By Craig Hopkins

The Scientific Classification of Peafowl:
•Phylum: Chordata
•Sub-phylum: Vertebrata (Vertebrates)
•Class: Aves (Birds)
•Order: Galliformes
•Family: Phasianidae
•Sub-family: Phasianinae
•Genus: Pavo ¡
•Species: Pavo cristatus (blues) and Pavo muticus (Java greens)
•Subspecies for P. muticus: P.m. muticus  |  P.m. spicifer  |  P.m. imperator

There is another Genus [Afropavo] for the Congo peafowl. The sole known species is Afropavo congensis. Very little is currently known about the Congo peafowl, which was first scientifically recorded in 1936.

Peafowl are native to India, Burma, Java. Ceylon, Malaya. and Congo. Peafowl are relatives of pheasants. The main difference between peafowl and pheasants is in the plumage. Peafowl are very hardy birds and with proper care, can live forty to fifty years. The term ‘peafowl” refers to the species name. The male is called the peacock and the female is called the peahen. Offspring under the age of one year are called peachicks.

Peafowl come in a wide variety of colors including blue, green. white. light brown. and purple. These colors and many other colors which were not mentioned have come from selective breeding done by people all over the world. The India blue and the green peafowl are the two most common colors of peafowl found in the wild. India blue peafowl are by far the most common peafowl in captivity and they are what most people are familiar with from visits to zoos and parks.

BREEDING

Peafowl normally reach breeding age at two years. Peahens will sometimes lay fertile eggs as yearlings. They will lay these eggs late in the summer after they have turned one year old. The best chance for a yearling hen to lay eggs is when she is in the same pen as a mature male. A mature male is a peacock which is at least three years old. A peacock will not have a full train until he is three years old. The tail train will lengthen and get fuller over the first two to three years. After the peacock is five or six years old, the tail train will remain consistent in length and quality for the rest of the bird’s life as long as the bird remains healthy. The tail train is very important to the breeding cycle of peafowl. The peacock will molt the tail in late summer and this is when the breeding season will end. A two year old peacock that has a one to two foot long tail train will be a better breeder at this age than a peacock of the same age that doesn’t have a tail train of any size.

A mature peacock in prime condition can be mated to as many as five peahens. The egg fertility rate for each male should be monitored closely to determine how many peahens each male is capable of mating with successfully. When selecting peafowl for breeding purposes, unrelated males and females should be selected. Inbreeding can lead to many problems with both the eggs and the chicks. No matter what age of peafowl are purchased or raised for breeding purposes, the birds must be healthy. A healthy bird will be active, have good feather quality, straight legs and toes, and clear eyes.

Peahens begin laying eggs in April and will lay eggs every other day until a clutch of seven to ten eggs is achieved. The eggs are light brown in color and are similar in size to turkey eggs. If the eggs are collected from the nest for artificial incubation, a peahen may lay as many as thirty eggs. Peahens which are allowed to roam freely about a farm, will hide their nests in tall grass, around shrubs, and in brush piles. The nest is a depression scratched out in the ground and lined with grass. Nests in such locations are many times destroyed by possums, raccoons, and skunks which will eat the eggs. Peahens that are setting on these nests are vulnerable to attack by coyotes, fox, and stray dogs which will kill the peahen. peahens which are kept in flight pens will use old tires, wooden nest boxes, and empty barrels for nest sites. These structures should be filled with hay or straw to provide nesting material.

INCUBATION

There are several methods of incubating peafowl eggs. The first method is artificial incubation. We incubate the eggs at 99-100 degrees F and at a wet bulb temperature of 83-85 degrees F. The eggs will hatch after 27 to 30 days of incubation. The eggs should be candled after 10 days of incubation to check for fertility. If an egg is not fertile, it should be removed from the incubator so that it doesn’t spoil and possibly contaminate other eggs in the incubator. Eggs should be placed in the incubator as soon as possible after they are laid and no eggs should be held more than 10 days before incubation begins. This rule also applies to the alternative incubation methods that will be covered next.

