Critters
- Peafowl
Peafowl are of the Pheasant Family
Technically, "peacock" refers only to the male of the species. The entire
species is referred to as "peafowl." And technically, yes, they are
cousins to pheasants and even the common chicken. The males of the
species are "peacocks," the females are "peahens," and the babies are
"peachicks".
Breeds and Description
Mating and Egg
Production
Incubation and Brooding
Feeding and Rearing
The peafowl is an ornamental bird which is often grown to adorn
farmsteads, private estates or public parks and zoological gardens. They
enjoy living in the open and prefer to roost in trees. The roosting place
should be arranged some distance from dwellings because peafowl are
inclined to be noisy, especially at night.
Once established in a new home, they are not inclined to stray away.
However, older birds moved into a new location sometimes do not settle
well and must be confined.
Peafowl are difficult to confine continuously. They fly readily, and if
confined, must have a tall, open shed for a roosting place. They also must
have a large, grass-covered run to be comfortable. The runs need to be at
least seven feet tall to prevent birds from jumping up and injuring
themselves on the top.
There are two wild species of peafowl, the Indian and the Javan. The
Indian species is most common in this country. A brief description of the
plumage of the Indian Peafowl follows:
Male
The
head and neck are metallic green, and the back is bronze. The upper tail
coverts, which are small feathers covering larger feathers which form a
long and beautiful train, are green with numerous eyelike spots, each of
which is ringed with blue and bronze. When closed, the thighs and wings
are buff, and the flight and tail feathers are cinnamon brown.
Full plumage, including the train, is
not attained until the third year. The train is molted in the late summer
and is not fully replaced before the end of winter.
Female
The head is chestnut, the mantle green,
and the back is brown, indistinctly mottled with buff. The throat and
forepart of the neck are white. The breast is brownish black, fringed with
green; the wing coverts are coarsely mottled with buff and black.
Peafowl are polygamous, so four or five
peahens may be mated to one male. Most peahens do not lay during their
first year. During the second and third years they will lay a few eggs. By
the fourth year they can be expected to produce five to nine eggs each
year.
If the eggs are removed from the nest as
they are laid, the mature (four years or older) peahen may lay a second
and even a third clutch of eggs. This could result in more eggs than one
peahen can incubate. A peahen can incubate up to 10 eggs.
In the event of extra eggs it would be
necessary to use artificial incubation, or a broody turkey hen might be
used as a foster mother. Both peahens and turkeys make good mothers.
Thick shrubbery makes a suitable place
for nesting. Some growers, however, choose to confine the peahens to a pen
or yard during the egg laying period in the spring and early summer.
The incubation period for peahen eggs is
from 28-30 days. The simplest method is to allow peahens to incubate their
own eggs. As mentioned earlier, a broody turkey hen also will do a good
job.
Many younger hens do not set well in
confinement. Should this occur, eggs should be gathered daily and held for
future incubation. The eggs may be incubated artificially in much the same
manner as chicken eggs.
Artificially incubated peahen eggs that
produce young peafowl can be brooded by turkey foster mothers or reared in
confinement similar to turkeys. Again, the simplest method of brooding is
by the peahen mother in the open, or confined to a large coop for about
six or seven weeks.
This brooding period is the most
critical time in rearing the young, and is a good reason to confine the
mother during the period. If the peahen is allowed to roam with the new
chicks, many chicks are lost due to environmental conditions such as wet
grass, thunderstorms, animals, etc.
The coop should be located in a
well-lighted and sheltered place. It should have a wire floor of 1/4-inch
mesh hardware cloth, and should be kept on short grass and moved
frequently.
Keep the young peafowl confined in the
coop with the mother during the first week. The young can be released to
come and go during the second week, but they need to be able to return to
the confined mother. Keeping the peahen confined prevents the young from
wandering off. After the seventh week release the mother.
Young peafowl will live and grow much
faster on a balanced ration than on grains alone. The young need adequate
vitamins, trace minerals and amino acids to do well. Their physiology is
similar to young turkeys, so turkey rations make excellent feed for
peafowl.
Turkey rations include a starter (28
percent protein) and a series of grower rations that will last about four
months. The final grower ration is usually about 14 percent protein and
can be used to feed the growing peafowl until they are one year old. It
also can be used to feed adults.
If turkey feeds are not available
chicken starter can be used, but it usually is lower in protein than is
most desirable to start young peafowl. When turkey feed is available, a
blackherd preventive should be used in the water. Peafowl are very
susceptible to this disease which may occur especially if there are
chickens on the same place.
Young peafowl can learn to eat grain and
may be fed millet or mixed small grains. The problem is that they will
grow slower and are more prone to disease than if they are fed a turkey
starter. When grown they may be fed whole grains, but grains alone are
inadequate and regularly must be fed with chopped greenstuff and
vegetables.
Keep grit, oyster shell and water
available at all times. Peafowl are fond of insects and if plenty are
available the birds (after they're fairly well-grown) will consume enough
to satisfy their protein needs. The insect season only lasts about six
months, however, so it is a good idea to supply peafowl with a protein
supplement (turkey feed) when insects are not available.
This handbook reveals the secrets of
successful micro eco-farming and explains what eco-farmers need to know to
start.
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