Eggs....or Chicks...and a lot of questions

[Lunar Ice]

I've never owned peafowl but I'm really interested in getting one (or potentially a "few") in the near future but I have a lot of questions! Is it better to buy an egg (understand that I have raised Silkies...but never from eggs and I do not have an incubator) and hope that it hatches or buy a young chick and raise it from a week+ old? I treat even my chickens more like pets and I want a peacock/hen that is friendly and not afraid of people..and I intend to handraise it. I understand that peacocks tend to bond and imprint, but will they still do this on a person if you don't hatch the bird yourself? I've also heard that the hatch-rate of eggs tends to be low if you buy them. Any advice or recommendation is appreciated.

Also, if you are a breeder..or can recommend a good breeder/site/farm that deals in peafowl, please feel free to list them. I don't want like...15 birds. I want (preferably) one or MAYBE two to start and potentially get more in the future. If it helps, I live in NC.

Thanks.

 

[Kedreeva]

If you want a tame bird, your best bet is eggs... but like you said, the hatch rate can be bad, and the eggs can be expensive- but so are the chicks and adults, honestly. In my case, there's not a price you can put on a pea that loves humans, it's just worth it. I have two that I hatched myself last year, and they come right up to me, they eat out of my hands, and the hen doesn't just let me pet her, she enjoys it, she will hunt me down and peck at my fingers until I start scratching her under the chin and around the shoulders. Compare this to the others I have I got as adults or as chicks... *shrug* Priceless- although to think of it, I think I paid more for the chicks and adults than I spent on the whole batch of eggs I hatched Osiris and Blu from, AND got better birds... so there's that.

Also, the window of imprinting seems to be pretty small after hatching... you'll have to spend a lot more time with them than with chickens (or ducks or quail in my experience).

 

[ColbyNTX]

If you want egg or chicks this year, get them quick or wait till next year!

 

[Kedreeva]

Quote:
x2 lol

But it could be wise to spend the winter reading and making sure you know what you want, and taking the fresh pick of next years first hatch. That'll give you time to get a good incubator, set up a pen for them (or buy the materials!) etc.

 

[xlboergoats]

We bought our breeding peafowl as adults. They are all very gentle. Not so that they will eat from your hand, but they will walk up very close to get a treat. We have also hatched quite a few peachicks in the last month. They are all very friendly, but we spend alot of time with them. We raise and show chickens, but the peachicks seem to be more friendly from the begining. Maybe it is because we are the ones who taught them what food was. The little chickens just come out of the shell eating whatever they find.

 

[gobblerunfarms]

where you at in nc? i know a couple of breeders