Hi, we have a 5 year old IB hen who has gone broody for the first time. We do not want any more peafowl than what we have right now. She was setting in a big dog crate with her three eggs (she must've eaten or rejected one, cause she did have four).
I ordered some fake peahen eggs on line, and thought it would be a simple thing to substitute the fake eggs when she wasn't looking, and then voila, problem solved. That's what the zoo does, it looks so easy, right? Well, no.
The eggs came and I was disappointed to find that they were not only white, but also the wrong size and weight. I knew that the peahen would reject them. I tried rubbing the white egg in dead leaves to try to simulate a brown, slightly dirty egg. It didn't work. All of her eggs are spotless. Today she got off the nest to grab a bite & stretch. I decided to substitute just one egg, to see how it worked. I took one of her eggs and switched it out with the fake one, then placed her egg in a box behind the crate, intending to get it after I was done feeding. She didn't see me do this, but she instantly knew something was wrong. She was agitated, went immediately to the back of the dog crate where the egg was, then paced round and round the dog crate, calling and carrying on . I was so upset that when she went outside for a minute, I put her egg back, and shook all three of her eggs. This is what a friend of mine does with bird of prey eggs that are in her wildlife rehab facility. I felt terrible doing it, but we just do not have the room or resources for her to have babies. Anyway, Snap the peahen is now sitting OUTSIDE the dog crate, not on her eggs. She must know that her eggs have been tampered with. I feel like a heel and I don't know what to do for her.
I ordered some fake peahen eggs on line, and thought it would be a simple thing to substitute the fake eggs when she wasn't looking, and then voila, problem solved. That's what the zoo does, it looks so easy, right? Well, no.
The eggs came and I was disappointed to find that they were not only white, but also the wrong size and weight. I knew that the peahen would reject them. I tried rubbing the white egg in dead leaves to try to simulate a brown, slightly dirty egg. It didn't work. All of her eggs are spotless. Today she got off the nest to grab a bite & stretch. I decided to substitute just one egg, to see how it worked. I took one of her eggs and switched it out with the fake one, then placed her egg in a box behind the crate, intending to get it after I was done feeding. She didn't see me do this, but she instantly knew something was wrong. She was agitated, went immediately to the back of the dog crate where the egg was, then paced round and round the dog crate, calling and carrying on . I was so upset that when she went outside for a minute, I put her egg back, and shook all three of her eggs. This is what a friend of mine does with bird of prey eggs that are in her wildlife rehab facility. I felt terrible doing it, but we just do not have the room or resources for her to have babies. Anyway, Snap the peahen is now sitting OUTSIDE the dog crate, not on her eggs. She must know that her eggs have been tampered with. I feel like a heel and I don't know what to do for her.
