Thanks for the advice, everyone!! They were together for about two weeks before I decided to put them both back in the main coop, because I was getting worried he would hurt himself. He was trying so hard to stay away from her that he was flying into the side of the run and just generally concerning me, so I decided to give him a little more time to grow up and just be a young cockerel. The plan is to try again once he's a little more mature this Spring. The pullet in question was about 9 months at the time, just fyi. All of my birds have been together since the youngest were about 4 months old and I felt like they were big enough to take care of themselves, so they already know each other. I think he was just a bit overwhelmed by being alone with her, so I decided it wasn't the right time and that he needed to grow up some more. I totally believe what you were saying about Ameraucana cockerels, @donrae. My older cockerel, 10 month old Hugo, is very sweet with the girls, and the only one he will currently mate with is the girl I tried to set Athos up with, Cora. It's because she just lets him, she's very accomodating. If Hugo tries to "hook up" with any of the other girls and they seem AT ALL uninterested, he gives up. He doesn't want to be pushy. It's actually very sweet, and I'm grateful I have such a gentleman. I do have one more question, though...I have four cockerels total, and they have all lived together since they were old enough to fend for themselves. Should I separate the boys if I want to breed? Will this help them to feel more comfortable with the girls? I have a few small pens that I plan to use for breeding, so I could separate them immediately, and have been thinking about doing so, but I'm worried after the situation with Athos and Cora. Do you think it would be better to keep them separate? When I first put them all together, I was worried there would be fighting, but everyone seems to get along and my sweet Hugo is not at all mean to the other cockerels, so I had just been letting them all stay together. Do you think I should separate them? And if so, should I go ahead and put them in with the girls I intend to breed them to, or just let them be guys by themselves for awhile? I don't want them to get lonely. Sorry for all the questions, but I'm new to having cockerels and it's occurred to me how much having them changes the dynamics of the flock so I want to make sure everyone is as happy as I can make them and that everything is as comfortable and safe for both cockerels and pullets as it can be. Anybody have suggestions for what I should do for my boys? Just so you know, there is enough space for each boy to have his own pen and harem of girls to keep him company. Thanks!
ETA: The youngest cockerel, my SLW Percy who is only 17 weeks, would be staying in the big coop with Athos, most likely, because they seem to be friends and I know Percy isn't old enough to handle my SLW girls, who are bullies, so I definitely think he needs MUCH more time to grow up before he can be expected to do his job. But I think the other three can handle it, especially if the two youngest have each other to hang out with if they're ostracized by the ladies. What do you think?
