New to the forum with a few questions.

[jps37033]

I bought 32 chicks from rural king 7 weeks ago. I bought 12 Black Austrolrp, 12 Buffs, and 8 bantams. I raised them in my shed in a huge tub. I lost one buff about two weeks in. The rest are very active. I had an engineer buddy build a coop/run for me. I think he did an overbuild, but better than underbuild. Coop and run are 12ftx24ft. Coop will be fully enclosed before winter with a "chicken" door to go from run to coop. Thought i'd leave it open for summer.

My questions are these:

Is the coop/run enough room for 31 chickens as they will free range every day on my 20 acres.
We made 16 boxes, is that enough?
They are 7 weeks old. When do i start letting them free range?
Will the buffs and blackies beat up the bantams? (i thought about selling them and replacing with large breed)
I ended up with one buff rooster and one bantam rooster, is that a good ratio and will buff rooster hurt the bantams?

I appreciate all the help I can get. Please excuse my son acting goofy doing some wierd dance.

 

[chemicalgoat]

I think it's enough room for that many because they will be out everyday when the weather is nice.
That's enough boxes i would say because they aren't all going to be using them at the same time and they probably won't start laying until they are like a year old anyway.
I have had all of those kinds of chickens together at the same time and they were fine, especially since they grew up together. They will establish pecking order but nothing extremely bad. and actually bantams are more aggressive than most larger breeds anyway.

 

[Angiebubs]

I bought 32 chicks from rural king 7 weeks ago. I bought 12 Black Austrolrp, 12 Buffs, and 8 bantams. I raised them in my shed in a huge tub. I lost one buff about two weeks in. The rest are very active. I had an engineer buddy build a coop/run for me. I think he did an overbuild, but better than underbuild. Coop and run are 12ftx24ft. Coop will be fully enclosed before winter with a "chicken" door to go from run to coop. Thought i'd leave it open for summer.

My questions are these:

Is the coop/run enough room for 31 chickens as they will free range every day on my 20 acres. How much space do you have in the coop itself? Best to have 4 sq ft inside and 10 sq ft outside per bird.
We made 16 boxes, is that enough? Rule of thumb is 4 hens per box so it sounds like you have plenty!
They are 7 weeks old. When do i start letting them free range? I would wait until they are full size-3-4 months old
Will the buffs and blackies beat up the bantams? (i thought about selling them and replacing with large breed) I have a mixed flock of bantys and LF-as long as there are ways for the little guys to hide or get away if needed they should be fine.
I ended up with one buff rooster and one bantam rooster, is that a good ratio and will buff rooster hurt the bantams? I would be a little concerned about the banty roo with the LF roo. The roos tend to fight anyhow-so would be at a disadvantage.

I appreciate all the help I can get. Please excuse my son acting goofy doing some wierd dance.cute pics

 

[jps37033]

Thanks for the help so far. Next question is introducing new chicks to the current flock. I am extending the run by 12ft wide and 36ft long. I am adding 15 hens. They will be day ols chicks. If I keep the chicks in a dog crate inside the pen where they are safe but can interact will they be fine being 6 weeks younger?

 

[chemicalgoat]

I've done it and i never had any problems. Usually when you get chicks that are relatively young you can introduce new ones for a while. At least that's how it has been with me .