FERTILITY

[CHELS1164]

My peahen laid 5 eggs and is sitting on them. But my male is only 2 can her eggs still be fertile?

 

[Birdrain92]

My peahen laid 5 eggs and is sitting on them. But my male is only 2 can her eggs still be fertile?

Yes

 

[barkerg]

My peahen laid 5 eggs and is sitting on them. But my male is only 2 can her eggs still be fertile?

Candle them after 5 days, you should start seeing bloodshot. If after 10 days and theres no action, toss em.

Gerald Barker

 

[Garden Peas]

How old is your peahen? How solidly is she sitting those eggs? If this is her first year sitting on eggs, try not to disturb her... some hens will ditch the eggs if they get too bugged. Some will abandon them halfway through. This year is the first year that my hen has managed to hatch any on her own.

If the hen is doing a good job and only getting off the nest to eat once or twice a day, you may want to leave well enough alone, or figure out how to candle while she's off the nest. My hen caught me checking eggs and got thoroughly upset -- I waited out the rest of the time without candling or bugging her anymore. Eventually there were chicks with her, which was a pretty good indicator the eggs were fertile. Tincture of patience is hard to come by, but worth it.

Also, if you do have the possibility that she will hatch her own, make sure your pen is up to snuff. We had complete chaos with peachicks squirting through chicken wire and fencing, and mom stuck on the other side...

It's amazing how small they are the first few days.

 

[Birdrain92]

How old is your peahen? How solidly is she sitting those eggs? If this is her first year sitting on eggs, try not to disturb her... some hens will ditch the eggs if they get too bugged. Some will abandon them halfway through. This year is the first year that my hen has managed to hatch any on her own.

If the hen is doing a good job and only getting off the nest to eat once or twice a day, you may want to leave well enough alone, or figure out how to candle while she's off the nest. My hen caught me checking eggs and got thoroughly upset -- I waited out the rest of the time without candling or bugging her anymore. Eventually there were chicks with her, which was a pretty good indicator the eggs were fertile. Tincture of patience is hard to come by, but worth it.

Also, if you do have the possibility that she will hatch her own, make sure your pen is up to snuff. We had complete chaos with peachicks squirting through chicken wire and fencing, and mom stuck on the other side...

It's amazing how small they are the first few days.

I leave the eggs alone and let the hen do all the work. She knows what's good for her young. The chicken wire is why I then put bird netting around the bottom of my peafowl coop to prevent that. It's only needed for the first 1-2 weeks of the peachicks life.