Raising Peafowl is Easy

All Gone

2011-02-24T08:02:00.000-05:00

All the Peacocks are gone. They were great to have and I would highly recommend them to anyone who wants to see what beautiful birds they are. The pictures just don't do them justice.

I have replaced the Peacocks with a small flock of chickens. Just something new. I will leave this blog here for a while and feel free to email me questions or make comments.

If you're looking for more information about peacocks check out the http://www.peafowl.org/ web site. A ton of information and it's where I started gathering information before I got my first pair.

thanks to everyone who comments and remarked about my birds, it was a wonderful experience and who knows... someday there may be a Georgie II.

Only 1 Left

2010-03-30T15:59:00.002-04:00

Georgie, LaContessa and the blue hen (never named her) have found new homes. All that's left is the 3 year old India Blue male.

If you're interested in purchasing him, email me at bdaugherty57@gmail.com.

See previous posts for pictures.

Peacocks for Sale

2010-01-30T11:48:00.003-05:00

I've decided to give up the peafowl and move on to something else. I have the following for sale:

(1) 5 yr old India Blue peacock - full train, great dancer and has fathered many chicks $100
(1) 3 yr old India Blue peacock - train not full yet, very tame, will eat from my hand $ 75
(1) 3 yr old India Blue peahen - laid eggs last season, ready to breed $50
(1) 4 yr old Cameo/black should peahen - laid and hatched several chicks $75

If you're interested in any of these, please contact me at bdaugherty57@gmail.com.

Exploding Eggs

2009-04-28T15:49:00.004-04:00

Be careful.... peacock eggs as I'm sure chicken or any other kind of egg can EXPLODE. It happened to me and it wasn't much fun.

I've set 9 peafowl eggs under 3 different chickens. Three eggs each. That was about as much as I thought the poor little Cochin hens could sit on, the eggs are so much bigger than their own.

Well after almost 28 days, I thought I better look under this hen. Reached in under and to feel for the eggs and POP...wet gooey stinky mess all over my hand, the bottom of the hen and the other egg that was still there.

This hen went broody early, so she got the first couple of eggs the peahens laid. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at candling, so I couldn't tell if they were fertile. They obviously were not. After cooking under that hen (99 degrees) for almost a month I'm surprised it wasn't worse or smellier. Tossed the last egg (another ticking time bomb), cleaned up the hen and cleaned out her next box and she's right back in ready to sit on a golf ball if I had one to put under her.

Only thing funnier than peafowl... are chickens. Hope the other hens hatch some chicks in the next couple days.

Expect Lots of Chicks this year

2009-04-15T16:27:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted in a while and not much has happened with my small flock. I have added chickens to my backyard menagerie. While I've loved the eggs they've produced, they are finally doing the chore they were purchased to do. I have 3 sometimes 4 Cochin hens sitting on 3 nest each with 3 peacock eggs. Pretty funny looking when 2 hens are trying to sit in the same nest box. They actually sit on top of each other.

Hope to have plenty of chicks this year.

Currently have one male (last years hatching) for sale. He's a very tame India Blue (split to Cameo). I'll post a picture of him soon. He's got a twin brother, but I need to keep one of them.

Email me at bdaugherty57@gmail.com if you're interested.

Surprise Surprise Surprise

2008-09-19T16:52:00.003-04:00

I do have chicks this year. LaContessa decided to start over again and I got 3 chicks from her. Not sure what color they're going to be yet. I brd here to Georgie (India Blue). They should be IB, but they seem lighter in color than her chicks last year. They were India Blues. Next couple weeks should tell.

I will be selling these chicks. I've also got a IB peacock and hen for sale. They are LaContessa and Georgie's chicks from last year. The hen should lay next spring and the male might have enough tail feathers to entice a hen. He's trying this year, but no flash, so no attention from the 2 girls. Email me at peafowliseasy@hughes.net if you're interested in either chicks or year old birds.

No Chicks this year

2008-07-15T13:37:00.002-04:00

12 eggs in the incubator and not one live hatch. 10 eggs under a hen... all gone bad. Not very good luck this year with hatching chicks.

La Contessa (Cameo BS - 10 eggs), kept cracking her eggs and eventually they all went bad and smelly..... so I had to toss them. She wasn't happy.....neither was I. She was the only hen I got to set. My other hen is younger and only laid a couple of eggs.

