We do not recommend mixing your smaller breed bantam chickens with standard size breeds. Your chickens should be kept separate, for example, bantams should be with bantams, standard size breeds should be with standard size breeds, baby chicks should be with baby chicks and pullets should be with pullets. Even if an introduction between your bantam breeds and standard size breeds appears to go well at first, there could be a conflict later on and the bantam will not have a chance to defend themselves from a standard size breed. Bantams and smaller breed hens should never be kept with standard size roosters ever. If the rooster mounts them he can actually break their bones and cause internal injuries. It is best to keep chickens of smaller sizes separate from larger birds.
How to Introduce Bantam Chickens to Standard Size Breeds
Silkie, Bantam, & Frizzle hens at CHOE.
If you have no other choice but to keep your bantams with your standard size chickens or have to keep them together until you get another coop and run set up here are a few tips that can help. The first step to introducing a new bird to your flock is to put them in a cage or pen where the other chickens can see them and interact with them through the protection of the cage.
Introducing Bantam roosters to standard size chickens
Introducing Bantam roosters to standard size chickens
- Never put two rooster's together as they will fight and oftentimes they will fight to the death.
- There are some breeds of Bantams where the rooster's get along and do not fight, however, if a larger breed chicken gets ahold of a Bantam chicken (No matter whether male or female the larger breed chicken could and might actually kill your bantam chicken.
- If you already have a standard size rooster and hens you should keep your bantam rooster in a separate pen and coop with his bantam hens so the bantam rooster does not end up in a fatal battle with the standard size rooster
- You should not try to introduce a second rooster to a flock of hens unless you have at least 6-12 hens per rooster. The new rooster should come with his own hens because if he tries to get with the existing roosters hens there will be a fight that could end in death.
- Some Bantam roosters are smart enough to take their hens into a different area but others will confront roosters ten times their size with no sense of fear.
- Do not leave them unsupervised until the older hens accept them and the pecking order has been established.
- Keep bantams in a separate, open pen near the standard hens is the best way to keep them safe. After a week or two you can integrate the two pens if need be.
- If you do not have separate pens, it is suggested that you remove the bantams from the flock when not supervised and take them to an open cage where the older hens can see them so they will get used to them gradually.
- Try not to get impatient as the bird's can sense your frustration.
- Alway's remember to make introductions slow and easy
