Is there any solid origin story and genetic makeup known for this mutation? The only page that talks about them is not very well written and looking at the chicks and birds they seem to be a sport out of birds carrying or showing dark throat. I don't see much difference between them and am...
There are often alot of requests to color ID blackshoulder males and hens. This is extremely difficult if not impossible if parents are not known in the hens given how many new mutations there are and how many look similar. Here are some general groupings that might narrow it down for telling...
I want to start by saying all of this is pure speculation based on my knowledge of biology.,genetics, and from what other breeders have shared with me.
For colors such as taupe, Ivory, hazel, and indigo part of outcrossing is using a basic recessive hen and a taupe/ivory/hazel/indigo cock. Any...
With the increased number of colors we get an increasing number of birds in the blackshoulder mutation. With more colors looking alot alike it is probably going to increasingly come down to knowing your breeder and not breeding recklessly yourself.
Males that show blackshoulder tend to not to...
Earlier this week I brought this little lady into our "special care unit" she was not visibly sick or showing symptoms but she had been treated for gapeworm and it took a toll. I picked her up and discovered she was very thin so i brought her in to keep her warm and fatten her back up with...
I typically don't recommend free ranging as appealing as it is for many people but here are some bulleted points that can help you have success with it.
- Don't count on your birds going back into the pens at night even if they typically do it. Once they find a perch outside they like or a...
You could write a whole book on peafowl nutrition and diet but here are some bulleted points so this post doesn't turn into a novel
- Unless a pelleted/crumble diet is custom formulated for you said crumbles are woefully inadequate for peafowl when fed alone. These feeds are designed for...
Earlier this spring while I was waiting for it to warm up enough for the peahens to start laying a friend of mine posted a photo comparing an IB egg to a Green egg with the Green egg being visibly larger. It got me thinking how regular india blue eggs compare with their mutations' eggs. So...
Just thought i would share how i help reduce disease risks and keep my pens clean.
-if i go from working with the adults to doing something with the chicks i wash my hands in between always.
-whenever i refill waterers either with adults or chicks i wash the waterers with dish soap and water...
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...
This breeding season I decided to try an experiment with both my indigo and hazel birds. I had two breeder pens set up one with a Bronze split indigo rooster over hazel hens and one bronze split hazel over indigo hens. All told I hatched about 20 chicks from the pens and the results were as...
These are just a few nuggets that i have picked up over the years.
1. Never chase a customer if they're truly interested they will come to you.
2. Know your birds' worth and stick to your prices. If people complain they're probably cheap skates anyway.
3. If you've got someone coming for...
Indigo and hazel are sister mutations and were among the first instances of double recessive mutation expression in the peafowl world. They are a combination of Bronze mutation and Purple mutation and though they genetically are the same appearance wise they are very different. Indigos appeared...
Maybe you're a pea-addict who is experiencing their first breeding season or you got some eggs from a friend. Here are some tips to help you incubate well.
1. Use good quality incubator (if incubating artificially, broody hens are the best but not always as committed as you need them to be) I...
So I thought I would share what I feed my birds with everyone. I have spent alot of time going through veterinary notes and discussing with other breeders what works best here's what I've found. I mix the food in a dust bin.
I start with a base of 24% gamebird ration (50 lbs) I get mine locally...
This will probably make some people ticked off but I think it needs to be said.
- deworm your birds with safeguard, valbazen, ivermectin sheep drench, or one of the other dewormers. Not deworming is going to cost you birds.
- the so called "natural" health remedies do not work and are sometimes...
This will probably make some people angry but it needs to be said.
-do not buy pheasants of any kind before reading up and researching their requirements. There are many good books out there to read both on ringnecks and on ornamental pheasants. Buying birds and then expecting others to hold...
The question that gets asked alot during this time of year is whether or not peas need any special accommodation during the winter. Most people say they don't but I would very much say it depends. IF you live in an area that's very wet in the winter they will definitely benefit from shelter and...
Outcrossing is something that doesn't get talked about much in the peafowl world yet I feel it is extremely undervalued. Cameo, peach, purple. Violeta, and charcoal are colors that are perhaps suffering the most from inbreeding depression in general. Outcrossing with these colors is therefore...
I've been talking to a friend and an old professor, both of whom hold PHD's about the curiosity of charcoal hens being sterile. Both of them agreed that the most likely explanation is that they have a defective gene on the female chromosome that doesn't "turn on" like its supposed to. Males get...