Spaulding vs. Indian Crests

[Chicken Keith]

Hello everyone. I have not been raising peafowl for very long but I have become very infatuated with the look of the India Blues. Sure the other colors are very pretty but, for me, (and maybe I'm vanilla boring) but the IB (especially the shape of their head) is the only bird for me.

Having said that, I arrived at my opinion through careful observation of many types of peafowl: Javas, Spauldings and Indians. The Javas all appear to have crests that are near vertical in relation to the ground. Spauldings a little less so but the Java gene (since aren't Spauldings a cross between a Java and an Indian?) figures prominently in the Spaulding crest.

So here's the point of my post, thus the question: Do pure India Blue females tend to have crests that stand more erect than the IB males?

I acquired 2 three-month old females from a breeder this weekend. I hatched a single chick 3 months ago, who turned out to be male. His crest inclines back about 45 degrees or so. To me this is an "attractive" looking pea head. The javas and spauldings are just not for me.

The females were billed as pure IB. That's what I was told, and it's what I wanted. The crests were pretty torn up, which is common, I think, especially with penned birds that might be crowded in a small space. No biggie. Feathers grow back, and fast with high protein food.

So am I fretting over nothing that these IB females might have "stray" Spaulding blood in them? Do you think this is the case or do the female crests just tend to be more erect, as a natural feature of the IB breed? I really wanted pure IB's. Is it common to find Spaulding lines in birds that are marketed as Indians?

 

[MinxFox]

Thanks, Zaz. I appreciate you reassuring me. My young boy has that crest that "reclines" backward, and he's only 3 months old too. When I saw these girls, I thought, OH NO! They've got that <ugly> Java-Spaulding look in the head--like a flat snake head. LOL. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, huh? Please forgive my shallow-Hal attitude. I just know what looks "pretty" to me. LOL.

Which is why I think it's funny that the Java Green's are so much more expensive. To me, I wouldn't pay near as much as I would and Indian. But I will concede the Java plumage is striking. I just can't get past that snake-head.

That is what I like about peafowl. There are so many different colors, patterns, etc that there really is a kind for everyone. If you are not into bright colors, there are the bronze, peach, etc. For me I like the India Blues and the Green peafowl. Yep the younger peafowl will have a green peafowl looking crest.
Here is an example of my peacock Peep's crest as an adult vs. when he was younger.

Here you can see that the crest feathers are not even triangular shaped yet. The crest is also tighter.


The real pure India Blue is taller than domestic India Blues and they have a much larger white area on their face: http://www.arkive.org/indian-peafowl/pavo-cristatus/image-G63821.html
The domestic India Blues are just a product of perhaps some inbreeding and years of adapting to the climate and things...Also selective breeding could be why they look different. I am not totally sure.

I really love the look of the green peafowl. One person has argued that the "snake like head" is meant to scare away predators since it can resemble a snake. Another reason they may go for big bucks is they are endangered in the wild. That is one of the main things that draws me to them. How often do you even get the chance to personally help an endangered species by breeding it and taking care of it? To me they are worth the cost so that years from now people can still enjoy them. Their face reminds me of a warrior for some reason. I feel like they need a metal helmet on.

I on the contrary disagree and see green peafowl as beautiful! They are priced higher due to them being harder to raise overall, and they are lots of times hard to find as pure without having an india blue blood in them. Blues are nice and traditional, but greens look so much more exotic. The beautiful lorus, very nice tall crests (I adore greens with big crests), nice thin build, nice long legs, a striking plumage, and the hens are colorful too! Also the are quieter than blues. These are not my pictures but it shows some of the things I like about them:

(Texas Peafowl)

(Texas Peafowl - love the crest and the legs)

(Peafowl Farm - Pfauenfreund)

(Peafowl Farm - Pfauenfreund- I love the colorful hens)

I cannot manage to copy the last image, but it is picture number 29 of 42 from Prani Breeding Center - leo7)

These are some pictures from some great people working to converse green peafowl! Thanks to your hard work!

I agree I love all of those things about greens.

 

[BYC-user-174785]

MinxFox, thanks for posting the link for pure India Blue. I absolutely love them. Domestics are nice but the wild ones are so leggy and have more green peafowl characteristics. That would be cool to get some!

Chicken Keith, you can have whatever opinion you want about them. I just love all peafowl! All of my young peafowl have really odd looking crests just like Peep's was when he was little. Once they molt they will have a nice crest.

 

[zazouse]

Which confirms the old adage that "beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder." You won't ever have to worry about bidding against me for Java Greens.

Which confirms the old adage that "beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder." You won't ever have to worry about bidding against me for Java Greens.

i think they are beautiful but i would have to keep them penned cause they would probably walk or fly away even if i raised them here plus i think green lines should be kept as green lines whenever possible to preserve the species

I once thought that whits were not for me but when i purchased my first babies there was a white one left over so they gave her to me, she ended up being my favorite and now i have 18 whites running around here and my 14 moth old has a bunch of trian feathers with eyes, it is my first time to ever see white eyes ever.. i am in love

 

[zazouse]

They are babies and sometimes their crest will look like you describe , it does not mean anything, as they have yet to get their adult crest, i have seen it in many of my babies male and female.

