not getting along

The new chick 2

In the Brooder
10 Years
Aug 14, 2009
33
0
32
Western New York
My tom is beating up my hen. They have been together for almost2 months. And now she has open sores on her head and her wing has been picked at too! I have removed her from the pen but I would like to be able to have them together. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks
 
how old are they and of what breed ? you will need to keep her from the tom untill she can heal up right. the tom may not be ready for her yet, that is why I asked how old they are.
 
Tom is a bourbon at least 3 yrs old and I think she is a bbw about a yr. And yes they will be apart till she is all healed. She now has the garage. My hubby is going to be so very happy with me.
 
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it depans on how early you want eggs and this will also help her be ready for the tom as well. I have my turkey hens under a light right now and am getting eggs from they as well. and they are ready to breed to my toms. has your tom ever been with a hen before? what is bbw?
 
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I believe she is a broad breasted white. He has never been with a hen. Until I picked her up he was the king of the chicken coop. I don't know if I'm ready for eggs. When should she start laying if no lights? Cause this just seems too early for Western New York.
 
it is fine for her to have lights. I live in NY and my hens do just fine. I know they will not start laying until there is 14-16 hours of light a day so you can just eat the eggs till you are ready to do as you please. can she fiy up good??? one thing you can do is when you are ready to put her in, I wood do it in a way so that the tom can see her but not hurt her till they are ready for each other.
 
Don't bother with the lights. If one isn't `scheduling' the hen's laying cycle for breeding out of season, the additional light only serves to suppress the immune system, and can induce ovarian tumors in some varieties:
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agcomm/magazine/spring05/night.htm

If you can divide the run, temporarily, and give them another month or so to acclimate then total separation probably isn't necessary - let them socialize from opposite sides of fence.. I'd probably keep a close eye on a big Bourbon's mating with a BBW jenny/hen owing to the latter's penchant/propensity for muscle/joint weaknesses owing to rapid growth (the CornishX of the turkey world).

Our neighbor's Broad Breasted Bronze hen was successfully bred by their Bourbon tom but she was over a year and a half old at the time and kept on a diet (even so, she was a very low slung waddler).

Good luck!

Edit: link repair
 
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