Natural incubation of peafowl eggs can be done in several ways. The first is to allow the peahen to set on her own eggs and hatch them herself. Peahens normally do a good job of incubation but this method limits the number of eggs that a peahen will produce for the year. Once she has set on a clutch of eggs, she won’t lay any more eggs for that season. Occasionally, if a nest is destroyed during incubation, a peahen will lay a second clutch of eggs and set on them. A second method of natural incubation, which allows for maximum egg production, is the use of broody chickens or ducks. The peafowl eggs are collected as they are laid and then set as a clutch under a chicken or duck. The size of the clutch is determined by the size of chicken or duck to be used for incubation. The eggs are left under the foster parent until two days before the normal hatch date. The eggs are removed from the nest and put in a hatcher. A new clutch of eggs is put under the hen and the process is repeated. If the eggs are allowed to hatch under the foster hen, the risk of disease in the chicks is much greater, and many times the hen won’ t stay broody to allow for more eggs to be set under her.

The rule of thumb in brooding peafowl chicks is to start the chicks out with a brooder temperature of 95 degrees F and decrease this temperature by 5 degrees for every week of age. Brooders can be made at home or can be bought commercially. The brooder should provide a consistent heat source so that the chicks don’t become chilled or overheated. The heating area should be large enough so that the chicks don’t have to pile on top of one another to stay warm. The brooder should have a wire bottom floor so that droppings and wasted feed fall through. Brooders with feed and water troughs attached to the outside help keep the chicks healthy because the chicks can’t get into them and make a mess out of the feed and water. The last thing that a brooder must have is a lid. Chicks that are only a few weeks old are surprisingly good flyers. The chicks are usually left in the hatcher for a day after they hatch. This gives them plenty of time to completely dry off and to gain enough strength to stand. The chicks are then placed in a small wooden brooder using a heat lamp for warmth. Chicks under a week old should be kept in small groups so that they learn to eat and drink without having to compete with one another. Chicks sometimes have to be taught to eat and drink. This can be done by placing a teacher chick, which is 3 to 4 days old and has learned to eat and drink, in with the new chicks. Baby chickens or pheasants can also be used as teacher chicks. If no teacher chick is available, I place a shiny marble in the feed and water container for the chicks to pick at. While picking at the marble, they will learn to eat and drink at the same time. I also provide the chicks with finely chopped lettuce or grass clippings along with their starter feed. The green color of these seems to attract the chicks’ attention and provides a natural food source for the chicks.

FEEDING

Peafowl are not finicky in what they eat. They will eat shelled corn, cracked corn, oats, rabbit pellets dog food, trout chow, sunflower seed, grass, dandelions, insects, and many other foods. Since peafowl are members of the pheasant family, their diet should be structured with this in mind rather than feeding them like a person would feed a chicken. Breeders are fed a game bird layer feed during the breeding season. They are fed a game bird maintenance feed during the months prior to and after the breeding season. Dry dog food mixed with these feeds throughout the year provides a source of meat protein and also provides a treat for the birds. Shelled corn is added to the maintenance feed in the winter months as a source of extra calories to improve body heat. Chicks are fed a medicated starter feed for the first six months and then are switched to a game bird grower feed until they are a year old. After they are a year old, the birds are fed the maintenance feed until they reach breeding age.

