You can always add to the flock. You can easily combine chicks if they are a week apart in age and raise them all together. When you combine groups that are a few months apart, it can be work and stressful for the younger batch of birds. You will also be better off if the second batch is larger than the initial group. Don't add 2 chicks to the first group of 6. The 2 younger ones will have a tough time integrating. If you know right now that 6 chicks isn't going to cut it, bump the order and get them all at the same time. It is no more work or $$ to raise 12 chicks than it is to raise 6. It is twice the cost to raise 2 groups of 6 chicks. 2 brooder boxes, 2 heat lamps, 2 feeders, 2 waterers... Let's be real here. If you only order 6 chicks, you will probably only end up with 4 pullets. You will lose one before it gets out of the brooder and maybe one will be a cockerel. Now you have to add just to get up to a decent number. Just trying to speed things up.
