Can he be too big for her?? Pekin breeding questions

[GwenFarms]

I had a friend pick up a drake to pair up with the pekin hen that we got off of Craigslist. He seems huge next to her and when I caught him trying to breed with her he squashed her flat, there was a lot of feather pulling and wiggling around, but I'm not sure the deed got done. Is he too big to breed with her, or will they work it out?

How long is the breeding season for pekins? She has laid about eight eggs since I've had her a friend told me he thought she would be done laying before he could fertilize them. Is this true? How long before the eggs are fertile if he can breed her?

I know chickens, but pekins are new to me.

 

[Dodgegal79]

Well I don't think he's too big, look at Muscoveys. The drakes are huge and the females small, mine get flattens and their faces pushed in the mud all the time. The egg process is the same in ducks as in chickens, so i would figure the eggs would be fertile by now. She may lay 1 to 2 clutchs a year, anywhere from 5 to 13 eggs maybe.

 

[DuckLady]

Pekin drakes are notoriously um amorous. But they are full of personality.
I just separated my girls from the boys for the season to avoid over mating and injury.

 

[GwenFarms]

I just have the two right now and only got him yesterday. She was showing signs Friday that she really wanted to mate. My little Jack Russel mix, Moose, was beginning to feel violated. Saturday I came out and she was missing. I spent half the day tracking her down. She made it about a mile down the highway. I live in a very small town and everyone is really getting a kick outta me and this duck. I posted "Missing Duck" signs and had found her in a couple of hours. At this point I called a friend and had him go to the local livestock sell and pick her up a mate. She was clearly out cruising for a guy.

She follows me and the kids to the mailbox everyday. When I come in the house she stands on the front steps and quacks until I come back out with her. I've locked her in the new pen with her fella (Duckie Von Quack Quack) until he gets used to the place and she falls in love with him. I'm hoping this will happen soon and they can both free range during the day again, but his technique clearly needs tweaking, so I'm not too sure about the love thing.

I sure hope I get some baby duckies out of all this. So, even though she laid a half dozen, or so infertile eggs. You think she still has plenty of time, this season, to lay a clutch?

 

[Dodgegal79]

Yes she should have plently of time. Pekins are not big egglayers but they still should lay enough. My female lays a egg everyday and she has been for about one and a half months now.