2015 Peafowl Hatching Support Group - Eggs and Chicks!

[furbabymum]

Well I was wrong. .my hen must have been doing some foot action under her because she just got off of the nest and no chicks. No external pips either. I candled and both are still alive soooo...I wait! I on many occasions considered bringing them in and finishing them off in the hatcher in fear of them doing ok.

@zazouse what's your opinion on free range brooding? I always see you hatching and brooding but do you allow any natural brooding and how successful is it?

I'm not Zaz, obviously, or as experienced, but I do free range brood. This is my second year doing it. Last year was their first. They hatched 90% of their eggs last year but they were horrid mothers and the chicks all died. This year I let them brood and took eggs when they began hatching. 100% hatch rate and it's been 3 days, her babies are still alive (I left her 2 of 8). My peas hatch just fine, it's the caring for babies that they suck at.

 

[zazouse]

Well I was wrong. .my hen must have been doing some foot action under her because she just got off of the nest and no chicks. No external pips either. I candled and both are still alive soooo...I wait! I on many occasions considered bringing them in and finishing them off in the hatcher in fear of them doing ok.

@zazouse what's your opinion on free range brooding? I always see you hatching and brooding but do you allow any natural brooding and how successful is it?

I will let my peahens set and hatch her own pea-chicks if she is in a safe area and as soon as they hatch i move here and he chicks in a safe brooder pen till the chicks are big enough to keep up and fly into the trees at about 3 weeks of age with their momma,

these mommas will mother every chick in the brooder no matter what kind.
I have one hen that i took chicks from at hatch for a sale and she moved right into the turkey brooder/pen yesterday and is trying to mother all the poults, they are way to old for that ,so tonight i am putting some guinea keets under her that hatched today and let her be a momma to them.

only way i will ever let a momma keep her babies right off the bat free ranging is if i can keep the grass short and everything weed eated so snakes to not get the chicks if they get behind, same way with guinea fowl but with all these rains it has been impossible to even get everything cut at the same time.

 

[carriemacf]

Ok peachick experts i need more advice please...if the 6 peahen eggs my chicken is sitting on 2 didn't develop, 1 is perfect, and 3 are questionable so i left them in place...what if the 3 questionable ones don't hatch and there is only 1 peachick born? This particular chicken hen left her last batch of chicks at exactly 4 weeks old...all are fine...but those were chicken chicks and is 4 weeks too early for peachicks to be walked out on? Especially if there is only 1 peachick? In my mind i thought it would be ok if mama left the peachick babies at 4 weeks because i would then just keep them penned up and protected while i was gone and then just finish hand raising them until they were old enough to be totally on their own...but that was last week when i was hopeful i would have 6 peachicks....now that there is a possibility of only having 1 peachick it's dramatically different...no?

 

[ellymayRans]

I will let my peahens set and hatch her own pea-chicks if she is in a safe area and as soon as they hatch i move here and he chicks in a safe brooder pen till the chicks are big enough to keep up and fly into the trees at about 3 weeks of age with their momma,

these mommas will mother every chick in the brooder no matter what kind.
I have one hen that i took chicks from at hatch for a sale and she moved right into the turkey brooder/pen yesterday and is trying to mother all the poults, they are way to old for that ,so tonight i am putting some guinea keets under her that hatched today and let her be a momma to them.

only way i will ever let a momma keep her babies right off the bat free ranging is if i can keep the grass short and everything weed eated so snakes to not get the chicks if they get behind, same way with guinea fowl but with all these rains it has been impossible to even get everything cut at the same time.

Thanks Zaz. Granted living in IN we do have snakes but not like you have there. My hen also would sleep in the coop with youngsters when it was bad weather or really cold and they were 5mos. So those things I feel pretty good about. Hmmm..I hate trying to make these types of decisions!

