French Marans and Peachicks

[ruth]

Well I just came in from an exciting experience. At dusk, instead of going IN coop, the peachicks started flying on TOP of coop - way up high - to roost. First one, then two, then three were up there. I blasted them with water hoses trying to get them to come down but they would not. I had to get a ladder and go on roof to get them down. Probably could have left them there but it is getting cool at night here and after I blasted them with water, really couldn't leave them there. So I dried them off and put them in their hutch with a heat lamp.

It's going to be really FUN raising peacocks - they can really fly.

I swear I heard "If I were a rich man" playing in background as they were walking that roofline at dusk.

 

[deerman]

yes they like to roost high,even 30 ft in a tree. Wait until you see a peacock with a 5 ft train fly off a high roost.

Looks like your blackshoulder is a male spalding.

 

[ruth]

Hi Deerman - what color do you think the one that is mostly white, with just a little color on back of neck/shoulder area is going to be? She's really pretty. She's in the last two pics I posted including the one where she's up in the rafters.

 

[deerman]

Need a pic of it back, it is a silver pied (pattern) maybe purple really need a pic. of its back.

Oh I talk with Brad over the weekend, said he hatched 2,400 peachicks this year. Nice looking birds.
Did he wing band your peachicks.

 

[ruth]

Hi Deerman - here's some pics I took a few days ago.

None came with bands. I only know I got a variety of colors.

 

[deerman]

The one with all the white is a blue silver pied hen. 1st pic going counterclockwise. Blackshoulder spalding blue male, then purple hen, next male spalding,female,then blue silver pied hen. The opal not sure is there bars on the shoulders. If so it a male. Was the opal yellow when you got it ?
Spalding take longer to sex. Birds with high % of green the hens color out like males without the train.

 

[ruth]

Hi Deerman - thanks for the IDs. I must have missed your post cause this is the first time I've seen it. I haven't been back on this thread and somehow missed the update back when you posted.

The opal was a grey-tinted yellow as a chick and is now sort of beigy/grey and I don't see any difference in color anywhere on it's body but I can take a better look now that I know what I'm looking for. I have been thinking it was a male because it's one that has been fanning from day one and I've also caught it mounting some of the others and now, after the black shoulder, it's the next largest. The one you said is a male spalding is the smallest of the bunch.

Today was a GREAT day. I thought we had lost the male blackshoulder - my prettiest and largest and most colorful one. I really need to get a new picture of them, they are all getting so big but he is something to see. Anyway, he disappeared two days ago. He and the opal had followed me into my backyard and practially into the house. They stood on the brick steps looking in glass door and I wanted to take a picture but couldn't find camera. So I go back out and start rounding up chickens since it was dusk. I'm thinking I need to go get the two peacocks that are in backyard but look and see that the opal is already in the coop so I start looking for the male. I couldn't find him. I came and searched yard, woods, barn, everywhere. He was literally on steps one minute and gone within 5 minutes nowhere to be found. My son was here visiting and DH and I went out with flashlights and looked and looked and called. The peacocks follow me and this was the first time they have ever left the coop/run area. I even went outside in the middle of the night to check again. DH got up early the next morning and went out and looked and we looked all the next day and next night. I could not imagine what could have happened. Here in protected backyard one minute and then just gone. I even crawled under the house yesterday and looked around thinking maybe one of the dogs grabbed it and took it under house. Anyway after looking for two days and two nights I had resolved myself that something must have gotten it. I had been just sick over it.

Got up this morning and guess who was at the gate to the run wanting in? Yep, my beautiful male peacock. Don't know where he went, what he did, and he's not talking.

Tonight is yet another adventure. One of them is roosting on top of duck house and another on top of hen house. I can't get them to come down so I'm letting them stay up there, as if I have a choice. It's not cold here yet so they should be o.k. with temps and I don't think anything can get them that high up but I can see that peafowl are going to be TROUBLE and don't follow the rules like "in by dark" that the chickens all follow.

By the way, since you IDd the purple one a few weeks back, I've named her Penelope. We have a love/hate relationship. She follows me everywhere while I'm trying to work in henhouse or gathering eggs or cleaning coop or tending to baby chicks and BITES my fingers and I don't mean gently. That girl bites hard and bites me every chance she gets and won't get out from under my feet or out of my way.

All six peafowl are loving getting to be free and out of the hutch. They mostly stay in coop and run area even though gate to run and door to coop is always open.

 

[tntstanifer]

After 12 eggs and $80, I got one lone peachick. He was doing great until I let him out of the pen. He stayed under the coop the 1st night. But the second he flew to the top of it. He was there when my hubby left for work @ 5am, but by 7am he was gone. We think an owl or hawk may have got him. Not real sure though. I'll be ordering live peachicks from now on and keeping them penned until they are grown. I hate that, but that's a pretty expensive loss.
You're birds are beautiful! Good luck with them!!

 

[ruth]

Hi Teri - sorry for the loss of your lone peachick. Fortunately, my two that slept on rooftops last night were back in the run this morning. Mine are just a little over three months old and they hang out with the chickens in the coop and run area and now with access to the open yard and freeranging but so far are staying in coop and run area of their own accord.

I too tried many, many eggs - over 40 eggs - over three months of effort - over $300 spent. I had one lone peachick make it all the way to hatch, in fact got half way out of egg - was peeping and chirping and carrying on one minute - I checked on it a few minutes later and it was dead. That's when I decided it would be cheaper and faster to just order live peachicks. Still lost two of those while very young because I didn't keep them off the ground long enough. Seems these amazing HUGE birds are very fragile as peachicks.

Check out Leggs Peafowl Farm - they have great selections and ship day olds. Deerman, here on BYC, also sells peafowl but I think he waits till they are a little older but you could contact him. He's posted helpful information here on this thread.

 

[deerman]

I sell peafowl eggs, peachicks, and older birds. Yes sometime its better to buy older birds. Eggs can be hard to hatch, shipping doesnt help. Also a few tricks starting peachick. Ruth done a GREAT job with hers.

Now is a good time to get started peachicks. Dont weight alot so shipping is cheaper. Best with birds about 12 weeks. The first few weeks is when most people lose the peachicks.