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

[N F C]

I've always had a mixed flock and enjoy it. As several others have already said, it's fun to see the various feather and egg colors. And for me, there are just too many interesting breeds available to stick with just one!

 

[OsceolaMomma]

I have reds, barred rocks, and bantam silkies w/ no rooster. I also love the mix, nothing like looking out into the beautiful pasture and watching my mixed bunch of faties scratching and grazing. I am a little worried about my little silkie that is now a Muscovy duck mom and how that’s going to mush up with my others.

 

[Shadrach]

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.

 

[BantyChooks]

I have a mixed breed flock. Advantages include a more colourful egg basket, different birds for eggs, meat, and pets, more variety in breeding decisions I get to make, and no restrictions on getting whatever birds I want from the feed store. Maybe I want to try Cochins this year. Great! No reason not to. I can learn about different colour pattern genetics in my own backyard and experiment with crosses. I like comparing different genetic groups and evaluating how well they do in my climate. So far I've found this one strain of OEGBs that are just stellar. They've turned into the cornerstone of my bantam breeding pens. I haven't found any disadvantages yet—they get along harmoniously and don't seem stressed. I do not have issues with pecking. They do tend to pal around with similar looking breeds but not to the disadvantage of other birds. I currently have ducks and chickens together and have had guineas in with them in the past, though that didn't work well and I ended up selling them. I don't mix them with the quail because the chickens free range and the quail can't do that. I've had about 25 to 30 different breeds and varieties over 5 years.

I have majority breeds, though, and any bird not a Chantecler or Ameraucana (or a duck) is currently an outlier. I devote the most space to my main breed—Chanteclers. I breed them to the standard.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I have kept single breeds & mixed flocks over the years. I presently have 3 breeds that will be leaving for a flock of Blue Wyandottes. I have had success both ways.

 

[BantyChooks]

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.

I thought it was mainly red junglefowl with a bit of grey?

 

[danceswithronin]

View attachment 1766333 I have reds, barred rocks, and bantam silkies w/ no rooster. I also love the mix, nothing like looking out into the beautiful pasture and watching my mixed bunch of faties scratching and grazing. I am a little worried about my little silkie that is now a Muscovy duck mom and how that’s going to mush up with my others.

I find it fascinating to see how different people's mixed flocks are from an aesthetic standpoint, based on their preferences for colors and patterns and body types in the birds. You've got a cool motif of red, black, and white going with your birds, with the solid reds and the striped blacks and whites and the bit of fluffy black/white splash in the silkie thrown in for a focal point.

In my flock I have more blacks, golds, and laced patterns. I chose a bunch of different colors of Orps (silver lace, lavender, blue, buff) but I wanted the uniformity of having a bunch of the same breed, so they would have a similar body type.

My only bird that doesn't really fit in with anything is my Speckled Sussex, but she's a pretty nice accent bird who stands out because her pattern/dark chocolate brown coloring don't match any of the rest at all.

I love having a mixed flock because I like experiencing all the different breeds, but at the same time I find a flock of all the same birds together very aesthetically pleasing to watch too (the symmetry of all the like birds together), so I'm always conflicted about it.

 

[Mrs. K]

While I have noticed that often times birds of a feather stick together. I have not noticed any issue with my mixed flock. In order to produce a significant change in birds, you are talking 20-30 years of breeding. Over time, a lot of mixed birds will loose their productivity. But for a general flock of about a dozen or less, it is not worth worrying about it.

 

[Fatherdowling]

I currently have 7 breeds of chickens (Lavender Orpington, Black laced Wyandotte, Barred rock, Easter egger, Isa brown, Dominant copper, and Red star), and they are each beautiful and distinct. They all work well together, with no fighting. Chickens aren't the only birds I have though, I also have 3 ducks (A Cayuga and 2 mallards) that share the same run with my chickens, but have their own seperate duck house. Also I have 5 Chukar partridge's that live in their own house separate from my ducks and chickens. I love the variety, each bird has distinct characteristics that make them enjoyable to watch. I love their color patterns, their sizes and shapes, and how the different species (Chicken and duck) interact with each other. My birds are exclusively pets and egg layers, they will never be meat birds. They will be with me until they die.

 

[313759]

I used to own a small flock of chickens and ducks mixed, we had Silver Laced Wyandottes, Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Tetra Tint, Bantams, and some brown hens I can't remember the name of right this moment. We had one rooster that would always try to breed to our drake so we ended up getting rid of him because he wouldn't breed the hens, but instead would only target the male duck. One of our smallest bantams, a small white thing we called nugget because of how small he was. Somehow he managed to paralyze on of our rabbits so we got rid of him too, which kinda sucked because he was one of my favorites.

One thing I can say is don't house rabbits with chickens, (obviously, but housing them with the birds was not my idea) and keep a close eye on a mixed flock in case you come across a bird that is too aggressive, or aggressively homosexual towards other species lol.

The funny thing was that our lil' bantam rooster was the dominant roo in our coop, while the Tetra Tint was massive, yet was willing to submit to the little guy. I'm guessing it was because he was younger than the bantam and when he reached adulthood he didn't bother.