Georgie is still dancing... thought I don't think anyone (but me) is watching. But you never know... Now that La Contessa isn't sitting on a nest any more...Georgie might pick up the pace............I'll be watching for the hen to start laying again.

Next year.... they all go to the chickens to hatch. Hopefully, they will do much better than either myself or the Contessa (Cameo BS Hen)

Chicks on the way

2008-06-04T16:35:00.005-04:00

As of today I have 12 peafowl eggs in an incubator, 2 on hold in the back hall and 3 in a nest in one of the pens.

It looks like it's La Contessa's nest, but I think my other blue hen is laying in it as well. Her and Georgie have been spending a lot of time together.

Purple pair has new home

2008-04-28T11:40:00.003-04:00

The pair I had for sale have found a new home. Georgie (india blue) is dancing up a storm with these warm days recently and I expect eggs in the next couple weeks.

Too Many Male Dancers

2008-04-12T13:46:00.002-04:00

Spring is here and the boys are doing their dances. I currently have more peacocks than I have room for. I've decided to sell my purple pair to make room for another IB male that I hatched last year. He's the most tame and friendliest bird I have and I just can't part with him. Unfortunately, he's getting older and Georgie (my first IB peacock) is getting tired of sharing his space.

The male is 5yrs old and hen is 3yrs. She's a good layer and mother.

Cost is $200 for the pair. I am not shipping at this time. Please email peafowliseasy@hughes.net or call me (502 - 419-1291) if you're interested. I'm located in Louisville, Kentucky.

Chicks by Derby

2007-04-02T10:32:00.000-04:00

Dad and Mom posing for a family picture.

Well not quite a family yet. She is setting on 5 eggs and hopefully they should all hatch around the last week of April.

La Contessa and Benji will be parents soon. Was surprised at how early she began to lay, and set. It's only the first of April and she's setting on eggs already. Hopefully Mapp (the purple hen in with Georgie) will get to laying soon. So with 2 eggs in the incubator and 5 (maybe 6) under La Contessa...there should be lots of peeping going on soon.

When Is Easter

2007-03-14T12:33:00.000-04:00

Easter must be just around the corner, cause look what I found. First egg of the season and it still March.

I'm hoping for some interesting colors this year. I've mixed up my girls and boys this year. In the past I've breed blue to blue and purple to purple.

Last year when I lost my favorite blue hen, I decided to replace her with a Cameo Black Shoulder. But instead of putting the new hen with Georgie (my blue) I put her with Benji (the purple). Of course this ment I had to move Mapp (the purple hen) in with Georgie. Because the Blue is a dominant color I should get all blue (split to purple, but still looking like blues).

I think Benji might be split to black shoulder. That is he has the black shoulder gene but doesn't show it, so I'm hoping for black shoulder purples from this couple. Someone told me breeding Cameo to Purple is how the first Peach was created. Hmmmm....Only time will tell.

Peafowl for Sale

2006-11-18T12:46:00.000-05:00

I have a couple birds for sale. All three were hatched this spring (Early June 2006)

The Blue hen is split to pied and has one white wing feather. The purple birds have no pied and are 100% purple. You can email me at peafowliseasy@hughes.net or call me at (502) 418-1291. No Shipping

. $30.00

$40.00

$55.00

Nothing to do with Peafowl

2006-11-06T10:58:00.000-05:00

OK..... this post has nothing to do with raising peafowl. I recently had a friend who started a new internet business and it's pretty interesting. Check out www.gooddoggiegifts.com .

Here you'll find fun and healthy treats for man's favorite companion..... your dog. What I found fascinating about this site was the bereavement basket. How many of us think of our pets as members of our families. Whether it's your faithful companion Spot, or your best peahen, the lost of a pet saddens all of us.

Check out this site. Next time a friend looses a beloved pet, send them a basket, drop them a note or give them a call and let them know you understand their pain and sadness.

2006 Chicks for Sale

2006-09-29T12:05:00.000-04:00

I have a couple chicks to find new homes for. I have an India Blue hen, a Purple hen and a Purple peacock for sale. I'm am not shipping at this time but if you're interested and can pick them up please email me at peafowliseasy@hughes.net for more information. I will add picture of the chicks later.

