could it be a peahen egg?

[just the girls]

I have six chicken hens and two peahens in my coop/yard. Today a had an enormous egg in one of the nesting boxes....could it be a peahen egg, even though there is no peacock? I'm not sure what to do with it....???

 

[Frosty]

I have gotten huge eggs from chickens before... one so huge folks thought that it was a goose egg. This one is a bit smaller, was about 4" long and came from one of my EE hens last summer:

I would eat it, this time of year (depending on location) I doubt it would be a pea egg. Even if it is, it wouldn't be worth setting IMO.

 

[deerman]

Could be a peafowl egg, I habve gotten them this time of the year, but it will not be fertile even if you had a peacock. Just like chicken don't need a male for females to lay........

 

[Frosty]

Just wondering, has anyone ever heard of parthenogenesis in peafowl eggs? I have heard of it with turkeys, and if I recall the offspring are male. I think I also heard that they are sterile, but I'm not sure on that... Can it happen?

 

[SuperPeacockman]

How big was the nest box.

 

[just the girls]

Both the peahens and chickens are about a year and 1/2; the boxes are about 14x18", maybe a little more. I'm really pretty new to the bird life, so I've never heard of parthengonesis...I'll look it up, though.
Frosty, my egg is about as big as the one in your picture.
Thank you all for the help...

 

[Frosty]

Parthenogenesis is when the egg is fertilized without a male... some strains of turkeys have it fairly common (I think I read 30% or higher?). I was just wondering if it ever happens with peafowl. This is my first year having a laying peahen, she was an '08 hatch and laid about 9 eggs this year. I am in the north and she started laying in mid May, laid 7 eggs over about 2 weeks. One hatched (under a chicken hen) and around hatching time mom laid 2 more eggs. I am not an expert on peas, but I have gotten an occasional really large chicken egg. So I really have no idea of what kind of egg you have. I do know that my pea eggs were larger than turkey eggs...

 

[NateinFL]

Is it the lighting in the picture or is that a blue egg?

 

[Frosty]

It's a green egg from an Easter Egger (EE) chicken hen. Just hatchery quality, I plan to get real Ameraucanas soon.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
I have never heard of it in pea's. We did try it with Beltsville Small White turkeys a few years ago and they will lay self fertile eggs. That's one of the things they were doing a study on when the flock was at the Ames, Iowa USDA research station. Yes the offspring are 100% male and they are fertile.

Steve