do you get pecking order with two chickens?

[angelat]

hi

have heard from many people that you should get three chickens instead of two as there could be dominance with just two, bullying etc, where as three it doesnt happen??

i had advice from a man at a chicken farm and have heard it again since then. do you think there is truth in this. wanted only 2 chickens as wanted to give them more space. not sure what to do now.

replies appreciated

thanx

[milly2306]

hi
i have 2 chickens and have had no problems at all with any kind of bullying etc. they are very happy together and play their own version of "simon says" all the time, what one does the other does a few seconds later! if you only want 2 get 2 but get them at the same time
hope this helps
xxxmillyxxx

[Polly Fouracre]

I also have two, "Bright" and "Dim" and have no trouble at all with dominance issues. I don't know if that would change if I introduced a couple of pullets though.

[Kristen]

I like "Bright" and "Dim". We have three, which basically translates to "Bright", "Average" and "Dim".

[djhs196]

With two chickens you do still have a pecking order, with one of them at the top. But they'll get along just fine on a day to basis with a pecking order established.

If you can tho, i would recommend getting three girls if you can at the start. No matter how many chicken's you've got, introducing a new chicken IS stressful later on.

When one dies (slightly morbid I know, but it does happen) you won't need to go through the process as often.

With three, and one goes to the chicken coup in the sky, you still have two girls to keep each other company. When you drop to one, get two new girls in at the same time.

[Snadger]

With two chickens you do still have a pecking order, with one of them at the top. But they'll get along just fine on a day to basis with a pecking order established.

If you can tho, i would recommend getting three girls if you can at the start. No matter how many chicken's you've got, introducing a new chicken IS stressful later on.

When one dies (slightly morbid I know, but it does happen) you won't need to go through the process as often.

With three, and one goes to the chicken coup in the sky, you still have two girls to keep each other company. When you drop to one, get two new girls in at the same time.

I agree, makes sense!

[alanm]

hi, we have a total of 4 chickens, got the 3 ex-batts first then got a Speckeldy (pol).I have to agree that `Dim` is a very apt name for a hen, i think the ex-batts should have been called `Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest` the speckeldy is slightly smarter, when it rains she goes for cover the others just stand there looking into the sky (we dry them off with a hairdryer- low heat)...alan

[MaureenHall]

My ex-batts always seem to stand out in the rain too, until 1 of them decides to shelter then the rest follow. Yesterday I had 4 of them up at the lottie and put an umbrella in the enclosure as a form of shade and shelter from rain. They loved it and actually DID use it when it started raining. Other visitors to the site thought they were really clever and cute - they haven't met dim, dimmer, dumb, dumber and dimmest yet