HOUSING

The housing requirements for peafowl are dictated by the age of the birds. As mentioned earlier, chicks can be kept in small brooders until they reach the age of two to three months when they no longer require heat. The chicks can then be kept in small buildings or a large flight pen until they are sold or reach breeding age. Breeders require much more room because of the males’ long tail train. A flight pen for breeders should be at least six feet tall and ten feet wide so that the male can fully spread his tail. The length of this flight pen should be determined by the number of birds to be kept in this pen. For example, a pen for a trio of breeders should be twenty feet long with a building or shelter attached to the end. The flight pen must be covered with wire or netting because peafowl are strong flyers. The building or shelter should be six feet tall and be at least eight feet wide and eight feet long. The roosts should be placed four to five feet off of the ground, and made so that they can be removed if a hen starts laying eggs while up on the roost. A flat roost such as a 2″X 4″ board should be used rather than a round roost. If a round roost is used, there is a chance that the birds’ toes will suffer frostbite in extremely cold weather because the toes are exposed while gripping the roost. A flat roost allows the bird to sit on its feet without having to grip the roost which prevents frostbite from occurring.

MISCELLANEOUS

Peafowl are very hardy birds but there are a few preventive steps that can be taken to insure the health of the birds. The easiest way to keep adult peafowl healthy is to worm them at least twice a year. Many of the diseases that peafowl are susceptible to are carried by internal parasites. There are several wormers available that can be given orally or mixed in the drinking water. The use of wire bottomed cages and brooders will help keep the chicks healthy. Feeding a medicated starter to the chicks will help prevent coccidiosis. The starter feed should be kept fresh because these medications lose their effectiveness over time.

This article originally appeared in the December 1997 Issue of The UPA Newsletter. Reproduction elsewhere in any form without prior consent from the UPA is strictly prohibited. © 1997 The United Peafowl Association. All rights reserved.

1) Keep chicks heated in a brooder for the first month or they will freeze.

2) Feed chicks a 28%- 30% game bird starter for the first month and much clean water.

3) Worm your flock regularly. Use Tramisol (1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water) or Ivomec & Panacur. Ivomec is given at a dosage per adult bird of ¹ cc per bird. Panacur is dosed at 1/10 cc per 2 pounds or approximately ¸ cc per bird.

4) Make sure all your birds but especially the chicks have access to green material Brooders full of chicks will thrive on heads of cabbage and it will sometimes prevent feather picking.

5) Consult a vet if you have persistent illness problems you can’t diagnose.

6) Keep a radio on near the birds at night if you are having predator problems. No wild predator will come
near human voices.

7) Get to know other peafowl breeders and form a network. This helps immensely in all respects.

 DON’T

1) Feed the chicks any chemicals or poisons. Don’t overcrowd brooders or mix chicks with greater than a 2 week age difference if possible.

2) Allow your birds to roam free if they aren’t accustomed to the location. Believe it or not, they will readily turn semi-wild and take to the woods -that is if your neighbor doesn’t shoot them first for perching on his house or eating his flowers. Very close to where I live, two peafowl were recently seen running with a flock of wild turkeys. Allow the birds to be penned for several months if they are new to your place.

3) Overdose on wormer or any other medications. They will easily overdose on Tramisol. It is also very easy to overdose them on cornbiotics such as LA-200 which is a very effective medication for respiratory problems if given properly.

4) Overcrowd peafowl in pens with each other or with other types of poultry. This is courting disaster, as many a breeder will tell if honest. Once a severe avian illness begins to roll through your flock, all you can do is call the vet and pray!

This article originally appeared in the February 1999 Issue of The UPA Newsletter. Reproduction elsewhere in any form without prior consent from the UPA is strictly prohibited. © 1999 The United Peafowl Association. All rights reserved.

By D.C. Townsend

These treatments have been tested and proven effective.  I developed them for peafowl but they may be
used for any poultry.  The key to success is to begin treatment promptly.  In some cases delay will kill or
cripple the chick.

CROOKED TOES
Sometimes a peachick hatches with toes rolled into a fist.  They may straighten out on their own in the firstday of life.  If they do not do so, I make a CHICK SHOE (see illustration below) from blackpipe cleaner available in the crafts department at Wal-Mart.  I use black ones becausebright colors are more likely to be pecked by other peachicks.  One packet of Westrim Crafts Chenille stems costs 89 cents and will last for years.  Any kind of half inch wide tape can be used to attach the CHICK SHOE to the toes, but I prefer Johnson and Johnson First Aid clear tape.  I cut a piece a quarter inch long for the middle toe.  I cut another piece the same length and split into two quarter inch-wide pieces for the other toes.  Eight hours of treatment is usually enough time to end the problem on a day-old peachick.