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Finally we have entered July. And at this latitude I can maybe expect 2 more weeks of fertile eggs before the peatrains starts dropping. Local weather station reported yesterday that for our county for the month of June,we recieved between 12.5 and 17.5" of rain for the month. Last week I only collected 19 eggs total from Monday thru Sunday nites. It was also reported for the month of June we only had 6 full days of total sunshine. This leaves 24 days of gloomy and wet days. I've now wormed my birds twice this breeding season because of all the earthworms that are in their pens from all the rain.

Now enter July. Yesterday and today was very nice with temps in the upper 70's and no humidity. Great sunshine and a very nice breeze both days. Last night I collected 10 eggs and tonight I got 13 eggs. No doubt the weather has a direct effect on eggs laid and fertile eggs. My group that is due to hatch this weekend had a total of 33 eggs and after candling tonight I threw out 23 of them and only have real hopes for 7 that are dark. This year in Illinois has been terrible. Corn fields have all the low areas drowned out and nothing is there and most of the corn is very uneven in size height wize because all the rain has stunted it. It also is very yellow proving the nitrogen it needs to grow is gone and leached out from the water.I think I'll be very lucky if I get 100 peachicks hatched this season. And I know there has to be others who are experiencing the same problem

 

[chickens galore]

I had 4 shipped pea eggs in an incubator one was clear one quit at around a week the other two looked great one piped on day 25 and zipped later that day the last internally piped on day 25 didnt pip out so i made a tiny air hole, i could hear the chick but later when i looked it had died with out piping, no idea why wasnt shrink wrapped, so i have one very lonely pea chick that im trying to teach to eat and drink, I do have other chicks due tomorrow or the next day that i hope will keep it company, any advice from you pro's would be fab

 

[ellymayRans]

I had 4 shipped pea eggs in an incubator one was clear one quit at around a week the other two looked great one piped on day 25 and zipped later that day the last internally piped on day 25 didnt pip out so i made a tiny air hole, i could hear the chick but later when i looked it had died with out piping, no idea why wasnt shrink wrapped, so i have one very lonely pea chick that im trying to teach to eat and drink, I do have other chicks due tomorrow or the next day that i hope will keep it company, any advice from you pro's would be fab 

Yes I would recommend placing the newly hatched chicks with it. I had a very similar outcome with my last hatch and only now after 5 weeks do I have chicks hatching but the Pea is too big to try integrating and it will be our house pea for much longer than I'd like or hoped for. It's sweet but very messy and needy. I let it run the house still as its "messes" or still tiny and easy to clean up but I know that will change very quickly!

It also has no interest in the grown outside peas that often visit the glass doors to peek inside. Of course my DH doesn't like that for whatever reason as soon as I open the cage he flies straight to him usually on him no matter where he is as long as he's within eyeshot! I think that it's comical only because I know it irritates him and he always whines about how sharp it's nails are! Big baby I say!! Lol!

Edited to clarify I am by no means an expert ... JMO.

 

[ellymayRans]

Update on my eggs: 1 incubator egg that I made a small hole in is still alive and wiggles the egg. I have not opened the bator since but worried it hasn't pipped on its own. ?? I'm very stressed by the whole thing!

2 eggs under broody Pea: momma jumped off the nest this morning and still no babes. No pip either and they had internally pipped a day before the incubated egg. I did not candle this morning but surprised that still nothing. Granted none of the eggs were due til tomorrow. With the internal pips though now going on 2&3 days worries me!

 

[ellymayRans]

Well I couldn't take it anymore and so glad I did it. It's basically out left it's bottom in just in case but all the veins had receided as there was no blood but it had only a slit in the membrane and was very strange looking.

This is when I began and after I made a larger tear in the membrane.

Once I got it's head out from its wing it has this strange knot on its head. Has a red dot on the tip almost cyst or boilish looking!?!?
Geez!
It appears pied but I have none so who knows!!? Just guessing based on pics overseen but it's obviously still wet.
Anyone know what this maybe? Referring to the bump not breed

 

[ellymayRans]

I've google images of Green peachicks at at hatch out of curiosity because this egg had a "G" label. I can't tell but regardless it looks big to me.

I definitely don't think it's normal.