Which size of hen to buy?

Hi

I'm new to this site.
I'm currently looking to buy hens after Christmas in March 2012.
I set my eye on Buff Orpingtons large fowl today and they were beautiful, but how big do they get?
I know bantams usually have smaller eggs but I've heard that they are starting to breed 'miniatures'? Which are apparently bigger than bantam size.
Is it possible to mix bantams, miniatures and large fowl together?

I think it's more about temperament than just size.  I understand Orpingtons are very docile and prone to being bullied, and some bantam breeds can be quite feisty - so the biggies might get bullied by the littlies!

You could try some light breeds which are small, proper size chickens but bigger than bantams and lay good size, although not massive, eggs.

I have a mixture of light breeds (black leghorn and cream legbars) and big hybrids (copper blacks) and they all get on OK. The hybrids are the most docile and friendly, can easily be picked up etc and are low down on the pecking order. It's one of the legbars, about half the size of the hybrids who's top chicken.

Both the leghorns and legbars are good layers of blue and white eggs respectively. They do have a tendency to flappiness though and can be a bit slippery if you need to get hold of one to carry out a bit of chicken maintenance.