Chick Shoe

In the 1995 hatch, I had a number of peachicks with a kink in the outer toe of one or both feet. They were well past a week old when I decided that I must do something about it. I made HALF SHOES of black pipe cleaner. I tore off a quarter inch-wide strip of duck tape several inches long and secured the HALF SHOE to the and the outer toe. Several days of treatment were needed. Some of the HALF SHOES came off and had to be taped on again, but all treated peachicks had straight toes at the end of the treatment. There was a young peacock that I missed treating. Now it was to late and he will always have a kink in his outer toe.

Half Shoe

STRADDLE LEGS
This problem can occur even if you take the precaution of having quarter inch hardware cloth under your peachicks.  Sometimes it is caused by the struggles of a chick with its toes rolled into fists.  In that case, both problems must be treated at the same time.  Icut a piece of tape four or five inches long and from the HOBBLE BRACE with the legs far enough apart so that the peachick can walk.  The tape must go the whole way around and cover its sticky side so that it does not stick to the peachick’s fuzz when it sits down.  Usually 24 hours of treatment is sufficient, but sometimes more is required.  CHICK SHOES and the HOBBLE BRACE can be used at the same time.

Straddle Legs

ACHILLES TENDON OUT OF THE GROOVE
When the Achilles tendon slips out of the groove on the hock joint, a peachick will not be able to straighten its leg. The problem needs prompt attention because the struggling peachick will put its weight on the hock joint which will damage the skin and cause swelling in the joint. The tendon can be pushed back in place with just one finger or a very gentle squeeze between the thumb and index finger. Sometimes just one treatment will give a complete cure that seems like a miracle. Other times several treatments are needed. Stubborn cases require advanced treatment that is too difficult to explain here. I treated both legs of a peachick for two weeks. She grew up to be a healthy peahen.

RELATED MATERIAL: ORDER THE DVD!
The author of this article may have a DVD available to purchase. It would be prudent to order yours today and have it on hand BEFORE you actually need it. Contact D.C. Townsend. PO BOX 11. Kite, GA. 31049-0011

Whether you use natural or artificial incubation for your peafowl eggs, you likely have encountered problems. If you haven’ t, then you can count yourself among the smallest of minorities and check the sign under which you were born because it was probably a good one.

If you are one who prefers the artificial route by using an incubator, let’s see if any of the following situations sound familiar:

Scenario # 1: You candle the eggs after five or more days and discover all the eggs are clear. At this point you become extremely concerned and consider taking up a less stressful hobby such as skydiving.

Scenario # 2: You candle the eggs as above and discover that only half or less of the eggs have embryos, the remainder being clear. At this point, you are also quite likely to become somewhat agitated.

Scenario # 3: At some point during the incubation process, you begin to detect a foul odor emanating from your incubator. You know an egg or eggs have gone bad so you begin picking through them methodically sniffing each one. While doing this once, I definitely discovered the bad egg. It announced itself to me by exploding in my face like a stink grenade and covering my entire upper body with a toxic goo so horrendous that I almost tossed my cookies. Folks, if you have never experienced this, there is no way I can describe the smell. Bad as it was though, it was better to have exploded on me than in the incubator which likely would have ruined the entire contents.

Scenario # 4: You discover at some point during incubation that you have many embryos that died apparently at some time between the first and fourth weeks of incubation. You again consider taking up skydiving.

