[Anndee]

Hi everyone.
Firstly i want to thank everyone on here for all your help. It really appreciated.
I have found a nice new home for one of my Pekin boys and have kept George, the one I rescued.
Yesterday I brought home 3 new girls for him. a pekin and a wyandotte bantam from one place and a black Pekin pullet from another. did it all yesterday afternoon, even taking the two boys with me so one wouldn't be on his own  I know. softy!!
Anyway the black pekin is sooooo juch smaller than the other two and George, and I just daren't put her in with them as they were all having a pecking at her and she is small. I bought her being told she was 12 weeks old but we think, and the other lady we got the  Wyandotte and other Peking from, thought she only looks about 5 weeks. she is certainly smaller than George was at 6 weeks but I realise he is a male and probably they get a bit bigger quicker. I put her in a dog crate and put this in the run and last night I put her in the gargae in it with a nice snuggly box for her to sleep in, which she hasn't got out of till I got her off this morn!
Anyway my dilemma now is, Do I keep her seperate but in sight of the other or do I risk putting her in with them.
I can rig a pen up next to the other run so there is just the wire between them until she is bigger. is this a good idea? also do I keep in on a night or do I try putting her in the house with the others??
 I can't get another to keep her company and therefore having 2 going in together. It has to be just her. Can you help me please?
By the way after a couple of hours of skirmishs last night with George and the other two, I pushed them all into the house and shut off the light and all seems well this morn. he is following them a bit and the wander off and avoid him but there is no running about all flustered like last night. I also have a water pistol on the ready to give him a squirt if needed. Is this the right thing to do??

Any help with my little one will be very much appreciated. I know now that I probably shouldn't have bought her but now I have her I want to do the best for her.

Sorry to go on but I was hoping all would be well. I just hadn't remembered the size of this little one when I went to see her 2 weeks ago. I'd looked at that many in one day I hadn't taken all the sizes in.
I will get some piks on as soon as I can, so you can see them all.
Anndee

[Colernehens]

Hi, firstly I am no expert at this chicken keeping, but we had a similar situation, except we had 3 Pullets we had been told were 10 weeks to add to our existing 10 week pullets. (we had 6 day old chicks we had been growing and at 10 weeks we knew we had 3 cockerels and swapped them).
When we got home we realised that they were alot smaller and I had been doubtful about their age. I asked on here and got some good advice.
We separated off the nest boxes in the coop with some chicken wire, so that they were all able to see each other but not get to each other, and the smaller pullets were put to roost each night in the nest boxes. In the day we put a separate run right up against the coop run and put the 3 smallest pullets in the separate run.
We did this for about 2 weeks and then we let them all free range for about 10 minutes in the garden, increasing the time each day until by the end of week 3 they were having about 30 minutes together in the garden.
Next we removed the wire and let them all be in the coop at night together, keeping going with separation in the day. then at the end of 4 weeks we let them be together day and night. Worked a treat.

We kept them separate in the day for such a long time to allow the smaller ones access to food, as you will find that is the biggest problem, they will not allow littles ones to feed, so giving the pullet time to grow will help help. I also went and bought 1kg of chick crumb( you would not need this much for one) as I believed ours were less than 8 weeks and I mixed that in with the growers for the 4 weeks they were separate.

They are now all living very happily together , they still have the odd heated debate, but most of the time they are all very happy together.

I am sure someone with alot more knowledge will give you other advice, but this should be a good starter.

My biggest concern for you, is that one will not like being on its own, so if there is any way you could put another one in with it, I would consider doing so.

Best of luck.

[Anndee]

Many thanks Colernehens for your sound advice. I have rigged up a run right next to the other ones runs and George was pacing up and down her side of it but has now cooled off. the other 2 pullets aren't interested but I know if I put the littley in they would have a peck.

I already have plenty of chick crumbs and thats what I gave her last night. In fact I was still adding some to George's grower pellets to use them up so Littly can use them now. I must get a name for her  Any suggestions for a small black pekin pullet anyone?
I did think of Yoko but not sure it suits her 

I very much like your idea of the wiring off one of the nest boxes. I will do that today. I'm sure she would be happier inside the house on a night with the others and at least its warm enough on a night so she shouldn't be cold.

I will follow your advice on eventually letting them all in together in the run and then eventually free range, but I'm afraid that she will have to be on her own as I have no intention of getting more. Not unless we decide to rehome the cocky cockerel!!!
I'm hoping he's just feeling his feet at the moment due to being young

I'm sure in time they will all settle down and I'll wonder what on earth I was so concerned about but you know what its like when you start a new venture.