La Contessa

2006-09-12T11:16:00.000-04:00

Newest addition - La Contessa Amelia Faraglione

Long name for such a small bird.....OK not so small. She's a 2-3 year old Cameo Black Shoulder hen. She's not very "pretty" in the picture but she's more creamy white with some light buff coloration. The plan is to breed her to Benji (purple - who is possibly split to Black Shoulder) and hope for some black shoulder Purples or maybe even a peach.

I originally purchased her as a replacement for Lucia (blue hen) I lost over 4th of July weekend. But I would get more interesting colors next sprint if I mix up my boys and girls a little this spring.

I purchased La Contessa from Troy Anderson in Campbellsville, KY. Here's a link to Troy's listing on the UPA Web site. If you're looking for a special color or some advice......Troy's the guy to talk to....... Thanks Troy. http://www.peafowl.org/breeders.htm#ky

If you're wondering where the names are coming from here's a link.

http://www.tv.com/mapp-and-lucia/show/771/summary.html?tag=tabs;summary

I'm naming my birds after characters in this British sit com. Very funny if you like British humor....and I do.

Picture (Left - Ms Mapp, Right - Lucia, background - Georgie)

The Circle of Life....Continued

2006-07-17T11:49:00.000-04:00

In a previous post I mentioned that I lost my favorite bird, Lucia...My blue hen. I've managed to save 2 of her chicks and with luck one will be a hen.

On another note of good news and showing how the Circle of Life continues no matter what we do....

My purple hen (Mapp) finally started setting on some eggs. This is her second season laying and after laying 12 eggs (only managed to hatch 1 chick out of those) and not getting the "setting" urge she finally got with the progam. Well that was almost 33 days ago. For those of you who don't know hatching takes 28 days.

This past Saturday morning I went out to her pen determined to take away, what I assumed to be dead or infertile eggs and wait patiently for spring to try again.

To my surprise when I finally got her off the nest...After a lot of hissing and some very dirty looks....Wow....4 chicks...fresh out of the shell. One was still wet and not quite dried off yet. Two eggs didn't hatch but that's 4 more than I expected.

Isn't mother nature grand......

Peep Peep Peep Peep Peep Peep it never stops

2006-06-22T11:46:00.000-04:00

How much noise can one small day old peachick make? You wouldn't believe how much. Happy to come home from a conference to find one hatched peachick in the incubator. I quickly moved it to the small brooder I setup before going to my 2 day conference so it would be ready.

Hope some of the other eggs hatch today but no signs so far. "Quaint Irene" as I will call this chick (hopefully she's a hen) apparently has imprinted on me and while that's pretty cool, it's gonna be a long couple weeks till she goes outside. She goes off every time I walk away from the brooder. If I stand right next to her or put my hand in the brooder she will stop peeping...give a couple of chirps as if to say "where have you been....I was calling you...) and settles down for a nap. Usually leaning up against the glass where I put my and or against my hand if it put it in the brooder.

The plan is to keep one purple and one 2 blue hens. Hopefully Quaint Irene will turn out to be a hen and I will get to keep her. I'll add pics to this post later.

The Circle of Life

2006-06-19T15:06:00.000-04:00

Having lost my best hen (Lucia - see prior post) and doubting my own skills at incubating the 12 eggs from my purple hen I was especially pleased to see Mapp (the purple hen) setting on a clutch of 5 eggs.

finally she gets with the program. Thought motherhood was beyond her but it looks like she's stepping into the top of the pecking order. Lucia the blue hen was definitely at the top of the pecking order. Even Georgie moved out of her way....Especially is she was escorting her chicks around.

With luck the 3 remaining blue chicks will have purple friends to play with. Hopefully some out of the incubator in the next couple days and from Mapp's clutch in about 4 weeks.

Nature....It's all about balance.....

The Part That's Not Easy

2006-06-16T11:28:00.000-04:00

The worst part of raising any kind of animal is when you loose one. Yesterday I came home after being out of town for a couple days for business to find my best hen (Lucia) hanging from the aviary netting.

She must have been spooked by something and got her foot caught in the netting and was unable to get free. Her 3 remaining chicks are in a brooder and hopefully one or more will be a hen.

Guess my lesson here is to consider lights in the aviary (to discourage predators) and make sure that all birds have their flight feathers clipped. I've not done that recently and they are getting a little too much lift. If you've not done this it's very easy.