Scenario # 5: You know all the eggs are full term by having diligently candled them. With great anticipation and expectation you very carefully then prepare them for hatch by placing them either in a hatcher or in the bottom hatching tray. As about the 27th day comes, you observe with growing anxiety that none of the eggs have pipped. You close down the air vents thinking perhaps you need to increase the humidity. The 28th day arrives and still no pips. You then open the machine and frantically shake a few of the eggs, then hold them to your ear listening for signs of life. You hear nothing. Candling reveals no movement. Your anxiety grows to an unbearable level and you crack open a few of the eggs being unable to stand it any longer. It is then that you discover what you had been emotionally attempting to deny – all the embryos are dead at full – term. Some probably broke the membrane, but they could not pip. In a few moments of hysterical despair, you consider obtaining a very sharp axe and reducing your incubator to firewood and scrap metal. You may also have an overwhelming compulsion to try peacock and dumplings for the first time.

Scenario # 6: Same as above except this time, many of the chicks do pip but most are unable to get any farther than that. If any chicks do hatch, they are weak, sticky, crooked – legged, crooked – toed, or cross – beaked. There are some other problems primarily mechanical in nature that go along with artificial incubation. If the incubator has only one thermostat, the switch can stick causing the machine to overheat. Any prolonged temperatures greater than 102 degrees F will be fatal to the incubated embryos.

The machine may stop heating for some reason. In this case, you need to do something as quickly as possible though it is not as immediate an emergency as is a machine that is overheating. For the above reasons, I feel that any serious artificial incubating should make a two thermostat incubator a priority.

Now let’s take each of the described above scenarios with a sort of trouble – shooting analysis to see what happened:

In scenario # 1, unless the incubator is so filthy that disease is killing the embryos in the germ stage, the problem has to be poor breeding. This can be caused by such a multitude of things that I can outline only the more prolific ones. The first could be that there is a problem with the male breeder. Is he walking poorly or acting sick and lethargic? If he is, then you’ll likely need to go further. You need to treat him. Another question to consider is the age of the male. If he is only two, then he is only in his first breeding year and is an immature breeder. If alright otherwise, most second-year males will breed, but it is sometimes well into the season before they get the “hang” of it and can breed reliably.

Another possibility is poor nutrition. If your birds are eating commercial poultry feed and nothing else, they may not be at the peak of health but they should at least lay fertile eggs. Ideally, breeders should be fed a diet of 12-16% protein and be supplemented with vitamins, minerals, and some fiber. Many fruits and vegetables provide the necessary fiber. The bottom line is that if your birds are run-down and anemic, they may not be able physiologically to produce any eggs or fertile eggs.

Another possible cause could be disease and/or internal parasites. How many times have you heard this sage piece of wisdom: DO NOT HOUSE PEAFOWL WITH CHICKENS! Man, is it ever true. I also would add to that list ducks, pheasants, turkeys, guineas, and geese. Over the years, I have heard many breeders scoff at this, but I have subsequently seen many of them pay with sick and dead birds. Chickens pass diseases to peafowl and a diseased peahen will not lay fertile eggs.

Worms can wreak devastation among your flock also. Regular worming at least twice per year should eliminate this problem. If you do not have other birds with your peafowl and still have disease, you need to find out what diseases are there and treat accordingly. Yes, animal husbandry involves much more than throwing birds in a pen and scattering a little cracked corn on the ground. Many breeders seem to desire to turn as great a profit as possible (don’t we all?), but in my opinion it cannot be done by cutting corners.

In scenario # 2, The solution depends upon whether the infertile eggs were laid during the earlier or latter part of the season. If from earlier, then you probably had an immature male that needed a little practice or perhaps the breeders were unfamiliar and nervous around each other at first and required a bit of time for the male to establish his dominance. If the infertile eggs came later, then my guess would be that something has happened to the male breeder. Illness, premature molt, leg or foot problems are all possibilities.

