Will these chickens get along?

[tuhraycee]

Ok, I have some easter egger bantams (2) and buff orpingtons (3) hens. I'd like to get a white silkie, 2 black cochins and at least one crested polish (all hens). Will they get along? How should I integrate them? We only have one coop - an 8'x8'. Will they get along or no?


Also - is $7 for silkies and cochins and $5 for polish high or good?

Thank you!!

 

[chicmom]

For an 8x8 coop, I would probably only add 2 more hens at best. For large fowl, they need 4 sq feet per bird. The bantam sizes don't need quite as much. If they are too crowded, they can develop bad habits like agressive behavior and feather pulling.

 

[BerrytangleFarm]

I had Seramas and Silkies raised together. Added bantam Cochin and Americauna chicks en masse to the coop. They all eventually got along fine together, but when I tried to add other breeds things didn't go well.

 

[tuhraycee]

Quote:
I thought our coop looked kind of small but wasn't sure. I'd definitely classify our buff orpingtons as larger fowl - surprises me how big they are!

 

[tuhraycee]

Wouldn't more than just two more be ok though, if the bigger ones need 4 square feet and I have 64 square feet?

I'm thinking 2 square feet each for the bantams, then 4 square feet for the rest (not sure how big cochins, silkies and polish get but 4 would be safe). With 2 bantams, 3 orps, a silkie, polish and cochin that comes to 28 square feet right? Or am I doing the math wrong? I just wanna be sure!

Eta: We don't have a run - they roam free during the day.

 

[ECBW]

The number that you are going for is 9 birds? 8x8 is plenty of room.

What would be difficult as you might have seen from threads on this site, is integration. Study well and be ready for pecking order fights.