2 hens and want to add a chick

[serrabou]

Hi - I have 2 hens and a third just died. I want a replacement chick but understand that may be hard on a single chick? Will I have to add two chicks to the two hens do you think? I’m a bit concerned about the size of my coop - I have an omlet cube with a 10 foot run. Three was the ideal number! :-(

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hi - I have 2 hens and a third just died. I want a replacement chick but understand that may be hard on a single chick? Will I have to add two chicks to the two hens do you think? I’m a bit concerned about the size of my coop - I have an omlet cube with a 10 foot run. Three was the ideal number! :-(

Are they broody?

More then one chick is recommended.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hi - I have 2 hens and a third just died. I want a replacement chick but understand that may be hard on a single chick? Will I have to add two chicks to the two hens do you think? I’m a bit concerned about the size of my coop - I have an omlet cube with a 10 foot run. Three was the ideal number! :-(

How big is the coop?

 

[rosemarythyme]

You might have a hard time integrating chicks in (regardless of 1 or 2), if space is an issue. 10' long run, but how wide is it? How many sq ft of floor space not including nests are inside the coop?

 

[Lizzy733]

One chick will be very hard to raise. They are social animals and even in the brooder, need companionship to thrive. You would be better off getting a point of lay so she is big enough to defend herself.

Cramped spaces are never good for integration. If they are competing for space, they will not take well to newcomers.

If any if your girls go broody, you can try giving her a fake egg and let her sit it for 3-4 weeks (so she's hormonally in the right place to shift gears from setting to mothering), then try to swap the egg with a day old and see if she accepts it, otherwise, I'd go for an older bird in a setup outside your omlet run and then try mingling them during free range after a few days and see how they react so you know where to take it from there.

 

[-Flash-]

Yeah. You'll need more then the one.

 

[Mrs. K]

Chicks take much less room that full size birds, you could add 3-4 chicks, get them up and going and accepted into the flock, and then sell 3 point of lay birds. Then if a chick dies, you would not be short, they would be raised up in a group.

 

[Jajika]

Hi - I have 2 hens and a third just died. I want a replacement chick but understand that may be hard on a single chick? Will I have to add two chicks to the two hens do you think? I’m a bit concerned about the size of my coop - I have an omlet cube with a 10 foot run. Three was the ideal number! :-(

Always add in pairs. Otherwise, the newbie will be odd hen out by herself and that really isn't nice. Ask any vet and they will confirm that you should always add two at a time.