Bad mom?

[furbabymum]

So I now have 4 chicks hatched by the chickens. They are larger and doing well. Then I have 4 hatched by one peahen plus 1 I hatched she abandoned. Now my other peahen has shown up with 3 babies.

Question here is the most recent peahen appears to be a horrid mother. I've seen her peck her chicks many many times. I'm concerned. Should I catch them and take them from her? She is sitting on them and appears protective but she pecks at them.

 

[DylansMom]

So I now have 4 chicks hatched by the chickens. They are larger and doing well. Then I have 4 hatched by one peahen plus 1 I hatched she abandoned. Now my other peahen has shown up with 3 babies.

Question here is the most recent peahen appears to be a horrid mother. I've seen her peck her chicks many many times. I'm concerned. Should I catch them and take them from her? She is sitting on them and appears protective but she pecks at them.

Gosh, that's almost got to be a judgement call by you. How hard is she pecking them? I have a hen with chicks right now and she's had many chicks over the years, but I do not recall her ever purposely pecking any of them. She will accidentally step on one now and then, but has never caused any injury. Can you tell if something is triggering it and is it her first time as a mother?

 

[new 2 pfowl]

I have seen Mom, our oldest and most experienced peahen, peck at her chicks to train them to listen to her and get somewhere safe when she's giving them the "warning clucking." But I've never seen her do it a lot.
Does it look like she might be training them?

 

[furbabymum]

I have seen Mom, our oldest and most experienced peahen, peck at her chicks to train them to listen to her and get somewhere safe when she's giving them the "warning clucking." But I've never seen her do it a lot.
Does it look like she might be training them?

I will have to look more I think. She only just showed back up Saturday. What I observed was the chicks following her and she'd turn around and peck one which would scream. Then she'd keep walking and then peck another. I felt like she might be annoyed by them but then when I tried getting close she'd get between us. She's also still keeping them warm and such. So I just can't decide. I haven't observed the chickens doing this to the babies or the other peahen doing this at all. Just this one.

Also, the 2 peahens had babies close together and sometimes the babies get confused and follow the wrong hen, then that hen pecks them. That is normal I assume.

 

[furbabymum]

Gosh, that's almost got to be a judgement call by you. How hard is she pecking them? I have a hen with chicks right now and she's had many chicks over the years, but I do not recall her ever purposely pecking any of them. She will accidentally step on one now and then, but has never caused any injury. Can you tell if something is triggering it and is it her first time as a mother?

Your avi makes me want to get some white peafowl!

 

[DylansMom]

Your avi makes me want to get some white peafowl!

Thanks, whites are not really much to look at unless they are in Full Train, then they are a sight to behold. IMO anyway.

 

[MinxFox]

I wouldn't take them but just keep an eye on them. I have rescued a peachick before that got its leg wrapped around some grass in the rain. I took I and dried it off and warmed it up. When I returned it to the mother, she kept pecking at the peachick because she didn't recognize it, but finally she accepted it.

Is this a young peahen or is this her first time with peachicks? If she was raised by people and hasn't learned from other peahens how to raise peachicks this is probably a learning experience for her. At least she has some good instincts. As the peachicks grow she will hopefully get used to them.

I have seen peachicks really peck at their moms though. Peahens will lower their head for their peachicks to preen their face, but the peachicks will peck their mom's eyelid really hard and then the peahen will pull away. It looks like it really hurts. Once I saw the peahen pull her head up and the peachick was still holding onto her eyelid!

As long as the peachicks don't seem to be getting hurt I would say they are fine.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

I have seen peachicks really peck at their moms though. Peahens will lower their head for their peachicks to preen their face, but the peachicks will peck their mom's eyelid really hard and then the peahen will pull away. It looks like it really hurts. Once I saw the peahen pull her head up and the peachick was still holding onto her eyelid!

I saw this year's peababy Runty do that to her mom, too - she pecked on her mom's crest feathers so hard I thought they would get pulled out!

 

[furbabymum]

I wouldn't take them but just keep an eye on them. I have rescued a peachick before that got its leg wrapped around some grass in the rain. I took I and dried it off and warmed it up. When I returned it to the mother, she kept pecking at the peachick because she didn't recognize it, but finally she accepted it.

Is this a young peahen or is this her first time with peachicks? If she was raised by people and hasn't learned from other peahens how to raise peachicks this is probably a learning experience for her. At least she has some good instincts. As the peachicks grow she will hopefully get used to them.

I have seen peachicks really peck at their moms though. Peahens will lower their head for their peachicks to preen their face, but the peachicks will peck their mom's eyelid really hard and then the peahen will pull away. It looks like it really hurts. Once I saw the peahen pull her head up and the peachick was still holding onto her eyelid!

As long as the peachicks don't seem to be getting hurt I would say they are fine.

These are my first peababies to my first peas. Hopefully it'll all go well! I will say the one I rescued hears the other pea babies and cries for them even though I put him with chicks immediately. Kind of sad.