Mixing chickens

[RogueHomesteader]

I am wanting to keep different types of chickens in the same coop. Do Rhode Island Reds and Light Brahmas get along?

 

[pennyJo1960]

Most chickens can get along just fine the only problem if you get too many for your coop
I do want to wish a great big I am in Mossyrock Wa tell us a bit about yourself

 

[RogueHomesteader]

Will Brahmas pick on reds if they are larger? I have heard Brahmas do not get along well with other birds.

 

[andreanar]

Will Brahmas pick on reds if they are larger? I have heard Brahmas do not get along well with other birds.

Brahma are usually a pretty chill breed. Ive never had a brahma pick on any other bird, they are pretty docile breed. My experience with RIR, on the other hand hasn't been good, I find them to be bullies, and failrly nasty. Just my opinion.

 

[aart]

Brahma are usually a pretty chill breed. Ive never had a brahma pick on any other bird, they are pretty docile breed. My experience with RIR, on the other hand hasn't been good, I find them to be bullies, and failrly nasty. Just my opinion.

Ditto Dat^^^
Never had RIR personally, but sure had read enough stories about their aggressiveness.
Have had several Lt Brahmas, they were mellow...but could get kinda bossy and didn't take much crap from other birds.

With enough space and resources, just about any breeds can coexist in peace.....
...or not(haha!) much depends on the individual birds demeanor's more than just their breed.

 

[chickens really]

Brahma are very docile and gentle birds....RIR are aggressive...I had them once and will never again have them...Orpington are a good breed to mix with Brahma...

 

[Ridgerunner]

Don't be concerned about size. The personality of the individual bird is what counts, not size. It's not that unusual for a bantam to be the dominant chicken in a mixed flock of bantams and full-sized fowl.

If you read through the posts on this forum you'll find a lot where people have experienced RIR's to be aggressive birds, brutal to others. You'll also read stories where the RIR's were the victims of other brutal birds. If you read about Brahma's you'll find several posts where they are gentle laidback birds, being picked on by almost all other breeds. You'll also read stories where they are the brutes. You can read similar stories about Silkies, Barred Rock, Wyandottes, and any other breed.

Many people really believe it's all about breed, breed, breed. I don't find breed to be all that important, especially when you are dealing with just a few individuals. There are different reasons for that. First, you have to have enough birds of that breed for any breed tendencies to mean anything. Very few of us have that many birds of any individual breed. In small numbers, individual personality trumps breed tendencies.

But more importantly I find the strain of the breed to be more important. Tendencies toward certain personalities can be inherited. If the person selecting which birds get to breed uses behaviors as one of the traits they select for, they can develop an aggressive strain of any breed or a gentle laidback strain. Hatcheries and many breeders do not select for behaviors. You can get a wide spectrum of behaviors from these chickens of any breed, sometimes quite aggressive behaviors but also sometimes very laidback behaviors.

One gentleman that used to be active on this forum raised RIR's for show and selected for behaviors as well as show traits. His RIR's were never human aggressive and were not that brutal to other birds. But people that breed for personality as well as other qualities are pretty rare.

I don't know why you selected those two breeds, but if that is what you want I'd go for it. To reduce the chance of them being aggressive toward each other (other than normal pecking order and flock dominance stuff which is normal with any breed) I suggest you provide them with a lot more room that the minimum you think they need. Crowded birds become aggressive birds.

If you are planning on getting them as chicks get them the same age and raise them together. Relative levels of maturity can make a big difference in behaviors toward each other before they all reach maturity. Expect some pretty rough behavior as they go through puberty, chicken adolescence is often not for the faint of heart, especially if you have cockerels in the mix. With sufficient space a flock of all females is usually not bad at all.

If you integrate birds from different flocks read up on integration and ask questions, whether they are the same age or have different levels of maturity. Integration can go extremely smoothly or birds can end up dead. Usually there is a little drama but not much. There are several tricks we can tell you about that greatly improve your odds of a successful integration.