Drake over mating 1 hen

[yarrowhouse]

Our jumbo Pekin has decided our new hen is his one and only favorite. She's a Rouen, on the small side, so not only is he over mating her but he's so much bigger. We can and do separate him, but that means he can't access the pool, he's walled off on his own. Our ladies then spend a lot of time sitting by the fence near him rather than being in the pool.

Does anyone have a rule of thumb for how much time to make them spend separated to give the hen a break? Versus how much time to let them be together knowing that he will continue to favor her.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi!

Sorry nobody replied to you. How's it going now?

 

[Yardmom]

The drake is trying to get the hen to accept him. If you don't have other drakes it should not take long for her to accept him and for the drake to realize there is not a challenger. Then his forced mating will stop.

If you continue to separate them for some of the time, it will lengthen the process of establishing their bond.