In scenario # 3, the culprit is rotten eggs. The primary contributing cause of this is improper storage of eggs prior to incubation. Everyone knows table eggs will spoil if left unrefrigerated in a warm area, so why should hatching eggs be any different? Very early in my peafowl hobby, I ordered some India Blue hatching eggs from a commercial hatchery (I would love to give their name since they are still in business but I won’ t). Being inexperienced and ignorant, I noticed when I opened the box that some of them already smelled bad, yet I didn’t know enough to throw them away. Two of the eggs exploded in the incubator ruining all the rest, if any of them were fertile to begin with. I later discovered the eggs weren’t even peafowl eggs. They were turkey eggs. The hatchery refused to refund my money or even answer my letters. They haven’t to this day. What I ‘m saying here folks is to take care of the eggs before you put them in the incubator. Keep them in a cool place (not cold) and hold them no longer than 7 days.

Scenario # 4 could be caused by poor breeder nutrition, incubator malfunction, improper temperature setting, or poor incubator hygiene. Keep a diligent eye on the thermometer, and if possible, use a separate hatcher. This reduces trauma to the eggs from wide temperature fluctuation and toxicity.

Scenarios # 5 and # 6, the biggies for peafowl eggs. Once after experiencing # 5, I went out and bought damn near every setting hen in Northeast Georgia swearing off incubators entirely. Others apparently have suffered this knockdown punch also because I still frequently talk with breeders who say you cannot, cannot hatch peafowl eggs by artificial incubation. Well, I sympathize with their emotional commitment to the belief, but I no longer agree with it.

Okay, stay with me here, because what at first appears to be one problem is actually two, but they are two sides of the same coin. What I’m referring to is oxygen starvation and low humidity. If the embryos are reaching full – term and dying just before pipping, then they are doing so primarily from oxygen starvation. It very frequently occurs under one or two common conditions. The first is when the incubator is kept in an
air conditioned house, building, or room. The air conditioner sucks the air of moisture, and the air vents in the incubator are narrowed to bring the operating humidity up to manufacturer recommendations. Peafowl eggs are much tougher than are chicken eggs and more difficult to break (I hatched 8 or ten eggs this year that were laid from a five – foot roost onto hard ground). While it is true that peachicks are bigger and stronger than standard chicks, thus more capable of breaking out, they also require much more oxygen. I have personally solved this problem by opening the vents all the way during the last three days. On the 27th or 28th day after most of the eggs have pipped, I place a water pan next to or under the eggs if possible. I wait until the eggs have pipped because their struggling makes them absorb the yolk. If they break out with too little struggle, they will have rough navals, and if they survive at all it will be a miracle.

The second common cause of oxygen starvation is the use of automatic humidity systems. I am fully aware that many will cry “foul” at this, but I will stick to my guns on my position on it in analyzing what my problems and the solutions have been. In my experience, it has worked better to fill the water pans by hand because the process of opening and closing the incubator door floods the incubator with invigorating fresh air. The worst hatching season I ever had was when using automatic humidity. Though I view other factors as contributing, the automatic humidity in my opinion played a key role.

Also important to monitor in oxygen starvation is the location of the incubator. If in a room with little fresh air circulation or with dead and stale air, this could result similarly.

With a hatch having poor humidity the chicks will be unable to struggle out of the shell though they will try as long as the oxygen is sufficient. Most of the eggs will pip, but the egg shells will be too sticky for the chicks to discard and emerge from. If any do hatch, they may feel as if covered with glue. As in the previous example, it has worked for me to what I refer to as direct – blasting of the eggs from a close source of humidity.

Another condition I would include here is a hatch in which many chicks are splay-legged, stiff-jointed, and cross-beaked. Though these conditions can be precipitated by low humidity, I have encountered them more frequently when a higher than normal operating temperature is present.

The end summation here regarding oxygen and humidity is that they are functionally interrelated with the incubator’ s controls and that increasing one may reduce the other in a hazardous manner. Always keep a vigilant eye on both and compensate if necessary. It is much more difficult to gauge oxygen content, but if the vents are completely open, there should be sufficient oxygen.

