Mixing bantams with Standards?

[Sonoran Silkies]

From what I have heard, some marans lines are very sweet, and timid. I've not had marans, but I know two people who have tehm who have said that about theirs. And they both adore them. One of the two also has silkies, the other faverolles. Both have marans of the same lines.

 

[Debbi]

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I have two big Marans roos that I would not hesitate mixing with the Silkies. I don't think they even see them as chickens. It's the pullets and hens that are the territorial witches. They will even run off the bigger cockerels to the point of bloodying them. Even after being in the same run with the Silkies, yet seperated by a fence for almost 4 months now, I would not mix the two breeds. That's just what I've seen here, other's birds may be very different. Here, I will keep my Silkies seperate from the Marans, for their safeties sake...

 

[clairabean]

I do. The bantams were first and the standards came as chicks. The standards are way down the chicken totem pole!

 

[TinkyFeathers]

I have 6 banties and 5 standard hens plus a silkie.
Everybody gets along great! And I've never seen anyone peck the silkie hen ever...
Before I had a ginormous sussex too with the silkie roo and another medium sized guy, everybody knew their place and nobody fought. And they were all different sizes

so I agree, I think it just depends on the chickens

Most of mine weren't raised together by the way

 

[Tracydr]

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I have three tiny OEGBs mixed with my flock, although my standards aren't huge. My rooster is a very small banty, less than a pound. Of course, he's not getting any eggs fertile, his tail only reaches the middle of the hens backes, if even that. The largest of my hens are only EEs, so not real big, but some of my smaller breeds, especially my Fayoumis, can be rather bossy. Amazingly, my Banties are the top of the pecking order.
They were about 6 weeks older when I integrated them and I actually had to separate them a few times for picking on the bigger chicks and scaring them half to death until they got everything all worked out, in the large garden, of course.
My roo does a wonderful job as the flock protector, in fact he's the best roo I've ever had, although I always have an OEGB roo around, I have had large Roos as well.

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

I have a layer flock of Australorp, Buff Orps, SL Wyandottes, Sussex and Delaware, all hens. I also have two pairs of OEGB about the same age. The Old English were caged separately for a whole year, never mingled, until finally, I decided what the heck, lets see what happens. One of my Old English roosters has adopted all the "big girls", and the other Old English tends to the two tiny OEGB hens. There is harmony! Nobody had gotten beat up. The roosters don't even fight. Its very nice.

Here is Romeo with his big hens.

 

[theredroosta]

I have an OEG Bantam who was head of the flock for years, he would chase guineafowl, my LF Roo's, and pretty much anything that would stand between him and flock domination. He is very small, 1 or 2 pounds only. He is really old now, and gets pushed around by the other roo's.

I honestly think that the chicken pecking order is all psychological to them. The bird that is more determined to keep its place or rise up in the pecking order won't be bothered, no matter its size. Your bantams won't get picked on because of size, they may get picked on based on their interactions with the flock. But if they do get picked on because they are a shy bird, it would be detrimental to them because they are smaller and less formidable and able to hold their own.

My advice is to put them together at night, and then in the morning see how they interact with the flock. Aggressiveness is common, unless a fight breaks out or chasing occurs I wouldn't intervene.

 

[Summer98]

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That is so funny, but I bet it's true.

 

[poultry bro]

I have a buff silkie buff cochin cross rooster and 2 buff cochin hens along with a white sultan couple living in my flock of 28 which consists of 5 roosters and 23 hens and they all do fine but my silkie cross roo is lower on the totem pole dominance goes from my white leghorn black jersey giant mottled houdan white sultan and then my hybrid these are my five roosters.

 

[Angie16hearts]

My standard size Roo just tried to mate with my bantam. Is this normal?