Would a cochin pick on chicks?

[Studio2770]

We're entertaining the idea of getting more chickens, preferably chicks because we don't have a large enough pen to quarantine older ones. Once the younger ones are old enough to integrate with the flock, would our cochin pick on them?

 

[Judy]

Any breed can pick on any other breed, or even attack and kill them. To be safe, it's usually recommended that the chicks should be adult size before you mix them, and they should all have lived next to each other with a fence in between for a while. Sometimes people mix flocks and there is little trouble, and sometimes it is disastrous. There is really no predicting what will happen. This thread and the article linked in it talk not just about quarantine for older birds, but about approaches for mising two groups:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/803815/integrating-two-groups/0_20

 

[Percheron chick]

Every chicken is going to be different but I've never had any problems just putting out my chicks with the big birds. I always have more chicks than adults to spread the love around and the chicks always have a place only they can fit into to get away in case they are being picked on. I have an insulated box that I can put food and water in for them, straw to snuggle down in at night (they are still sleeping on the floor at this point) and a 4" opening they can scoot through. They will retreat to the box at night until they are about 4 months.

 

[donrae]

All new or young bird will be picked on to some extent. Just like the new kid at school. It shouldn't be extensive and to the point of a lot of blood loss, though. Cochins have a good reputation for being docile and friendly, but I did have a cochin hen who was flat out determined to kill another hen's chicks. Go figure.

 

[Studio2770]

Alrighty. I should of asked if a cochin would pick on chicks as extensively as other breeds, such as our leghorns. Whether or not we get chicks, I won't let Gracie touch them.

 

[aart]

I think it has to more do with individual birds, flock dynamic, size and arrangement of facilities and method of integration than what particular breed is less likely to be aggressive to new flock members.

 

[Judy]

I think it has to more do with individual birds, flock dynamic, size and arrangement of facilities and method of integration than what particular breed is less likely to be aggressive to new flock members.

Probably true!