Broody hen on peacock eggs - Update on peacock eggs

[Wolf-Kim]

Hey Ruth, will you check and empty your PM box? 0

Thanks!

-Kim

 

[reallemons1]

One day while feeding I saw a strange looking bird back by the woods end of the pasture. It was grey and had a funny thing on its head, a peahen! Over the next couple weeks she worked her way closer and then moved it with my chickens. Don't know where she came from. She acted lonely that spring so we got her a cock. That was about 5 years ago. Now there are 8 free roaming peacocks here. That hen hatches chicks every spring in our garden and I have sold several. They get noisy at times, but they are beautiful and we enjoy them. Good luck with yours and enjoy!

 

[ruth]

Quote:
Done - thanks for the heads up. I check it every time I get a PM and delete some old ones but I guess it got full without my noticing.

 

[ruth]

WOW - just had a close call. Went to check on Ms. Broody and find her sitting on edge of feed trough where her eggs are looking very upset. As I get closer I see the long tail hanging out of box. It was a 5 foot long snake, eating her eggs. I ran to get my husband to help. We thought it was probably just a barn snake but it was so dark in barn stall we couldn't see. Hubby was trying to use a pitch fork to lift it off nest without damaging eggs. He said it struck at pitch fork and wrapped itself around it and all he could see was a triangle head and diamond-back pattern so he jabbed it with pitch fork. It didn't help that all the while he was trying to catch it I was saying "don't jab the peacock eggs".

I took photos after he brought it out in the sun and we feel bad about killing it because that was not our intention and it does seem to be a barn/corn snake but huge - 5-6 feet long and very big around. It ate two eggs, luckily not the peacock eggs. It ate two of the nonfertile eggs she had in nest. The yolk was running out of it's mouth after it died.

Please, all you snake lovers, don't blast us, we really didn't want to kill it but in the excitement and the dark that's what happened.

I'm wondering why it went in that nest when there's nests full of eggs, without a broody hen on them, through out the barn. Every stall has a hay/feed trough full of hay where they lay their eggs. Why did it pick one with a broody hen? I'm betting she put up a fight before she moved off that nest and then didn't move far - just to edge of trough still standing over it.

It was funny after the fact because he said he couldn't believe I ran and got a pair of work gloves for him to use. Said "what did you think I was going to do - reach in and grab it?" I said "yeah, I've seen Steve Irwin do that with rattlesnakes even." He said "yeah, well you know where he is now don't you?"

Where's a real man when you need one?

 

[mudhen]

Wow! Glad to hear the pea-eggs are ok.

 

[beefy]

mustve been attracted to the heat the broody was generating on her eggs. (i prefer my eggs warm too)

 

[theOEGBman]

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Yep, Bert beat me to it. The eggs would be warmer, and the snakes do prefer warm meals. He sure was a beautiful snake as well. I understand your haste, its just a shame. good luck with your peafowl eggs.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

I think it may have been the movements of the broody that may have attracted the snake to her particular nest as well. When you are in the business of eating eggs, you learn quick that where there is a broody bird there's a nest full of warm eggs.


Do not feel too bad about the snake, I've heard that once they learn where they can get a good amount of eggs they will return regularly. As for killing it, I would have killed it as well, especially if it was dark and I couldn't identify it as a harmless. If it was out in the yard in the sun and I could actually identify it clearly, it would have been left to it's business. It is better safe than sorry in my opinion, you do not want to be in your dark coop and assume a snake is harmless and end up getting bitten by one that is far from harmless.

I'm glad that he didn't get ahold of those peafowl eggs.

-Kim

 

[chickiepoo]

I was in stitches over the Steve Irwin comments!

If you decide to go gather more peafowl eggs and sell and ship them, I want on the list.

I read somewhere a while back that you shouldn't keep peafowl with chickens, but people here don't seem to have a problem, so I want to try it.

 

[ruth]

Hi All - here's a picture of Ms. Broody - still broody - still sitting out there in barn all by herself. I've yet to catch her off the nest and I check on her often.

Now it looks like I have a Buff that's gone broody. She was sitting on a nest in coop all day and was still there when everyone came home to roost this evening and screamed at each one as they entered coop and puffed herself up like a blow fish. Guess if she's still there I'll get a few of the Ameracauna eggs that Dipsey sent me today (thanks Lisa) to put under Ms. Broody and put them under Ms. Broody Too also. At least she's sitting in coop where it's nice and secure at night.

Wonder if Buffs are smarter than EEs or just that EEs are rebels, the wild child?