Lynseynichol Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Hello We hatched four chicks and I'm fairly sure we have two hens and two cockerels, they're coming up to four wks old. We can't keep the cockerels but have a contact to get them homed. But I did ideally want 3hens as I've read two is a bad idea as if one dies n leaves the other lonely, it will be hard to introduce another. So I'm wondering when's best to introduce hen number 3 n what age should hen number 3 be. Would it cause havoc if I got a slightly older hen that already lays? Many thanks in advance for any advice!! xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynseynichol Posted July 23, 2013 Author Share Posted July 23, 2013 Just trying to bump this post in case there's someone who can give advice please x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 you've got 2 options get a couple of 4 week old chicks now but you run the risks of getting more boys unless you go with cream legbars or one of the other auto sexing breeds . or wait until your chicks are about 16-18 weeks old and get a couple of girls that are about the same age i.e. POL. If you get POL now you'll have to keep them in a separate coop until the chicks are POL as they need to be on growers until that age plus older birds will bully them you would be able to FR them at about 8-10 weeks old with the big girls that way they get to now each other plus there's room for them to get away from each other Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coco Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I hatched three belgian bantam chicks, two of which were cockerels, they were rehomed last week. the chicks are a bit older than yours about ten weeks, I have just got two sablepoots [pretty sure they are hens] to go with the one remaining female chick. Could you hang on to your boys until they are they are a bit older then you would have more chance of being able to sex whatever you decide to get. If you have room I would get two as even young birds can be quite bolshy although introductions are easier, one might have a hard time against your two even if they are still young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&T Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 We've had 2 chooks in the past, and they have been fine. When one did "go to the great coop in the sky", we got 2 new ones. Introducing 2 new hens to one established we have found to be a pretty quick and painless process (although please note this is not a guarantee!). Of course, you do need to get the new ones pretty quickly, so the single hen is not alone for very long - so far we have always replaced within a few days. We have 3 chooks at the moment, and will again wait till we are down to 1 before getting 2 more. It works for us and our space! Your other option could be wait till yours are POL and get 2 new ones that are guaranteed female - I wouldn't want to add one new POL to 2 established chooks - 2 v 1 might not be pretty to watch as they sort out pecking order... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynseynichol Posted July 24, 2013 Author Share Posted July 24, 2013 Thanks so much for your advice everyone! That's given me plenty to think on i wont get anymore just yet. feel better knowing that you've had 2 and been fine C&T. I'm not at all sure yet that we have 2 of each so ill just hang fire for awhile. Im fine to keep hold of all of them for now, And if I do end up with two then I will probably try what you have done C&T Thank you all again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