Flight feathers will grow back so you have to do it a couple times a year. On India Blue's they are the longer brown wing feathers. Be sure to only clip one side. The goal it to keep them off balance so they don't have a lot of lift. If you clip both sides they will learn to "flap harder" and not be discouraged to fly.

Of course DO NOT clip your free rangers. They need to fly.

She just keeps laying and laying

2006-06-09T10:39:00.000-04:00

Mapp my purple hen just keeps laying and laying. Unfornutately she's not quite got the hang of nesting. Everytime it looks like she's building a nest she abandons it and drops another egg from the purch or in the yard.

So off to the incubator they go. Hopefully I'll have better luck this year than last.

Purple Boy Finds a New Home

2006-06-06T14:57:00.000-04:00

Both Georgie (he's showing off in the background) and Purple Boy (on the perch ) are both gonna be happy with the new living arrangement. Purple Boy is getting a little too big to share space with Georgie, Lucia and the new chicks. He's also starting to show off a little more than Georgie likes.

Purple Boy has found a new home with a volunteer firefighter and his family here in Kentucky. Good luck Jay.......hope your family is happy with the surprise.

2006-06-02T09:48:00.000-04:00

Well they finally hatched.

Lucia my India Blue hen finally hatched her clutch of eggs. I was hoping for a little better hatch rate but 5 is better than none.

Here is the empty nest with the unhatched eggs

Finnally getting with the program

2006-05-12T12:01:00.000-04:00

Mapp the purple hen has finnaly gotten with the program is is building a nest for her eggs. Not the best nest and certainly not in the best location. It's the wettest...muddies part of the pen.

But at least she's nesting. Maybe no incubator
this year.....

As you can see peafowl eggs are twice the size of extra large chicken eggs.

Even more eggs

2006-05-11T13:20:00.000-04:00

It's egg laying season in Kentucky. Birds, duck, and even peafowl. My blue hen (Lucia) has 9 eggs under her right now. Hope they all hatch. She's been setting for about a week now and the eggs should hatch right at Memorial weekend.

Mapp the purple hen has dropped 2 eggs so far and I do mean drop. One she laid from her perch (5 Ft drop) but the egg looks fine. Big pile of straw under the perch helps this time of year. Messy to clean up later but worth it to save her eggs. The other she laid in the peafowl yard. She's not "set" before but hoping she will get the urge otherwise the eggs are off to a chicken or the incubator for hatching.

Plenty of chicks for sale soon.

More eggs....Chicks by Memorial Weekend

2006-04-27T09:38:00.000-04:00

Lucia, my blue hen has laid 6 eggs so far. I took the first 4 away and am letting her lay a couple more before putting the 4 back. She typically stops at 4 and I'm hoping she'll get up to 8 this time.

Timing seems perfect for Memorial Weekend. Mapps my purple hen hasn't done anything yet. If she starts laying before Lucia is done I'll put her eggs in with Lucia and send Lucia's off to a friend's chicken or into the incubator.

I'll get pictures of the eggs and nest to add to this post.

Eggs....Eggs....Eggs

2006-04-20T09:25:00.000-04:00

Lucia my India Blue hen has laid two eggs. Not sure if they're fertile, she usually lays a couple decoys. There were in a hole she hollowed out in the corner where she usually nests. So hoping she's getting ready to set. She usually will set after 4 eggs. So I took the two she's laid and will put them back when she starts to set. Hopefully I'll get her setting on more then 4.

Would be great if Mapp my purple hen will start laying soon. She hasn't set for me in the past and I'm hoping to slip a couple of her eggs under Lucia.

If not it's off to a friend with chickens or into the incubator.

1 year old Purple for Sale

2006-04-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

I have to find a new home for Purpleboy. He was hatched last July and is getting to old to be with my Blue pair. If you're interested email me at peafowliseasy@hughes.net . I prefer not to ship at this time. Cost is $50. If you want to see his parents check previous posts. Great color...see the purple on his chest and neck. Shows up better in direct sunlight.

The Purples

2006-04-03T12:27:00.000-04:00

Here are a few pics of the purple pair I have. This is Major Benji and his mate Mapp.

She actually looks like she's paying attention to him. Hope to have eggs soon.

ooohhh......pretty......you're so sparkly...