Let’ s now examine natural hatching. If you prefer this method there are only two avenues from which to choose: using peahens to set the eggs or using other fowl.

Using peahens in my opinion has many disadvantages for someone interested in maximizing the yield of peachicks. The more obvious disadvantage is that the hen becomes broody and ceases to lay. If the eggs are allowed to accumulate in the nest, the hen will become broody after laying 8-12 eggs. If the eggs are gathered daily, the hen will “clutch-out” after laying 8-12 but will shortly begin laying another clutch and usually a third after that. I frequently have peahens turn broody well into their third clutch late in the season. When this happens, I generally will let them hatch out the setting. Let me say that I have been warned by other breeders that this can lead to premature broodiness and that I may end up with hens that become broody on one or two eggs. This has not happened yet.

My birds are kept penned during breeding season to permit more control over egg collection. However, many peafowl owners prefer to allow the birds free range year round and prefer not to get involved in the laying and hatching process. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. In my opinion, it is a picture of natural beauty to have peafowl roaming freely on a farm or estate. The males are extremely ritualistic in their colorful displays in establishing dominance and territory, usually from an elevated position so they can be seen. I’ 11 say also that free-range peafowl seem to be more hearty and vigorous than penned birds. In any event, if you are one who allows your birds unlimited free range, you probably aren’ t overly concerned about hatch. Left alone, the birds will likely hatch sufficient numbers of chicks for your purposes.

Now, what about using other fowl for hatching peafowl eggs? I’ve seen chickens, I’ve seen ducks, and I’ve seen turkeys used. The most common fowl used is probably chickens. With chickens, bantams and games are probably the most broody. When I’ve used bantams, silkies have performed extraordinarily well. Cochins are also very broody and commonly used. Games are as broody and can cover more eggs, but they are more high-strung and less conducive to handling such as when changing or candling eggs. I have found that if dealt with diplomatically, a hen can be used for several consecutive settings. What I mean by this is that if the chicks are removed very shortly after hatch and a new setting of eggs placed before the hen comes off the nest, the hen will immediately resume her set mentality and remain on the nest. Some have defined this as cruel and abusive to the hen, but I would agree with them only if the hen were deprived of food and water. By having food and water close to the nest, the hen will leave it every day to obtain sustenance and will not die on the nest as I have heard some say. I have never lost a hen from setting yet, and many go through two and three settings.

So what advantages are found with natural hatching? The first is that one doesn’t have to suffer what I call incubator anxiety. This can result from any or all of the scenarios outlined in the first part of the article. No power failures to lose sleep over, no expensive hygrometers to monitor humidity, no constant disinfecting and scrubbing between hatches, etc.

Are there disadvantages? I’ll never forget another incident that occurred early in my hobby. I was this time buying chicks to build my base of breeding stock. I bought these four blackshoulder chicks from an acquaintance who I knew used chickens for incubation since he had frequently ridiculed me for expressing doubts about it. He preferred game hens. These chicks seemed the picture of health for about two weeks. It was then that I noticed one with swollen eyes and nasal discharge. By the next day, all were showing symptoms. While treating them with every antibiotic and medication I knew to use, they all rapidly succumbed and died. After visiting my acquaintance who denied he had ever experienced anything similar, a mutual acquaintance informed me this individual would routinely lose at least half his chicks from this illness every year. Though I am no veterinarian, I believe this was sinusitis and was passed from the chickens to the peachicks. Once again the moral of this story is – chickens carry diseases. They have built resistance to common avian diseases from thousands of years of captivity. Other fowl, however, are more susceptible.

This is not an argument against natural hatching with chickens. It is merely a danger and can be circumvented by maintaining a disease-free hen house with a minimum of bringing new replacement hens in. Keep a rooster and hatch your own replacement hens every year.

