[Carshay]

First of all thanks for your help on ducks - they seem to be settling in well.
I have found someone to take my three boys which will leave me with only four chooks. I have room for about fifteen but want to build up gradually so I have a good age range.
What I need to know is would it be best to get two new ones now or should I get either four or six so that the bullying would be shared out a bit more?

[hardygeranium]

I have gone down all routes on the road to my 19 hens.  Sneaking in one hen actually worked okay, 2 and 4 hens at a time were pretty much the same.  I found that junior hen took offence at one or two of the newcomers and ignored the rest.  The upper echelon of the hen hierarchy merely took a sly peck at any head that was going past.