Hatching peahen eggs

[JewellFarm]

I have 3 peahen eggs under a broody which should hatch on the 17th. Basically my DH was kind enough to let me use the broody hen for my peacock eggs and he put his eggs in an incubator because it is very hard to hatch peahen eggs. Anyway my question is---- I have to take the peachicks away from the hen which from what I have read is the best thing to do anyway, but should I take them as they are just starting to pip out of the shell or wait for a day or so. The chicks in the incubator will replace the peachicks. From everything I have read the peachicks get stressed very easily and can die from stress alone. I am thinking take them as they start pipping, but I am hoping someone has some expertise with peafowl and can tell me the best way to go.

 

[melissa508]

I bred Javas for several years, I always tried to leave the eggs either under the peahen or under another broody, theres so few of them & I hated to risk losing a single 1 . Once they were hatched, in the brooder they went

 

[Kev]

What's the reason said for taking peachicks being taken away from a hen? A good mother hen in a good clean setup are actually quite wonderful things for peachicks. In fact I'm just about done with finishing one today to put a hen in there for this purpose specifically- for her to go broody and have peafowl eggs set under her to hatch and raise.. (this hen proved the most wonderful doting mother for peachicks last two years)

However if you need to or want to raise the peachicks yourself, you can either remove them as they hatch- BUT put them in the incubator for at least 12 hours! They need to completely dry out and get their footing before going in brooder.

If you leave the peachicks to dry out under the hen, that can be okay too but if you leave them too long(a day or 2) they probably will spend their time crying for mother.. not good, that's wasting precious energy that could be used for learning to eat drink and rest. Defnitely not a good idea to take away babies that had been with mothers for a week, those will freak out and spend quite a lot of energy crying and running around.

 

[JewellFarm]

Because my husband has the hens actual eggs in the incubator, like 15 of them. I can raise 3 peachicks easier than 15 chicks. If they all hatch, 15 plus the 3 will be way to much for one little hen to contend with.

 

[JewellFarm]

Also I read somewhere that if you will be raising the peachicks yourself that your smell should be the first one that they smell. I am afraid if I wait till after they have totally hatched that the stress may be too much for them. Are they really hard to raise Kev?

 

[DANNY]

It's totally your choice they will be fine either way. It's true a hen will raise most anything from ducks, peafowl, turkeys, geese and guineas and od a fine job. I usually let the peafowl hatch under the chicken and then put them in the brooder.

 

[Kev]

Well.. let's put it this way.. chicken chicks are very, very easy to raise, in fact they are "hard to kill".

Peachicks? Not as easy, but maybe that's unfair due to chickens being so hard to kill. With the brooder conditions being good or perfect, they can be fairly easy. If not perfect, they can seem 'extremely frail/hard to raise'.

If you have a very large brooder with high sides-peachicks fly shockingly very well, even at just few days old.. at just one or two weeks old they can already fly 4 feet high easily.. they also love flying, so a low top brooder will not be too good to them. A very common loss in young peachicks with first time owners is due to the peachick flying out of the brooder and either getting chilled or killed by the family dog/cat because they don't realize how well they can fly.

They also need a hot/hotter spot than chicks do.. but also need warm and cool spots to retreat to. Another reason to give them bigger brooders..

Peachicks also form much stronger attachments to their mothers.. which makes it a mess taking them from a hen past several days old.. but this same trait makes them very endearing pets if you play and cuddle with them(but they'll cry LOUD if you leave) and grow up into charming youngsters and adults(mind you some hand raised adult males attack people Not all do though). Poultry including peafowl do not have a strong sense of smell and smell plays no part in bonding. For them it's vocals and visuals that far more important.

I worry a bit, but in the end.. if you are able to provide a large brooder with a secure top and pay a good bit of attention to the room and brooder temps etc, you can raise the peachicks.. do not think they will be easy as chicks though. I can practically simply toss day old chicks in a brooder and just put in food and water daily and that's it.. they'll thrive.. peachicks, I fuss over the whole room (and shed) and pretty much check on the brooder every few hours at least- day and night. I often get pretty tired from this but in the end I lose very few of them(usually either just one or none at all each season).

The above is why I love having large pen setups designed for just a single hen and her foster peachicks. The peachicks grow up very healthy, strong etc.. but mostly gives me peace of mind and less stress fussing over them. Mind you I also alter the pens to make sure the peachicks cannot accidentally fly out and can't get back in.. so I have one inch wire all the way up the sides and tops too. At 2-3 weeks old they still are small enough to go through chain link.. and at this age they easily can fly 4-6 feet high so if the one inch is only 3-4 feet high along the bottom, they can and do fly through the chain link and are unable to get back in due to that one inch wire..