Raising babies of different breeds together

Shogun99

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So as you can see by the bottom of my post, I mostly have a heavy breed of chick and they're all about 3 1/2 weeks old. Here's the question. I also have some bantam eggs arriving in the mail and they will be incubated beginning next week.

I plan to keep the bantams separated until they're old enough to defend themselves but will I have an issue since the bantams are traditionally smaller birds? I don't want the heavy black stars beating up too much on my Japanese Bantams...they don't know karate or jiujutsu (yet).

A little friendly advice would be most welcome.
 
Opinions vary and its a case by case situation, but I have a very mixed flock, with banty roos and very large roos together with different heavy and banty breed hens....no trouble here, in a blended flock. Plus, banty's dont do jujitsu or whatever, but they run hecka fast!
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I have 4 standards and 2 banty hens...

I have just seperated their living quarters--by fencing.
My standards can be clumsy and a bit flighty--and some we know have their own secret gang called-"The mean chick gang"....(LOL)

So-just to be safe we have divided the coop house, and the run as our cochin and silkie seems so small compared to the bigger girls.

They can still see each other--but are safely tucked away on the other side safe and sound!

Some house them all together, I just do not think it would be the safest thing in my situation--so you will have to consider your other standards personalities, as well as your others.

Hope all goes well either way --
 
What bantams lack in size they often make up in attitude. Once they've got some growth to them you should be able to house them all together with few problems. Often the bantams turn out to be the rulers of the flock.

If you're still worried about the banties you could make a place in the coop with openings small enough to keep the bigger birds out, and give the banties a place to run & hide if necessary.
 
I've got 9 breeds, 26 birds that I started in June. I noticed that when they were aroun 8-10 weeks old, the breeds sort of hung together, like cliques. But now, at 13-14 weeks, there are cliques but not by breed. Seems that they are organized more by gender now. So, my experience has been that mixing breeds is fine. Certainly more interesting than 26 of all the same type, easier to tell them apart too.
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