This is probably going to ruffle some feathers but I just wanted to share some thoughts regarding the hurdles the peafowl world is struggling with. I'm not going to name and shame but I think most people will be able to connect the dots without my help. The peafowl hobby is grappling with a number of issues that I have seen and I think awareness of them is at least somewhat helpful in eventually working them out.
1. There is very little inherent push to breed better quality birds. Unfortunately even the ugliest most deformed inbred peafowl is still brightly colored so many people don't think of them as having better or worse representatives. This combined with the practice of getting as many chicks to hatch as possible to maximize monetary gains has led to many flocks becoming profoundly inbred. Don't get me wrong I run a business during the summer breeding and selling pheasants and peafowl and there's nothing wrong with making money, the problem is when people sell inferior or defective birds just to fill an order.
2. We don't really have a solid organization anymore for peafowlers. The UPA still exists in name and in NFP status but after some bullying by a director led another director to quit and two others to resign there's not much expertise present in the org anymore.
3. Unethical buying and selling. Alot of people seem to have trouble grasping that peafowl are expensive. Yeah here and there you'll find a backyard breeder who's just trying to get rid of some extra birds but the quality is spotty and you'll very rarely find the more unusual colors. A friend of mine often says that she doesn't think people ask nearly enough for their birds and after this season of multiple outcrossing projects and more colors being bred I definitely agree. On hot days like during this heatwave I'm checking to make sure the birds are comfortable almost every hour.
On the other hand of course is bad selling. A couple breeders seemingly have no scruples about selling birds with lethal genes or thyroid issues. One or two even tout the "progressive pied" bronzes as a bird to be valued rather than culled. Another breeder offered a big name breeder some birds for a breeding loan to build up a mutation and never got the birds or their offspring back.
4. There is a major push for the breeding of new varieties even when the gene pool for a color is still very very limited. Most breeders only have one or two pens of any one variety or color so you're not working with as much genetic variation.
5. The fact that less than 20 breeders hold 90% of the genetic stock of many colors and patterns.
6. Gatekeeping and campaigns of misinformation: for whatever reason some breeders both big and small often don't tell the truth or deflect when asked questions. This is both a way to keep newer people from threatening their rep and their income. It sounds crazy I know but I was told by a bigger breeder who'd been center stage in the American peafowl community for a long time that it's actually getting more and more common.
1. There is very little inherent push to breed better quality birds. Unfortunately even the ugliest most deformed inbred peafowl is still brightly colored so many people don't think of them as having better or worse representatives. This combined with the practice of getting as many chicks to hatch as possible to maximize monetary gains has led to many flocks becoming profoundly inbred. Don't get me wrong I run a business during the summer breeding and selling pheasants and peafowl and there's nothing wrong with making money, the problem is when people sell inferior or defective birds just to fill an order.
2. We don't really have a solid organization anymore for peafowlers. The UPA still exists in name and in NFP status but after some bullying by a director led another director to quit and two others to resign there's not much expertise present in the org anymore.
3. Unethical buying and selling. Alot of people seem to have trouble grasping that peafowl are expensive. Yeah here and there you'll find a backyard breeder who's just trying to get rid of some extra birds but the quality is spotty and you'll very rarely find the more unusual colors. A friend of mine often says that she doesn't think people ask nearly enough for their birds and after this season of multiple outcrossing projects and more colors being bred I definitely agree. On hot days like during this heatwave I'm checking to make sure the birds are comfortable almost every hour.
On the other hand of course is bad selling. A couple breeders seemingly have no scruples about selling birds with lethal genes or thyroid issues. One or two even tout the "progressive pied" bronzes as a bird to be valued rather than culled. Another breeder offered a big name breeder some birds for a breeding loan to build up a mutation and never got the birds or their offspring back.
4. There is a major push for the breeding of new varieties even when the gene pool for a color is still very very limited. Most breeders only have one or two pens of any one variety or color so you're not working with as much genetic variation.
5. The fact that less than 20 breeders hold 90% of the genetic stock of many colors and patterns.
6. Gatekeeping and campaigns of misinformation: for whatever reason some breeders both big and small often don't tell the truth or deflect when asked questions. This is both a way to keep newer people from threatening their rep and their income. It sounds crazy I know but I was told by a bigger breeder who'd been center stage in the American peafowl community for a long time that it's actually getting more and more common.
