors/patterns they won't be.

IDK why people say this.
I work with leghorns and mix colors/patterns. If I breed two leghorns of different patterns together how does it make it a mixed breed?
The offspring are still just as 100% leghorn blood as if I breed two of the same pattern together. Crossing colors isn't mixing breeds just mixing patterns.
I can see calling them mixed pattern, crossed varieties etc. but that doesn't change the breed.
Sometimes mixing colors even results with the same as breeding two of the same colors together.
I can breed two blacks together and get black but I can also cross black with recessive white and get black. Black crossed with self blue and get black. Of course crosses like that will now be carrying recessive genes but they can
be shown as black and win as black.
Others can be crossed and shown. I can cross gold duckwing with silver duckwing and produce gold duckwing pullets. I can cross barred with black to get more barred. Or black with barred to get more blacks. Or even two different colors to get a third. Like black with splash for blues.
IMO the whole idea doesn't make much sense.

 

[Ridgerunner]

IDK why people say this.
I work with leghorns and mix colors/patterns. If I breed two leghorns of different patterns together how does it make it a mixed breed?
The offspring are still just as 100% leghorn blood as if I breed two of the same pattern together. Crossing colors isn't mixing breeds just mixing patterns.
I can see calling them mixed pattern, crossed varieties etc. but that doesn't change the breed.
Sometimes mixing colors even results with the same as breeding two of the same colors together.
I can breed two blacks together and get black but I can also cross black with recessive white and get black. Black crossed with self blue and get black. Of course crosses like that will now be carrying recessive genes but they can
be shown as black and win as black.
Others can be crossed and shown. I can cross gold duckwing with silver duckwing and produce gold duckwing pullets. I can cross barred with black to get more barred. Or black with barred to get more blacks. Or even two different colors to get a third. Like black with splash for blues.
IMO the whole idea doesn't make much sense.

I'll try to explain. As far as showing goes you are right. The judge doesn't care about the genetics since they cannot see them. As long as the chicken has the right characteristics of the breed (that's a lot more than just color/pattern but does include an approved color/pattern) the chicken has a chance to win a prize.

But as you mentioned when you cross color/patterns you introduce new genes. So when you breed them they will not necessarily breed true. If they will not breed true then how can you call them purebreed?

While we are being philosophical I'd appreciate your opinion on another scenario. Say you cross two different colored birds of the same breed. The offspring has all the breed characteristics, conformation, eye color, comb, ear lobes, number of toes, everything that makes them the breed but the color/pattern is not an approved color/pattern. Obviously they cannot be shown, but are they still of the same breed?

 

[The Moonshiner]

That's where we differ. I would say yes they're still the same breed just not an approved variety.
You're saying if its not an approved variety then it isn't that breed any more. I'm saying its still the breed just not an approved variety for the breed.
I can show an Isabel leghorn which isn't an approved variety but I can still show it as a leghorn and the APA will accept it as a leghorn but as an "all other varieties" leghorn.
I can cross a black leghorn to a brown leghorn then cross those offspring and produce a silver leghorn.
That means technically I'm crossing two "pure" leghorns and producing a non leghorn then crossing the non leghorns to produce any entirely different "pure " leghorn.
That's why I can't agree.
I'm just crossing approved or non approved varieties not crossing breeds.

 

[shelbyw]

I currently have a mixed breed flock of purebreds and I love the variety(cemanis,silkies,BCM,Mosaic), but each breed has its own roosters and hens. I do breed my chickens and sell them as a purebred chicken, but I put the pair I am breeding in a different location so I know who is breeding with who. I do have Olandsk Dwarf chickens as well, but they are separated because of the size. I would have to say that I do enjoy having a variety of chicken breeds, especially my silkies. I do not mind having to separate them for when I breed them, but I do collect the eggs for a little bit from the breeding pair just to make sure I do not end up with an unintentional crossbreed. Usually I will wait 1 month just to make sure. The picture is all of my 18 week olds.