Still new to this........mix breeding chicks?

[Leisa1968]

I know this may sound like a dumb question but I have to ask..... If I end up with a Silkie Roo, will it be ok to put him in with other girls like, bantams, White crested black polish, Barred Rock, Easer eggers, RIRs?

 

[Ridgerunner]

What are you concerned about? There are many different ways that question could be taken.

If you mix them, then hatch the eggs, you will have mixed breed chickens. You cannot show them since they won't meet any breed requirements, but it purely depends on what your goals for the chickens are as to whether mixed breed chickens are a problem or not.

 

[Leisa1968]

I do not plan to show chickens. Just didn't know if this was common practice. I do however plan to raise baby silkies so I will be keeping the Silkie girls seperate from the other girls. Already have a coop specific for the Silkies. Just didn't know if I end up with more than one Roo (Silkie) where to put other roos. I have read that you need to seperate Roos and have only one to a hen house. Is this true for silkies also? Still learning...........

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you can tell the eggs apart, why do you need to keep the Silkie pullets separate from the others? With only Silkie roosters you will still get pure Silkies from them. You may have a very good reason for separating them, I don't know, but there is no reason to make life more complicated than you have to. Keeping them separate may be how you make your life less complicated.

Mixing different breeds and colors is a very common practice. You can get some really interesting attractive chickens that way. It really just depends on your individual goals. Yours will be different than mine.

Don't put any faith in the different breeds acting that differently from other breeds whether they are Silkies or something else. Roosters are roosters and will act like roosters.

Many of us have no real problems having multiple roosters with a flock. People have been having flocks with multiple roosters for thousands of years. I do recommend people keep as few roosters as they can and still meet their goals because the more roosters you have the more likely you are to have problems, but I'll repeat; many of us have no real problems having multiple roosters with a flock.

Some things I think it is important for you to know. First, the more room you have the less likely this is to cause a problem. Any flock, even those with all hens or just one rooster, can have social problems if they are shoehorned into a small space. There is no magic number about how much space is required. That depends on a lot of factors. But with multiple roosters in a flock, the space requirements are magnified. Give them as much space as you possibly can. From your post, it sounds like space may be a problem.

Another thing to consider. During adolescence, the roosters are more likely to be active with the pullets. You are more likely to have over-mating problems then. The pullets' maturity and personality enter into it also. Plus all the chickens, male and female, are sorting out the pecking order during adolescence. They'll mature at different rates so those squabbles can keep coming up as the different ones reach maturity. They’ve been working on pecking order since they were babies in the brooder. A lot of times you don’t see any of this going on. They settle it pretty peacefully. But usually you will see some squabbles. Usually these are not a big deal. They will sort them out better without human interference. But if you see blood drawn, you probably should interfere and isolate the injured.

Something else you might see is dominance fights between the roosters. I say might because sometimes this is settled without you seeing anything. Sometimes it gets serious. Same rules apply. Don’t interfere unless you see blood.

Some people get really upset when they see any of this pecking or fighting. Don’t. This is the way chickens have been establishing how the flock social order is set up for thousands of years. Sometimes bad things happen, but usually it doesn’t. It just looks bad to some humans.
I’ll mention again. The more space you provide the less likely you are to see these problems and the less likely they are to be severe if they do occur. I’m not going to give you any magic numbers because I can’t. What you need is dependent on your specific flock and management practices. Just provide as much space as you can and have a plan ready in case you need it.

You may notice I did not talk about any specific breed. That really doesn’t matter.

 

[Leisa1968]

Thank you so much for your help!

I have two very large coop/runs so space isn't a problem. I planned on keeping them separate because the girls i have now are very territorial and I'm afraid they will pick on the new babies. Also, we like to eat the eggs from our old girls now and I don't know how I feel about eating fertilized eggs

. Anyway.....good to know if I end up with more than one Roo or any roos at all i may be able to put them together. Still don't know if I have any. They are only 2 weeks old. Thank you again!