Another disadvantage and one that dismays me every year just after hatching season is that I know I have to feed the chickens all year until the next spring when the peafowl begin their annual egg-laying routine again. Unless you are a chicken fancier (and I know many of you are so don’t get mad with me), this becomes dreadfully tiresome. A suitable way around this is to allow the chickens free range where they require less maintenance. I have never been able to exercise this option due to predator problems but would readily allow it if possible.

The disadvantage that has consistently caused me the most worry is the lack of control I feel when the eggs are outside under hens. Numerous times have I discovered a nest that has been abandoned by a hen for a better nest that may be full of chicken eggs. When this occurs, it is a simple procedure of placing the peafowl eggs back under the hen and removing the chicken eggs, but of primary concern is how long the hen has been off the nest.

In my opinion, it is absolutely necessary to check the nests every day to monitor the hens movements. This will usually prevent the eggs being abandoned long enough to cause any real problems. Monitoring the nests can also prevent predator problems. Remember, the eggs, are outside and probably outside your control. In the southeast, we have big problems with raccoons, possums, skunks, and weasels, any of which would raid a nest of eggs. The last big advantage discussed is humidity, and the severity of the problem can vary greatly with wherever you are located. In my region, the summer season usually finds enough natural humidity in the air to accommodate the eggs, even if they are set off the ground in a nest box. And that is about all I will say on that. Which do I recommend? As you’ve just seen, both have advantages and disadvantages. For best results, I use both. This article originally appeared in Volume 1, Number 1 of The Peacock Journal.

This article is reprinted here with permission from the author. Reproduction elsewhere in any form without prior consent from the UPA is strictly prohibited. 1999 The United Peafowl Association. All rights reserved.

This past weekend, I was doing chores in my pens when an idea for an article struck me. After reading the following article, you may conclude that I again came up with nothing, but I’ll take that chance and submit my article anyway.

Again, while working in my pens I noticed a Spalding Purple cock limping around favoring one leg. He was obviously in distress and not interested in my help. On closer examination, I realized there was a thin thread-like string wrapped around his foot and leg. It was close to the color of his leg and so was not readily apparent.

As I went to retrieve my catch net, I remembered the day before seeing a Spalding Opal hen with something wrapped around her leg also. It did not seem to be bothering her, and at the time, I was busy trying to sell some birds to a customer, so I made a mental note to deal with it later, then promptly forgot about it until now.

With two birds having the same problem at the same time, I decided that this might be a potential topic for an article. I had been taking photographs of my birds that day so my camera was nearby. I snapped as many pictures as I could and submitted them with this article.

As it turned out, the string wrapped around the leg of the Spalding Purple cock came from a feed sack. Obviously it ended up in the pen, either by inadvertently getting in the feed or by blowing up against the pen and being pulled in by a curious bird. The string removed from the Spalding Opal hen’s leg was a piece of frayed visual block that I use as a sight barrier around the pens. An old feather had also become entangled and was being dragged around by the hen.

After removing the string from the legs of the two birds, I searched through all my pens and was surprised to find a variety of innocent looking fibers. In my submitted photos, I’ve included pictures of this potentially hazardous junk. It includes, as mentioned before, a piece of feed sack string and frayed visual block fabric, as well as pieces of netting materials, several different types of twine, and even a wad of birthday ribbon.

While searching the pens for string like material, I’m embarrassed to say I also found an alarming collection of small pieces of hardware of which I have also submitted photos. Included in this group were a hog ring, a roofing nail, a wing nut, a rubberized roof washer, a roofing screw, and other dangerous debris that could easily be swallowed by my peafowl.

To my knowledge I have never lost a bird to Hardware Disease, but the potential was there. I urge you to always to be on the lookout for the above hazards. When working on your pens, always stop what you are doing, climb down off that ladder, and immediately pick up that nail, hog ring or whatever it was that you dropped before you forget. Otherwise, Murphy’s Law comes into play, meaning that if a peafowl finds and swallows it, chances are it will be the best bird on the farm.