Which species of fowl are most compatible?

[QuoVadis]

I am kind of planning my poultry shed out because it is fun, and it gives me something to do until we have our country house we will hopefully be buying in a couple years. I'm in the city right now and currently have chickens, pigeons and quail, and I have had all the birds on this list before, except the peafowl and pheasants, but I haven't had them all at the same time. So I and trying to figure out what species of birds would be most compatible, because I don't want to build separate pens for each of the birds on this list.

These are the pens I was thinking of so far:

Pen 1: Fancy Pigeons and Cortunix quail
Pen 2: Homer/Roller Pigeons and some kind of ornamental pheasant like Silvers/Goldens/etc. (could Silvers and Goldens be kept together?)


The other birds that I don't know how best to pen up are:
Bantams chickens
LF chickens
Ducks (Calls up to Silver Appleyards)
Muscovys
Geese (2-4)
Turkeys (2-4)
Guineas (4-6)
Peafowl (2-4)


Which of these birds might do well together? I'd prefer to have only 2-3 pens for the rest of those birds, but they could be quite large if need be. I know all the relevant disease risks, like blackhead with Turkeys, but I don't think it is common here. I am hoping all the birds (minus the first two pens of pigeons and game birds) will be free range in the day, but they would also have secure, large runs as well for when they can't, or if for some reason free ranging doesn't work out.

I will have a few breeding pens for springtime to get purebred chicks.

So what species would you match up for living arrangements? Obviously even if two birds are likely to get along, I will be keeping in mind of course that with living creatures there are always exceptions and flexibility is important.

 

[GitaBooks]

Sounds like an awesome project!


Getting along depends on the species, breed, individual, climate, space, ect. It also depends greatly on if they were raised together. Here are some possible combinations:

Turkeys, chickens and bantams
Geese and cuks
Guineas and turkeys
Guineas, chickens and turkeys
Ducks, chickens, and bantams
Muscovies, turkeys and geese
Peafowl, turkeys and guineas
Peafowl, chickens, turkeys and guineas


There are other possible combinations, however, Muscovies can be aggressive towards birds smaller than themselves and sometimes attack smaller ducks. Guineas sometimes attack chicken roosters, so it is best to keep larger breeds around them instead of bantams. You don't want too much of a size difference just because small birds may be bullied away from food and water. However, if free ranging, this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I think Silver Pheasants and Golden Pheasants can hybridize, so care much be taken with them.

I hope this helps! Best of luck!