The flock. Mixed or all the same?

[Crazy for Chickens!]

I've always had a mixed flock, and it works great!

 

[Fishkeeper]

If breeding is a concern, but you only want to breed one type of chicken, the solution is relatively simple. Get a rooster of that breed, have only roosters of that breed, and make sure that all other breeds involved lay different eggs. For example, if you want to breed Cuckoo Marans, get a Marans rooster, keep a few Marans hens in your flock, and make sure all your other breeds lay blue, light tan, or white eggs. That way, the hens will all only have mated with a Marans rooster, and you'll be able to tell the eggs laid by Marans hens apart.

 

[DobieLover]

About as mixed as it gets. There is a Delaware and a RIR visible in the coop.
Here they are the day they arrived.

I've added 2 more breeds as pullets and will be adding 7 more breeds in the spring. I have not found that we have excessive aggression or bullying.
They all get along well.
I will eventually hatch barnyard mixes as I do not have show quality birds. I just want healthy animals that are decent layers.

 

[path.otto]

My first flock was composed of 3 BR and 2 SLW. Then I had the opportunity to get 4 more chickens just a few weeks older than my first group, a BO, New Hampshire Red, another BR and a rooster. The rooster was rehomed. This past summer I added my neighbors 5-year-old Americauna. She took over a year to incorporate into the flock.
It sometimes feels like I have 5-6 flocks. The SLWs hang out, the BRs hang out (birds of a feather...) then the 2nd flock of three hang out. The original flock sticks together sometimes. The BO and the Americauna stick together some days and occasionally the NH joins them. The Americauna is often times on the fringe of them all. It's fascinating just to watch the interaction!

 

[NewBoots]

Depending on how many birds you are looking to get you should get a few white egg layers, some brown egg layers, and some Easter Eggers for blue and green eggs. You’ll have a nice colorful flock and egg basket.

Added benefit we would even be able (I hope) to tell who is laying and who is skating by on their good looks!

 

[MinniesMomma]

Well, in all those flocks of mixed chickens, has anyone ever had a chicken like Hei-Hei? That's the (ahem) intellectually-challenged chicken in Moana?

https://www.thatmomentin.com/heihei-moana-chicken/

I actually had a tiny little oegb named Heihei, until it was eaten by my dog

 

[Fishkeeper]

Hei-Hei is one of the game chickens brought to different places by the Polynesians. I think they're just kind of a game-type mix, not a specific breed. Hawaii has something pretty close running all over the place, though those have some blood from later introductions. Probably if you wanted to find the closest thing, you'd need to look in Polynesia!

 

[JerryR708]

My first flock consists of 3 hens. A Rhode Island Red, Black Sex Link and an Easter Egger. They have been with me for nearly 3 years and they all get along with invisible pecking order.
They had babies and I keep them separate from the mothers in a separate coop and run.
This second flock consists of 5 hens. 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Easter Eggers and one Black Sex Link. They have been with me for nearly 2 years and they have a visible pecking order. The 2 Rhode Island Reds compete for top of the pecking order. Next runner ups are the Black Sex Link and the darker Easter Egger and finally at the bottom of the pecking order is the lighter Easter Egger that I call Ginger. She is like the only red head in school that seems to always get picked on. The odd thing about it, is her almost identical twin sister is the one who physically picks on her the most. The RIR's and BSL just warn with a growl.
When I let both groups out to free range, both flocks roam separately. If treats are given, the 3 older hens group together in a circle to ward off the other flock like a well orchestrated team almost taking turns to share the treats with each other like 3 Musketeers.
The older hens were well established before the new girls came along and they just never integrated into the flock as a whole that I had hoped for.
I do enjoy the variety of hens and different colored eggs. They give me blue, green, light brown, medium brown and pink eggs.

 

[JerryR708]

If chickens are raised together all of a type, they're going to pick on the strange-looking bird that appears in their midst. I know a man who sold a Hereford calf to an Angus Farm. Shortly thereafter, the Hereford calf was trampled to death by the Angus.

On the other hand, if you raise a bunch of different-looking chickens at the same time, they'll be used to chickens of different appearances, and they'll accept each other. Some breeds'll still be more docile and at the bottom of the pecking order, but they won't be targeted for looking different. I have quite the mixed flock myself.

I have an EE at the bottom of the pecking order. When she started molting, she was getting physically picked on to where she was scared and stayed in the coop to hide. I had to get up extra early and let her out first to free range and eat to put weight back on until she grew her feathers out. Now she is fat from special treatment from not having to compete with the others for food and getting along normal now. What happened was, other birds thought she looked small, sick and different than the others without most of her feathers. Animals don't want weak or sick animals amongst themselves and will try and kill or run them off.
Now she looks fat and healthy and accepted by the flock again..at the bottom of the pecking order.

 

[cmom]

I personally like a mixed flock - makes it easier to ID individual birds, keep track of their egg laying, and can make for a more interesting egg basket. Mixing different sizes of birds can sometimes cause bullying issues, but you can get bullying issues even with all identical looking birds, so there's no guarantee of that not happening no matter what birds you go with.

I agree. I raise several pure breeds (heritage). I breed pure breeds to show at poultry shows so even though I have some different breeds, I don't mix them. I want my birds to be pure. For a backyard flock it really doesn't matter if the flock is mixed breeds (Orpingtons, RIR, Silkie, etc.) or not, especially if the primary goal is eggs for eating. There will be a pecking order regardless. You can still hatch some of the eggs if you have a male, but with a mixed flock you will never know what you may end up with. If you were to have a RIR or NHR male and breed it with Barred Rock females you will get Black Sex-Links. There are various different breeds of females such as a White Rock with a RIR or NHR male to get Red Sex-Links. Good luck and have fun...