 

[Chicken Keith]

Thanks, Zaz. I appreciate you reassuring me. My young boy has that crest that "reclines" backward, and he's only 3 months old too. When I saw these girls, I thought, OH NO! They've got that <ugly> Java-Spaulding look in the head--like a flat snake head. LOL. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, huh? Please forgive my shallow-Hal attitude. I just know what looks "pretty" to me. LOL.

Which is why I think it's funny that the Java Green's are so much more expensive. To me, I wouldn't pay near as much as I would and Indian. But I will concede the Java plumage is striking. I just can't get past that snake-head.

 

[BYC-user-174785]

Thanks, Zaz. I appreciate you reassuring me. My young boy has that crest that "reclines" backward, and he's only 3 months old too. When I saw these girls, I thought, OH NO! They've got that <ugly> Java-Spaulding look in the head--like a flat snake head. LOL. Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder, huh? Please forgive my shallow-Hal attitude. I just know what looks "pretty" to me. LOL.

Which is why I think it's funny that the Java Green's are so much more expensive. To me, I wouldn't pay near as much as I would and Indian. But I will concede the Java plumage is striking. I just can't get past that snake-head.

I on the contrary disagree and see green peafowl as beautiful! They are priced higher due to them being harder to raise overall, and they are lots of times hard to find as pure without having an india blue blood in them. Blues are nice and traditional, but greens look so much more exotic. The beautiful lorus, very nice tall crests (I adore greens with big crests), nice thin build, nice long legs, a striking plumage, and the hens are colorful too! Also the are quieter than blues. These are not my pictures but it shows some of the things I like about them:

(Texas Peafowl)

(Texas Peafowl - love the crest and the legs)

(Peafowl Farm - Pfauenfreund)

(Peafowl Farm - Pfauenfreund- I love the colorful hens)

I cannot manage to copy the last image, but it is picture number 29 of 42 from Prani Breeding Center - leo7)

These are some pictures from some great people working to converse green peafowl! Thanks to your hard work!

 

[Chicken Keith]

Which confirms the old adage that "beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder." You won't ever have to worry about bidding against me for Java Greens.

 

[Chicken Keith]

That is what I like about peafowl. There are so many different colors, patterns, etc that there really is a kind for everyone. If you are not into bright colors, there are the bronze, peach, etc. For me I like the India Blues and the Green peafowl. Yep the younger peafowl will have a green peafowl looking crest.
Here is an example of my peacock Peep's crest as an adult vs. when he was younger.

Here you can see that the crest feathers are not even triangular shaped yet. The crest is also tighter.


The real pure India Blue is taller than domestic India Blues and they have a much larger white area on their face: http://www.arkive.org/indian-peafowl/pavo-cristatus/image-G63821.html
The domestic India Blues are just a product of perhaps some inbreeding and years of adapting to the climate and things...Also selective breeding could be why they look different. I am not totally sure.

I really love the look of the green peafowl. One person has argued that the "snake like head" is meant to scare away predators since it can resemble a snake. Another reason they may go for big bucks is they are endangered in the wild. That is one of the main things that draws me to them. How often do you even get the chance to personally help an endangered species by breeding it and taking care of it? To me they are worth the cost so that years from now people can still enjoy them. Their face reminds me of a warrior for some reason. I feel like they need a metal helmet on.


I agree I love all of those things about greens.

Thanks Minx for the pix and the info. Appreciate the factoid about the Java's being endangered, as I didn't know that. My comment above was in response to Blue Creek.

 

[MinxFox]

Yeah the wild India Blues are so beautiful! Resolution once told me that you might be able to get India Blues that resemble the wild type from a zoo that has had free-range birds for a long time. The free range birds get to select who they breed with so I guess the wild type characteristics might be more preserved or something.

That is a good photo of a young male showing how for a while their crest will be a bit tight and not as fanned out. I noticed that now that Alto is going to be 5, his crest looks very colorful. I think maybe their crest gets prettier with age too.

I was given three white peachicks from a friend of my dad's who lived near a peafowl breeder. All I was told is they are white peachicks. They were little chicks and I raised them along side Peep. Even at a young age, they seemed very flighty and wild. As they became adults I realized that their crests looked a little tighter than the other peafowl. One of them, a peahen, had a fairly bright yellow face. I sold her to Destinduck who is here on BYC. He shows photos of her every now and then in the "Show off Your Peas" topic. Her brother and sister don't have such bright faces, but their faces do have a faint yellow tint. I learned this year from Rocking BAB that spaldings and green peafowl are normally the first peacocks to lose their train after the breeding season. My white peacock lost his train way before my other boys. I am pretty sure that the whites I was given are spalding whites. I personally think there are many India blues and their varieties that have maybe just a bit of green blood.