Drake pekin with hens

[IridescentSunshine]

Hi ya'll
This year we got a pekin with our pullet chicks and ended up with a male. How long do I have before I need to separate him from the hens? He loves his chickens, I'm not sure we will be able to find him a duck buddy at the exact moment, and we are reluctant to process since he belongs to our 6yr old, also do not think he is old enough to process just yet he still doesn't have all his adult feathers. I think he is about 3 months old currently.
Is there a chance that our pekin WON'T try and mate with the chickens??

 

[sourland]

Raised with the chickens, he is surely imprinted on them and will eventually start trying to mate with them. Develop a separation plan before that happens.

 

[KathiQuacks]

3 months old is pretty much the cut off to separate. I’d separate him asap.
Without any duck hens, he will definitely attempt to mate the chickens. Drakes are extremely hormonal birds.

 

[IridescentSunshine]

Raised with the chickens, he is surely imprinted on them and will eventually start trying to mate with them. Develop a separation plan before that happens.

From what I've read they start mating around December? What's your experience with that??

 

[IridescentSunshine]

3 months old is pretty much the cut off to separate. I’d separate him asap.
Without any duck hens, he will definitely attempt to mate the chickens. Drakes are extremely hormonal birds.

Do you think building a pin next to the chicken run would be sufficient enough to keep him from getting too stressed about the situation for the time being?

 

[sourland]

Do you think building a pin next to the chicken run would be sufficient enough to keep him from getting too stressed about the situation for the time being?

This along with a secure coop would work fine.

 

[KathiQuacks]

From what I've read they start mating around December? What's your experience with that??

That may be true for wild ducks. Many domestic ducks don’t quite have a mating season. Mine started at 3 months old and mate every day.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Look on craigslist for ducks for rehoming. If you get females you'll need at least 3-4 or get some drakes there are alwayts drakes needing to be rehomed. You'll just need a drake pen and take turns letting the birds free range if you let your flock free range