Can i hatch chicks with chickens?

peafowl_Lover

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Hi, I was thinking about hatching peachicks next year. This year, neither peahen went broody but laid about 9 eggs each. Next year, could I hatch the chicks under broody silkies and keep the hen and chicks on wire for the 3 months, or should I take them away once they hatch? Also, I have the peafowl in 2 pairs. Could the peacock over mate his peahen, or do I need a couple more hens?
Thank you
 
You can hatch them under silkies but they will miss out on learning a lot of natural peafowl behaviour that a peahen would teach them, such as roosting up high as soon as possible. They will also probably need to be kept warm beyond the time that they will still fit under the silkies so you may need to provide additional heat. Chicken hens don't mother their chicks for as long as peahens so that could be an issue depending on the individual hens you use.

If you did go that way, I wouldn't see any need to keep them on wire as long as they have plenty of space and good parasite control.

You could take them yourself to raise in a brooder but bear in mind that peachicks are difficult to keep alive and a peahen will always do a much better job. There's also the risk when male peachicks imprint on humans that they may turn aggressive when they mature so that's important to consider as well.

Personally, I don't like to take chicks away from any mama that has done the hard work of hatching as those are her babies. I feel it's unethical but I know lots of people do it so that's a personal decision.

Either way, you could use the silkies if that's what you want. I would say it will be a lot more rewarding if you wait and have a bit more patience. There's nothing more wonderful than watching a mama peahen raise her babies naturally. Your peahens may go broody next year and if they don't, they very likely will the following year.

Peafowl aren't like chickens when it comes to mating. The hens are very much in control so over mating isn't something you need to worry about. Having more peahens wouldn't ever be any harm though, if you have the opportunity to buy some. They are social birds and like to be in a group. Also, the more hens you have, the more likely that at least one of them will go broody.
 
All of the eggs from our exotic colors and mutations go under gamehens, they can only cover five eggs but they are fiercely loyal to their nest. We pull the eggs just days before hatch and put the eggs in a hatcher and raise the chicks on wire for the first ten weeks. We also let the peahens set nests if they are so inclined. On occasion we have let chicken hens raise the chicks but not late in the year as they can't cover cold chicks at night. I also agree that there is great satisfaction watching a peahen raise her young.
 
It would be nice to hatch chicks under a peahen, but what if I'm waiting for her to sit on the eggs and if she doesn't then all those eggs could be too old to hatch. How long should I wait for her to sit before just incubating them myself. Also what should I be routinely medicating for?
 
I mark every egg with the date laid and remove it once it reaches ten days and set it in the incubator or under a known broody. Two year hens are not as likely to set a clutch as is an older hen, some never go broody. We deworm twice per year just before the breeding season and before winter.
 

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