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hippiechickX4 said:
How/when can I put my 11 week old chickens with the existing the flock? The existing flock are about 22 weeks old. Do I need to do something special so they aren't picked on? The 11 week olds have been in the garage and we want to get them accustomed to being outside to get them ready for winter. We were going to build a very small coop for them, but don't know if that would really be the answer.
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Hippy:

I used to make a playpen out of hardware cloth and let the youngin's out while the big girls free ranged...moving one chick is harder than moving a handful....at a certain point, for me its when the youngin's can't squeeze through 2x4 welded wire....they get moved at night....I always will be there in the morning in case things don't go well....there is always some hazing, just need to watch for a day or two...its been my experience the lower ranking girls will be the 'trouble' makers...my two cents....
 
Millworker26 said:
I got 3 Welbars from dheltzel, plus one Cream Legbar got mixed into the mix accidentally. I love these Welbars, they are lovely birds. The Cream Legbar, Black Pearl, is the leader of the pack, always first to everything. Great hens, hope you enjoy yours.

Curious about the turkeys. Can they just be intermingled with a flock of chickens? Or do they need different housing arrangements?
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I'm glad you like them. They are both great breeds. I like them so much I went a little crazy hatching them and now have too many to keep through the winter. Anyone local to me (SE PA) that would like a great deal on some?

Turkeys and chickens generally get along ok, but the size difference can cause problems, just like mixing bantams and large fowl. Sometimes it works, sometimes it ends badly for the smaller bird. I have had toms kill a roo, I suspect the roo started it and the toms just finished it (3 toms and 1 young roo was not a fair fight). I keep extra roos with my turkey flock and they have learned to be respectful and keep out of the way of the toms. It works for me to keep the bachelors there, but there is always a risk, so I'm not sure I can recommend it to everyone. My other alternative with roos I can't keep in breeding pens is to let them free range on the farm and take their chances with predators. I lose a lot that way, so keeping them with the turkeys is a great kindness. ,Even though both options seem cruel (the 3rd option, killing them to eat, seems even less appealing if you are the roo in question).
 
These two have basically become inseparable already. They spend the entire day cuddled up together, talking to each other or following each other around. This morning, Cocoa and Mira were sharing scrambled eggs :)

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AnneInTheBurbs said:
Thank you again also! I will bookmark this so I can refer to it later. Did you have all of those dates in your head? Or did you look it up? That's amazing either way. It's certainly going to take a bit for me to tell some of them apart. I just realized, these are all new breeds for me, how exciting! We all owe you a credit Dennis, for bringing these rare breeds so close for so many of us here. :thumbsup
Thanks! We are excited. I'm glad to soon not have a "shanty" coop too. My last coop was sturdy but looked like Mr. Magoo constructed it. And the worst part is that it only held a few chickens! :lol: This time I am doing it right and just having an old shed brought in! :D
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It's hard to tell from the picture, but that poop doesn't look abnormal to me. If everyone is acting normal, it may just be a fluke too.
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I found one just like that in the nest box the other day.
 
dheltzel said:
I'm glad you like them. They are both great breeds. I like them so much I went a little crazy hatching them and now have too many to keep through the winter. Anyone local to me (SE PA) that would like a great deal on some?

Turkeys and chickens generally get along ok, but the size difference can cause problems, just like mixing bantams and large fowl. Sometimes it works, sometimes it ends badly for the smaller bird. I have had toms kill a roo, I suspect the roo started it and the toms just finished it (3 toms and 1 young roo was not a fair fight). I keep extra roos with my turkey flock and they have learned to be respectful and keep out of the way of the toms. It works for me to keep the bachelors there, but there is always a risk, so I'm not sure I can recommend it to everyone. My other alternative with roos I can't keep in breeding pens is to let them free range on the farm and take their chances with predators. I lose a lot that way, so keeping them with the turkeys is a great kindness. ,Even though both options seem cruel (the 3rd option, killing them to eat, seems even less appealing if you are the roo in question).
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Yep, we still need a few!
 
Auroradream26 said:
These two have basically become inseparable already. They spend the entire day cuddled up together, talking to each other or following each other around. This morning, Cocoa and Mira were sharing scrambled eggs :)

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Awesome! It was a great idea for you to give them a friend. Your eggs look so good! It's funny, Coco and Mira are eating better quality eggs than I am right now, because I can't find any pastured eggs yet. Haha! Hopefully, my older pullets will start laying before winter.

dheltzel said:
Annjee said:
Yep, we still need a few!
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If you are anywhere near Pottstown, let me know, I have more turkeys and chickens. This time of year, prices are down and I give friends from here special discounts too. 
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Dennis, the turkeys are very interesting, I'm enjoying watching them. Should I make a next box for the hens? How large should it be? I am hoping when I let them out tomorrow to free range that they will remember where they are supposed to be sleeping. They snuck out yesterday while I was further predator proofing the inside. I had to chase them down and grab them by the legs. My husband was quite amused.... :lol:

Here are the chickys I got from @dheltzel & @stake. There are 14. Stake's a are few weeks older, but I put them together the first night at bedtime, and everyone has gotten along peachy. Stake, I do think you slipped me a Roo by accident. If you don't want him back, he will probably end up being my first attempt at butchering in a few months. He is the dark one with some barring, towards the front. He definitely has a bigger, pinker comb, and some baby wattles showing. That's totally okay though, I have plenty of chickens.... For now.. ;). I am curious how the CCL x BCM mixes will look when they are adults. They are already beautiful now.

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I'm still quite new to having chickens. I had a few when we lived in town when I was young, but they started crowing so we had to get rid of them and never replaced them. As an adult my family now has 28 chickens. 22 hens, 5 pullets (hopefully) and 1 roo. We plan on adding a couple of different breeds in the spring. I appreciate so much the help and insight I have goten from everyone. I have learned so much about chickens from this site and reading about them. It's different reading about what you should do and what people that live in your area do. We are trying to prepare for winter right now. Is there a proper way to do that for central PA. My husband read that you shouldn't insulate, heat or use a heat lamp for chickens in the winter, that they should pretty much fend for themselves and build up a tolerance to the cold. That's fine, but I don't want my chickens to freeze to death. What do some of you do to prepare for the winter?
 
keep them out of wind and minimize any drafts if possible.
keep them dry
give cracked corn
make sure they have fresh water available
wide roost, exposed toes can get frostbite
 

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