Mixing breeds ok?

[Gilbertcoop]

Hello, we are just starting out. We want 3 different chickens..good egg layers. Is it ok to get 3 different breeds or are we better with sticking with one? My plan is for an Australorp, Wyandotte and a Rhode Island Red.

Love this website!!

 

[Redhead Hen]

First ~

You will find TONS of great info here!

I have a mix of chickens ... RIR, Gold Comets and Silkies. I'd say it would be fine. Now if you wanted to breed them ... then you would want to stick to maybe 1 breed or have different pens for each breed. Most of us have more than 1 breed. We just can't help ourselves!

 

[gryeyes]

Mixing breeds makes for a lovely, colorful flock!

Not so great for breeding programs, though.

I actually WANTED to get all different breeds, because this was my first foray into keeping chickens. I knew I'd name 'em, but if they were all RIRs, for example, how would I tell them apart? "Good morning, Rhoda. And Rhoda, and Rhoda, oh, and Rhoda. Good morning to YOU too, Rhoda! 'Morning, Rhoda. And Rhoda!"

A couple of months ago, I bought two Golden Lakenvelders from a BYCer, and worried about telling them apart. But I learned how to do that, so now I have four more chicks in the brooder and two of them are Welsummers. I can tell Laverne from Shirley and expect to be able to tell 'em apart once they are fully feathered, too.

The other two chicks are a RIR (finally, a Rhoda!) and a Plymouth Rock Barred (Betsy).

Once they make it outside to their own coop, I'll add their particulars to my signature.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yes, it's perfectly fine. When I got my chickens, I got 7 and they were all different breeds.

 

[Gilbertcoop]

Thank you for the info!

Now the hard part will be, stopping at 3 and not getting 5 or 10.

hehehehe I'm a "bad clucker"

 

[Domestic_goddess]

I don't have a rooster and so there is no breeding going on at all. I just love a colorful flock and all the eggs. My first group I have 5 Barred rocks, 2 buff orpingtons, 2 Brown Leghorns and a mutt that my son won at the county fair. My second flock has 2 Delawares, 3 RIR, 3 Black and 3 Red sexlinks, a Silver lace wyandotte, a buff orpington and 3 EE's. I'm loving it! Good luck and I think it's a great idea.

 

[Nostalchic]

The breeds you've chosen should get along well, but are you sure you don't want an easter egger? - they're pretty and lay beautiful blue or green eggs. Or how about...? yes, this is what happens!

 

[Domestic_goddess]

Quote:
I'm just laughing! This is so true......

 

[HBuehler]

Quote:

we can tell your a newbie...5 or 10 breeds you meant right

everyone knows you can't stop at 5 or 10 chickens

they are much more addicting than potato chips.
I suggest adding a nice white egg layer in the mix..Blue Andy's are beautiful then agreed with the EE's but you have to love all of the big blue breeds,then the rich buff of the BO and Buff Rock,a few silkies or bantam cochins for fun,Oh the barred colors are real pretty but so are the speckled and mottled,have you heard about the lavenders?

 

[purr]

I have all different kinds of chickens and then they decided to have a little fun and have some babies , and those are really pretty well to me anyway.