Need help!

[Blondi27]

I will be getting chicks next spring. I was hoping you guys could help me out with a few questions. I will have a coop with a large enclosed run. I would like to have a mixture of bantams (Cochins & silkies) and standards ( barred rock, welsummers or black copper Marans & EE). I would like for my standards to be able to free range, but I want my bantams to be safe in their run because they are more prone to the predators. How can I let my standards free range with access to food and water without letting my bantams out? I don’t want to have separate coops/runs at the moment. Do the breeds I’m considering do will in confinement? Should I just start out with all bantams or all standards and go from there? Thanks!

 

[sylviethecochin]

I wouldn't confine Barred Rocks with bantams. Especially not Cochin Bantams. Old English girls will hold their own, but cochins are a bit... quiet and retiring. And Barred Rocks are very forceful. Silkies would probably do better. They're pretty docile, but they're rather bigger than cochins are, and that counts for something.

I can't speak for the other standard breeds you're contemplating (I've never owned Welsummers or Marans, and EEs are a bit hit-or-miss) but my favorite breed for confinement is the Australorp. Great chickens. A little loud when they lay an egg, but very calm, very docile birds that lay a lot of eggs and will keep at it.

I don't think there's any way you can't lock up half your flock while still giving the other half free range of the yard.