Mixing Big girls & Bantams???

[mict1g2]

We adopted our first chickens 9 beautiful big girls last summer. they’re all about 2-3 yrs old. This March we got 6 bantam chicks. 2 of them are Roos. We’ve had them separated this whole time but for the last about 2-3 months they free run together but are still sleeping separate. They seem to get along fine but the “little crew” still gives the “big girls” plenty off space and even runs from them if one the big girls get too close. Should they all be sleeping together by now or should I take the “littles” behavior to mean they’re scare of the big girls and for good reason? Or is it just basic respect of the older bigger girls? Such a newbie mistake to mix different sizes? .

 

[Northwest_Wannabe]

I keep bantams and standards. They'll quarrel, mostly what I see is pecking order. I have some bantams who are older than the big ladies and some who are younger. The younger bantams are more weary and make a wide berth on the big ladies, cause 'respect your elders or get an eye picked out' as the old saying goes ;D but then on the other side of the coin my OEGB hen whose older than 85% of the flock runs around like she owns it and when she walks up to the treats everyone minds their manners, even the EExRIR mix who is 6 times her size! Since your big ladies are higher on the pecking order the bossing and bullying may be more apparent or be a little rough (big ladies are built to peck big ladies in my opinion, so when they peck a small lady it may be a little rough!) But my flock is fine. They all get along except when someone goes broody, same with my 4H friends flocks! If theres nothing really wrong I personally wouldn't try to fix it I guess? no constant bullying it anyone getting chased away from food so much they're skinny? pecking order usually keeps fairly fine order in my experience, monitoring should happen when adding birds or subtraction of birds, as pecking order can be disturbed. It *can* be a newbie mistake to mix bird sizes improperly and some birds can hav bad attitude compared to others and that can throw a wrench into plans, but in my opinion your flock sounds like it's coexisting well, no fighting? I wouldn't worry too much? : )

 

[aart]

but are still sleeping separate.

Do you need them to sleep in the same coop?
Usually youngers don't work their way into the olders pecking order until they start laying.
But since they don't share a coop/feed/water/etc now might be hard to get them together.

 

[mict1g2]

I keep bantams and standards. They'll quarrel, mostly what I see is pecking order. I have some bantams who are older than the big ladies and some who are younger. The younger bantams are more weary and make a wide berth on the big ladies, cause 'respect your elders or get an eye picked out' as the old saying goes ;D but then on the other side of the coin my OEGB hen whose older than 85% of the flock runs around like she owns it and when she walks up to the treats everyone minds their manners, even the EExRIR mix who is 6 times her size! Since your big ladies are higher on the pecking order the bossing and bullying may be more apparent or be a little rough (big ladies are built to peck big ladies in my opinion, so when they peck a small lady it may be a little rough!) But my flock is fine. They all get along except when someone goes broody, same with my 4H friends flocks! If theres nothing really wrong I personally wouldn't try to fix it I guess? no constant bullying it anyone getting chased away from food so much they're skinny? pecking order usually keeps fairly fine order in my experience, monitoring should happen when adding birds or subtraction of birds, as pecking order can be disturbed. It *can* be a newbie mistake to mix bird sizes improperly and some birds can hav bad attitude compared to others and that can throw a wrench into plans, but in my opinion your flock sounds like it's coexisting well, no fighting? I wouldn't worry too much? : )

Thanks! This all definitely gives me hope. I will absolutely keep a close eye on everyone.

 

[mict1g2]

Do you need them to sleep in the same coop?
Usually youngers don't work their way into the olders pecking order until they start laying.
But since they don't share a coop/feed/water/etc now might be hard to get them together.

We don’t need them to sleep in the same coop but I think the big girls would like to be back in their coop. They’ve been sleeping in an attached area in dog houses and make shift beds since the littles have come out so the littles could get used to the coop. One or two of the little girls has started laying. Another reason I asked this question is because on of the Roos has really started getting on one the ladies kinda aggressively. He hasn’t hurt her but I was thinking maybe the big girls would teach him some manners. ???

 

[mict1g2]

Thanks! This all definitely gives me hope. I will absolutely keep a close eye on everyone.

Another reason I asked this question is because on of the Roos has really started getting on one the ladies kinda aggressively. He hasn’t hurt her but I was thinking maybe the big girls would teach him some manners. ???

 

[aart]

We don’t need them to sleep in the same coop but I think the big girls would like to be back in their coop. They’ve been sleeping in an attached area in dog houses and make shift beds since the littles have come out so the littles could get used to the coop. One or two of the little girls has started laying. Another reason I asked this question is because on of the Roos has really started getting on one the ladies kinda aggressively. He hasn’t hurt her but I was thinking maybe the big girls would teach him some manners. ???

Oh, for some reason I thought they had separate coops and runs.
Do the LF have access to the main coop?
The big girls might teach the bantam cockerel some manners.
Some pics of the housing and runs might garner some suggestions.