Warm boot recommendations please

[Dancing Gal]

When we get our chooks I would like to get a mixture of birds, from the same breeder at the same time so that they already know each other. Are there any types of chooks that should not be put together? Or can you pretty much mix and match as you like?

 

 

Also, as well as choosing our birds from the various breeds and hybrids, I would really like to home a battery bird or 2 as well. Is it best to bring all the birds home at once together or should I let the young birds settle in first and then introduce the battery birds. Or would it be best to home them all at the same time and let them all settle in together. I ‘d really like to make the establishment of the pecking order as easy as possible, especially since the battery girls will have had a pretty miserable time of it so far.

[James H]

thatss interesting and i would liek to know the answer to that

[BeckyBoo]

I don't know about not mixing any breeds but I do think you should put them all in together at the same time if you can. We got 5 of ours from the same breeder plus two from Omlet and put them all in at the same time. Altho they were from the same breeder the chooks didn't know each other as they were from seperate pens and we had very little trouble with pecking order. All ours are different, we have a Speckledy, a Calder Ranger a Gingernut (I wonder if they are the same actually!) a Blackrock a Mrs Pepperpot (again I think they are the same really) an exchequer Leghorn and a Maran. I want more but I think introducing any more would really upset things so want to wait (have put an Eglu on my Christmas list and want some ex-batts! )

 

Mrs B

[Lovemychooks]

I would really like to home a battery bird or 2 as well. Is it best to bring all the birds home at once together or should I let the young birds settle in first and then introduce the battery birds. Or would it be best to home them all at the same time and let them all settle in together. I ‘d really like to make the establishment of the pecking order as easy as possible, especially since the battery girls will have had a pretty miserable time of it so far.

 

I would get them all together and then at least you will only have to go through the pecking order once. I've got 3 battery hens and I adore them, you won't go wrong if you get some of them How old are the young birds ??

[Lovemychooks]

want to wait (have put an Eglu on my Christmas list and want some ex-batts! )

 

Mrs B

 

Mrs. Bertie, getting battery hens will be the best thing you do, they are adorable . There doesn't seem to be a battery hen co-ordinator in Surrey any more so i'm going to have to get mine next ones from the Berkshire co-ordinator.

[Tweety]

Get them all at the same time if you can. It should make the whole pecking order business a bit easier and, if you can avoid the process of introducing new chooks to an established group , I would definitely do so! It's not much fun.

[arowland17]

I know when my mum got 5 chickens, she got them all from the same breeder and each different breed was in a different compartment so they didn't know each other previously - she said you can mix breeds, but should try to get similar size chickens, as she had hybrids that were large and the pure breeds were smaller and younger so she had to pick the smallest of the hybrids and largest of the pure breeds so there weren't any very much smaller ones that would be more likely to be bullied.