It's hard to tell in the picture but on the Purple the blue eyes spots on the train and even the neck color looks purple in direct sunlight. Very Cool.

One more picture of the happy couple.

Spring is here....according to Georgie

2006-03-26T17:28:00.001-05:00

Spring is here....At least Georgie thinks so. Georgie is my 5 year old India Blue peacock. His mate Lucia is pretty not not as "pretty" as Georgie.

Georgie thinks sunshine is a reason for dancing. Maybe he's right...

Here is Georgie strutting around the peafowl yard.

He may be king of the roost.... but if he has a chance to dance he doesn't care who's on the purch. This is Purpleboy. He's a 1 year old purple peacock. He's got no train feathers yet but he does dance. At least until Georgie catches him trying to steal the show.

Peacocks take 3 years to get their train. They are actually back feathers not tail feathers as most people think. They use their tail feathers to push up and fan out their back feathers.

Purpleboy will be looking for a new home soon. Georgie, Purpleboy and Lucia share their yard with Major Benji and Mapps. Benji and Mapps are my purple pair and Purpleboys parents. Watch for pictures of them.

Rain Rain Go Away Dance

2006-03-15T20:28:00.000-05:00

The rain finnally stop today. Nice to see that it hasn't dampened Georgie's spirit. He's my 5 year old India Blue......dancing for all he's worth today.

Hope to get some pics of him this weekend and add.

Important Housing tip

2006-03-12T14:42:00.000-05:00

Learned an important housing tip today. Make sure your roof is securely fastened. I didn't do as good a job of securing the metal roofing panels to the second pen as I did with the first.

I was fortunate to find 12ft panels when I built the first one. Unfortunately I picked barn red as the color....it looks great in the yard. Well, they stopped stocking them at Home Depot and Lowes so I wound up with 8footers on the second pen and had to overlap panels. My other option would have been to go with green 12footers.

Well one of the 8ft panels flew off in a storm last night. It's been raining for day.......Fortunately the peas don't like rain and didn't make any attempt to escape.

IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE BETWEEN FUNCTIONALITY AND COLOR........DON'T PIC COLOR....

Live and learn......

What I've already done

2006-03-06T15:57:00.000-05:00

I started raising peafowl two years ago. I did a lot of research on the internet and found a design for a pen. I took an old 10 x 10 Ft dog run and added a roof. I then added a 400 sq Ft aviary attached to it.

This I made out of 8ft posts, 2 x 4s, welded wire and aviary netting. Add a couple extra boards, some pvc piping to hold up the netting and I was all set.

I found a breeder here in Kentucky and purchase my first trio. Georgie is the male India Blue, Lucia is the India Blue hen and I also got Mapp a purple hen. None of these have the black shoulder gene but they are all beautiful and very colorful...Even the hens.

That year Lucia laid 4 eggs and hatched them just fine.

The following year I added another 10 x 10 dog run with a roof to the other end of the aviary. I went back and purchased Major Benji a 2 year old purple male.

I split my two pairs the blues on one side and the purples on the other. That year only Lucia had chicks. Since then Mapp (purple hen) has laid but not set on any eggs. A friend took some of the eggs and put them under a chicken and hatched 2 chicks for me. I tried to hatch some eggs but with little success.

I kept one of the purple chicks that turned out to be a male and he's with the blue pair. Since this is his second summer he's not got any tail feathers yet but he is starting to display like the "big" boys. It's cute but he won't be able to stay much longer as Georgie doesn't really like having him in his pen.

Waiting for spring and egg laying to start.

2006-03-02T12:16:00.000-05:00

This is Georgie my first Peacock. He's an India Blue male 3 years old. His tail feathers (they're actually back feathers - more on this later) don't show off very well here but I'll add more pics.

But check out the blue and the crest. He's about the size of a turkey. Pretty big when you have to catch him to do checkups and worming.

First post

2006-03-02T11:35:00.000-05:00

A couple years ago I saw the coolest lawn and garden accessory. As I drove home one day I noticed that the house on the corner had a beautiful statue of a peacock standing on the railing post. Well I thought it was a statue......then it moved.

Realizing it was real and noticed a couple days later there were two peafowl (a boy and a girl) on the porch roof of the same house.

Got me thinking and doing research on the internet for more info. Imagine a full grown peacock struding along in your backyard or perching and posing for everyone to see.