Those of you with a large amount of birds

[stone_family3]

Do you keep your breeds separate or mixed together?
Do the roos tend to stay with their own breed or will them mix it up?

I'm wanting to start something a bit more large scale in a few years (mainly eggs, some meat birds). When looking at pics of other medium scale chicken farms I've noticed they keep their breeds separate. Is there a reason for that?

 

[gritsar]

I don't consider myself to have a large number of birds per se, 31 with some chicks due soon.

My first flock is in the original coop. We added a second coop when I got new birds about a year ago, which meant no integration issues.

Started letting them free range together when the younger birds were a few weeks old. There was some minor pecking and chasing, still is, but no bloody battles. I've only had one roo that wasn't content with the females in his flock and tried to invade the other's territory.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Keeping them seperate is to allow for hatching eggs and pure breeds. Rooster will be roosters and won't stay with their breed.

 

[Tracydr]

I've noticed that many times the breeds do separate. My OEGBs stay together, my Egyptians stay together and my Buttercups seem to stay together. Not sure why, since they were raised together as little chicks.
If I want to raise purebreds, I divide out a trio, two hens and a rooster, into a separate pen. Give them a couple of weeks together and then start hatching the eggs.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

The breeds I use for selling purebred hatching eggs, I keep separate. Our eating eggs are from all purebred hens, but run in a mixed flock.

 

[al6517]

Yes most serious breeders keep their breeds seperated if you let them all co mingle your breeds will end up looking like Hatchery stock mutts.

 

[Kountreefok]

Quote:
2x
Right now we have +/- 79 chickens running/breeding together as a mixed flock. We have a good sized coop that is a two room. Breeding season aligns with the time of year the Girls (and guys) start spending more time outside--needing less coop space--so the interior door gets closed and one room becomes the brooder room.
We have another coop & run available that we've mostly used for birds on the go (for sale/culls).
We're in the very early planning stages of adding maybe four smaller breeding pens for some pure breds.

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
x2!

 

[Illia]

I breed my birds, purebred and for the standard, and all of mine live together in a mixed flock except the roosters. They live in a separate area.

 

[MandyH]

At one time we had close to 300 birds. They were all housed seperately because I sold hatching eggs. We rotated letting birds free range everyday. One breed one day, another breed the next, and so on. It was a pain in the butt but they all need to run and play.