Mixing Breeds.

[GuamChicken]

Hello, I am very new to raising chickens. I have Buff Orpington eggs ready to hatch in the next day or two. Making a long story short, I rescued a clutch of hen eggs from a local wild hen. There are many chickens roaming wild around my place. We cut down a tree and she was at the base on 10 eggs. She abandoned the eggs and I placed them in an incubator and they ALL hatched 4 days later. They are 4 days old today and look great.

So, now I have 10 boonie chicks in my brooder, that was to be for the Orpingtons, I have plenty of room for the new Orps, hopefully they will hatch at a decent rate. My question is two part. Should there be any problem placing them in the brooder with the current boonie flock, , say 4-7 days apart in flock age. And, if I raise the chickens together in the same coop, will that affect the Orps in any way, like egg laying aggression etc. The boonie chicks tend to be calm, but they are not egg layers is my understanding. Any advice would be great.

Thank you.

 

[LRH97]

I've mixed different ages in one brooder before with no problems. I go to the local Rural King and pick up half a dozen chicks, and them go back a week later when they've got new breeds in and pick up half a dozen more. I would try to keep the ages as close together though. A week is good, maybe two tops. I have about 10 Orps of different colors with my big flock (56 is where we are now, I believe) of about 12 different breeds, and they fare well. They say Orpingtons tend to be bullied, but I am a firm believer that that mainly has to do with the individual bird more than anything. I've had some pretty bossy Orps, actually.