Tom won't stop!!!

[Lagerdogger]

My Royal Palm tom is liking my bourbon red hen. The problem is the hen just hatched a bunch of poults. I went out to get some pictures, and when the hen lowered herself to warm the poults, the tom tried to mount her. He didn't really look where he was stepping. So I put the tom in an empty chicken tractor.

What do those with more experience breeding do to keep the toms from stepping on poults. Do you separate the toms while the hens are nesting? Do you pen up the hens and let the toms have run of the place? Do you just not worry about it?

The tom is a good looking bird and I want to breed him next year, so freezer camp is not an option.

Here are mom and some kids.

 

[ivan3]

We've learned to separate (mostly owing to toms occasional sparring). We have two toms. One (BS) is currently sharing the chicken run and coop, the other is `fenced' out of half the turkey shed (can get to food and roost and avoid the weather). When poults are big enough (about two weeks from now) to fly over the `fence' they'll be somewhat more attuned to the danger and hens will move the RP tom along with a few nips to the head:

(glad we hung on to those folding `infant' fences we used for the grandkids - very handy).

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

delete