ethansmum Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 We are newish to chicken keeping, and after intially getting 3 'growers at 10 weeks' we decided we wanted to get more but younger hens to tame. Anyway we decided on pekins, found a breeder (some distance away) and paid her a visit. The chicks she had were too young, so we paid a deposit for 3 hens. Anyway the time to collect them came, she bundled them into a box, I was so excited that I didn't look too closely at them- big mistake! When we got home my 10 year old says, I think 2 are cockerels. No way was my reply, the breeder is sure that they aren't. To cut a long story short 3 days later 2 did start crowing- at 6 weeks! The breeder wouldn't refund/replace despite saying she would replace them if she was wrong. So I found another breeder, also miles away. Again I get 2 chicks to accompany the single hen that I have left. Now after 2 weeks I'm pretty sure that these are boys too So 4 boys in 5 chicks. The kids are heart broken, I'm out of pocket and very disallusioned So now I want to move away from pekins- we have have too much heartbreak from them. Any suggestions as to what to get (this time from the original farm but at pol). Silkies, polish? any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gavclojak Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Good grief, how unlucky indeed! So you have many cockerels? What are you going to do? Keep them? X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethansmum Posted July 9, 2013 Author Share Posted July 9, 2013 Yip, we had 4 cockerels at one stage. We managed to rehome 2 and i'm hoping that the second breeder will keep to her word and take those 2 back. I could never keep 2 boys with only 4 girls. besides we wanted to tame the chicks so the kids could hold them but the boys have all been aggressive to the point where 2 would peck and attack me. Boy, am i feeling sorry for myself right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I'm not surprised you are feeling sorry for yourself - this must be a very frustrating situation! I hope you and your children get the flock of ladies you wanted very soon! I personally got some Orpingtons last week and they are really lovely and so friendly! There are a few hybrid breeds that are known to be friendly too (such as the Amber and Sussex). x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethansmum Posted July 10, 2013 Author Share Posted July 10, 2013 I really like the look of Orpingtons. Would it be okay to keep one with 4 bantams? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miller30 Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Hi Ethansmum im sorry to hear what trouble you are having with pekins they are lovely little birds and so funny to watch I breed milliefleurs,lavender smooth and frizzles,salmon and lemon cuckoos please don't let these couple of breeders put you off im sure the first person knew what she was giving you as she has refused to take them back or give you a refund I always offer this but I have never made a mistake in sexing as pekins are one of the easiest breeds to sex good luck finding some new birds leanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 I'm sorry you have had a rough deal with your pekin babies. I got Lucie and Queenie ( a pekin ) from a lovely breeder when they were small. The breeder was excellent and said if any were boys she would collect them personally - but we didn't need her to as they were girls. I love my pekins dearly, they are so cute and fluffy, if a little noisy. I hope you get the birds you want and that the next breeder is true to their word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
