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Originally Posted by
bdfive 
Resolution, I'm exhausted caring for the gorgeous creatures with the addition of chicks running out my ears. I think I'm just to darn successful at this hobby, LOL!!!!! I leave a couple babies with each hen....want her taking care of them instead of producing more. For those of you that haven't watched a free range hen raise her young you are totally missing out. It's a delight....they are such good mothers. She has her babies high up in a tree in just a few days and watching them hunt down and tear up the Cicadas present on the landscape now is hillarous. I'm catching a dozen or more on our porch each morning and taking them to the aviary where they are much appreciated.
Regarding ultrakibble. They love it and I am seeing a lot less feces in the pens. I don't see the yellow in their faces darkening up any. I've read food grade kelp meal is good for that but can't find any locally. Anyone know where I might look? I forget, is it in the ultrakibble?
Keep an eye on the facial skin colour of chicks hatched this year. Those chicks nurtured on egg yolks generated from an UK supplemented diet will often resemble wild caught birds in plumage and skin colour - and also in the length of crest plumes. I'm a bit surprised that the colour has not changed on adult birds. It's a bit counter intuitive but the white skin of cristatus is actually the brightest skin colour of all. The epidermis itself is dark slate grey- similar to that of the Afropavo.
Some forms of green peafowl have brighter skin colour and we tend to call that paler- which it is but it would be more accurate to describe it as brighter. The darkest skin hues belong to Siamese imperator and one of the spicifer forms. If you want to see immediate results with skin colouration get to the fish pond and find yourself some crayfish. Boil these crustaceans, cut the entire animal into pieces and then place with nuts and dried fruit into the food processor. Freeze the cookie dough textured porridge and feed out every two days. Kelp is a fine supplement but not always easy to find and that what is readily procurable often comes from crystaline clean, unpolluted seas of China...
Are any of your subadult, juvenile or adult male peafowl interacting with chicks (free ranging)? Have you noted any unusual locomotive behaviors?
