Question on mixing breeds.

[dltc96]

We have been reading that singletons seem to get picked on, and we have seen this in our flock. We currently have one EE and five Australorps. We originally had two EE's, but lost one of them to a very brazen fox (Arrgh!

). The EE's were supposed to be our children's pet chickens and the Australorps were to be our laying/culling flock. Originally the one EE was the lead pullet, but after the fox assassinated our other EE she has been picked on as the odd ball.

We are planning to cull four of the Australorps this fall, after our new batch gets into the egg laying groove, which would leave one leftover (my son adopted that one as his after the fox). That would leave us two singletons. We are trying to figure out what to get when we place our order here in the next couple of weeks. We were wondering if we should get one more EE and one more Australorp to avoid having any singletons. If they are raised at different times will they still group up with the similar breed, will they pal up with their brooding mates, or will we end up with a total of four singletons? I'm just not sure how all of this is going to work out.

Thanks for any help you can give. We're still pretty new at this.

 

[donrae]

I have a mixed flock and my birds don't know they're different breeds

I'm thinking after you cull your Aussies, your ee and Aussie will make a flock of two. They're very social creatures! I've noticed more hanging with the brood mates, I think it's also an age thing--all the young uns stick together. If you're going to add more chickens, I'd get whatever breed you want! I have BO, BR, ee, brown leghorns, BSL, and reds and am ordering some GLW to add this spring.

 

[dltc96]

Thanks for the response. That will certainly help us decide how to proceed from here. Now we just need to decide what to get.

 

[DenverBird]

I have a very mixed flock and I think more of its got to do with the breed temperament than different breeds, what age/size they're introduced to each other, and just how long they've had to get used to each other.

I've heard Rhode Island Reds are high strung and aggressive. I culled the ones I got as my first birds after trying to introduce some young pullets to them and things getting really ugly in the run. My flock now are all from the same place, are the same age and are very harmonious.

-DB

 

[plantmgr]

I've never had trouble with chickens of the same age that I raised together, whether they were different breeds or colors. It's just when I try to introduce new chickens to an existing flock that it gets tricky. You might try putting the new ones or the old ones in a cage inside the run for a while so they get used to each other before putting them together. I really hate the pecking order thing. It's hard to deal with some times.

 

[chickened]

Leghorns get along with everybody.

 

[saladin]

Quote:
Just a question: Why do you 'really hate the pecking order thing?' Whether it is chickens or kids, it is all very natural. I'm just curious.

 

[saladin]

Quote:
Meanest dang chicken I ever had the opprotunity to meet was a Leghorn rooster. They are not to be trusted: the breed produces way to many man-fighters for me.

 

[chickened]

Yes the roosters are feisty but that is a good trait for constitutional vigor and survival. I was referring more to the hens they remind me of blondes.
Quote:
Meanest dang chicken I ever had the opportunity to meet was a Leghorn rooster. They are not to be trusted: the breed produces way to many man-fighters for me.

 

[Pinky]

Quote:
Meanest dang chicken I ever had the opprotunity to meet was a Leghorn rooster. They are not to be trusted: the breed produces way to many man-fighters for me.

Not all of them are mean

If the birds are raised together they should get along fine. I have three mixed flocks and some didn't grow up together but they still get along. The pecking order keeps them in place and new birds usually have to work their way up. I think some breeds get along with other better than some.