Once again many thanks for your suggestions. I really appreciate it. Please keep all help coming. I need it 
Anne

[Colernehens]

Well it sounds as though you have it under control. I totally understand that you don't want to get any more. As long as she has the others in her sights I think she will be fine.

Our smallest Pullet is also black and as she is definitely at the bottom of the pecking order she got named Cinders.

Keep us posted on how she gets on.

[Anndee]

Just a quick update.
all has gone well today. Little black one spent a good night in the nest box and has been having free range with the others all today. Only had one or twos pecking bouts. George grabbed her back feathers and hung on for a few seconds I told him off but it didn't seem to bother her. sweet little thing. She seems to have sense and keeps a very low profile but is managing to eat plenty. In fact the other pullet that was having a go at her was eating from the same dish with her later today and no issues at all.
I've not got a name for her yet but the other girls are Mildred, other Pekin and Dottie the Wyandotte.
I've whispered to little Black that when she's a big girl she can kick the s***t out of the others while i hold them down!!!   
Only joking 
I am so thrilled that in less than two days they are free ranging and fairly peaceful.
 Don't speak to soon idiot 

[Anndee]

Here they are!!

[bantam novice]

What a lovely flock.     How about Jet for the little black hen?

[bantam novice]

Oops my last post could be misinterpreted!  I meant Jet as a name to call the little black hen 

[Lindeggs]

I think Jet would be a sweet name.  Or maybe even Joan Jett (or if you want to stick with the lovely lady names, Joanie for short).

[Anndee]

Thanks for those suggestions I really, really like them and Joan would siut her. Just one problem my DIL grandmother is called Joan so that might not go down well with DIL. and I used to have a guinea pig called Jet when I was a child. donkey's years ago

Keep 'em coming though as she is still just called Littly!!! I love hearing peoples suggestion.

She's ort of the colour of ash at the mo, not true black which I hope she will turn out to be. What does anyone think of Sooty? I'm not sure

[Anndee]

Its ok Bantam Novice. i completely understood what you meant 

[JaK]

They are lovely, the little one is very cute.

[Lindeggs]

If she's coal-coloured you could call her Colleen!  Or Dusty (Springfield).  Or you could name her after Clementine (whose father was a miner '49er) but that's a sad song.

[Anndee]

A little update for you all on my girls and boy

Well, we've had the girls 2 weeks today and I am so pleased with how things are going. I've now decided to call the little black one Pippa as I was calling her Pipsqueak anyway and she is really coming on. She is even holding her own now with the other Pekin pullet, Milly, whom I'm sure she thinks is mummy, as for the first week she was trying to get under her a lot of the time. Especially if she was trying to get out of George's way. Poor Milly. I'm sure she didn't know what was happening.
 George has settled well and is a lot less precious with them and is happy to toddle off on his own rather than trying to keep everyone together and the girls are more relaxed with him. He's stopped picking on Pippa, well most of the time. He gets a bit stroppy when I put corn down and she gets a bit close to his but other than that he is behaving very well.
Pippa spends the night huddled up to Milly on a night and there are times when they will all be in one nest box together. So sweet 
I know I'm supposed to get them to roost on perches and not use the nest boxes for sleeping in but they are soooo cute in them, and I don't mind cleaning them out every other day.
George is eating from my hand now and Dottie is almost there. I need to get Pippa on her own away from George then I'm sure she will soon be doing it. Milly is the shyest as doesn't really like to come close at all and when I pick her up she struggles like mad!! Any suggestions on how to combat this behaviour other than just keep up the routine of doing it. Pippa is very calm when I pick her up and my Georgy Boy, well George is just George. My lovely little boy. He really is soooooo cute and cuddly.
I also love the way the put themselves off to bed at about 7.30pm regularly.
They are totally free range once I have finished doing my dog grooming and the strange dogs are gone out of the way. Usually about 11am during the week. They can then wander to their hearts content all over the back garden which is all grass till bedtime. Unless we are going out of course then they have to go into their run with a lid on. Daren't risk anything getting into the garden and getting them 
My dogs, 2 Tibetan Terriers, Tara & Safi mum and daughter, are absolutely brilliant with them and the chicks are much less wary of them. George never was bothered 
In fact if the chicks are walking down the path and meet the dogs the dogs get off the path out of their way, and Safi just adores chasing rabbits and squirrels when out walking yet she is so calm with the chicks its unbelievable 
I didn't want to just come on here to gain advice so thought I'd give you this little update.
I'd just like to say for anyone thinking of getting Pekin bantams, they are superb. A lovely little breed, and I just love their character and their feathery feet!!
Anne

[Lindeggs]

Thanks for the update, Anne.  It sounds like a lovely little flock you have there.