Down to 2 chickens: Your thoughts?

[biretta]

Hi, a few of you have read or contributed suggestions to my recent post about having had to rehome my chickens because of their loud squawking and an intolerant s.o. The chickens were protesting because I had to cut down on their time out of the pen. We live in a neighborhood and he was concerned about the neighbors complaining. I ended up keeping 2 of the 5; both are EEs which never picked up on the squawking the others did. I'm not sure if they are just characteristicly quieter birds. Now this may just be projection of my own feelings about losing the 3, but do you think the 2 remaining will be lonely since they are used to a larger flock? More objectively, I'm concerned about their well being during the winter. The winters here aren't that harsh, but there may be a few days of 0-20 F. Now there'll be only 2 to generate body heat. Any thoughts? I'm thinking I need at least 3 or 4 chickens to maintain a happy flock, but it's his place and his call until we move to acreage in a year or two. I told him I'm going to get a least 50 then to make up for lost time!

 

[SpottedCrow]

I've only had two for the longest while...If you're afraid that they won't stay warm, you can 1) use a heater or 2) use a large box or a dog crate, line it with blankets, and put them inside when it's really cold.
We've been getting below Zero winters since I've had the chickens and I stuff them into the box and cover them up and they're okay.
You have to break the ice in the water and I give wildbird suet and cracked corn to keep their body heat up.

 

[biretta]

Thanks. I'll probably go the heater route if it comes to that.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i think two will be very happy together. Before i hatched all my silkie kids, i reduced my flock and got rid of the obnoxious ones, leaving just one Ameraucana. We then got her a little friend. They are inseperable. We now have the silkies out in the coop but separated from them, as they are still pretty small. My Ameraucanas have no interest in the little ones, and i'm sure would be happy if they were the only ones. By the way, they are very quiet unless there is danger afoot, such as a cat sneaking through the backyard.

Very glad to hear you held onto those two. i was feeling very bad for you when i read your other post about having to give them up.

Colleen

 

[newchickowner]

that's a good question, is there something special that I need to feed the chickens during the winter? and is a submerged water warmer safe to use for the chickens?

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Two chickens can do quite well with one another. They'll be each other's buddy and keep each other company.

There are two potential downsides to having only two chickens, both of which can be solved if you've already thought this through beforehand. If you choose to go with the heater and there is a loss of power, they will be acclimated to a warmer environment and may suffer more than chickens who have slowly acclimated to cooler temperatures. Have a good backup plan in case that happens. The other potential downside is what to do if one of them dies. One chicken in a flock can be very pitiful. Do you have anyone nearby who could provide you with an instant near-age buddy for the remaining chicken?

So, yes, it is doable as long as you're prepared for the potential problems. How are they adapting so far?

 

[biretta]

Quote:
Hi Colleen. Thanks for your sympathy. I am still feeling a little down about losing most of my chickens, but at least they're somewhere they can free range most of the day. Well that's good to know that 2 can be adequate. I'm very curious what you meant by "...the obnoxious ones." Do you mean aggressive or just irritatingly loud like mine were?

 

[biretta]

Quote:
Backyard, I had read about that before, the downside of getting them accustomed to warmer temperatures. So maybe I'll try getting by without a heat source and see how it goes. And I did consider what I'd do if one died, although I don't exactly know where I'd get another chicken. Maybe I could get one from one of the 2 chicken people I gave mine to. Hopefully they'd cooperate in a pinch, as I'd never want to keep a single bird.

 

[tiffanyh]

I had only two for about a year adn they were very happy. I would worry to much about it. I am in CT and it gets cold..... I just stuffed the coop (large dog house) with lots of hay for insulation and my two did great.