Imprinted Peachicks

[Zazzles75]

Hello,

I have 3 peachicks that are 2 months old. Hatched in an incubator and the only peafowl I have. We have hatched and hand raised chickens, ducks and quail before. I am obviously a newbie to peafowl and did not realize the error I was making at the time. They are now imprinted on me and cry when they lose sight of me. I work from home and made the mistake of keeping their cage in my office while I work. Now we are working on transitioning them to an outside enclosure. After 3 hours of constant crying I brought them back to their inside cage. They are outside everyday for hours in this area but I am with them or another family member. Any suggestions how to make this transition easier for them?

 

[KsKingBee]

Peas are like kids, they are all different in their behavior. Just because some get aggressive as grown cocks defending their territory not all do. get the White DNA sex tested and if a hen keep her imprinted. The two cocks you can just not handle and they will end up just tame where you can hand feed them. Never let a cock chick set on your lap or shoulder, that is signaling them that they are 'above' you and they will treat you like they do other birds and try to run you off by flogging you out of their perceived breeding area. Usually, the aggressiveness will only be during the breeding season but again, it depends on the bird.

 

[Zazzles75]

Peas are like kids, they are all different in their behavior. Just because some get aggressive as grown cocks defending their territory not all do. get the White DNA sex tested and if a hen keep her imprinted. The two cocks you can just not handle and they will end up just tame where you can hand feed them. Never let a cock chick set on your lap or shoulder, that is signaling them that they are 'above' you and they will treat you like they do other birds and try to run you off by flogging you out of their perceived breeding area. Usually, the aggressiveness will only be during the breeding season but again, it depends on the bird.

Thanks for the information. Why specifically dna test the white chick? Do the other 2 appear to be males? Would an imprinted female stay friendly more than likely? After a few attempts to hatch eggs and I was very excited and basically treated the chicks like puppies. They cried and my mom brain kicked it. I am seeing the error of my ways for sure now. Their long term plan is to go to a friend who has a farm since I live within city limits. Do I let them cry it out in their outdoor enclosure?

 

[KsKingBee]

Thanks for the information. Why specifically dna test the white chick? Do the other 2 appear to be males? Would an imprinted female stay friendly more than likely? After a few attempts to hatch eggs and I was very excited and basically treated the chicks like puppies. They cried and my mom brain kicked it. I am seeing the error of my ways for sure now. Their long term plan is to go to a friend who has a farm since I live within city limits. Do I let them cry it out in their outdoor enclosure?

Thanks for the information. Why specifically dna test the white chick? Do the other 2 appear to be males? Would an imprinted female stay friendly more than likely? After a few attempts to hatch eggs and I was very excited and basically treated the chicks like puppies. They cried and my mom brain kicked it. I am seeing the error of my ways for sure now. Their long term plan is to go to a friend who has a farm since I live within city limits. Do I let them cry it out in their outdoor enclosure?

Yes, the two brown ones appear to be cocks and the White can not be determined at this age so yes spoil the hen chicks and stay fairly distant to the cocks so there won't be a problem later when they mature. It is normal for chicks to cry when they get 'lost' so momma and the other siblings can find it.

 

[Zazzles75]

Yes, the two brown ones appear to be cocks and the White can not be determined at this age so yes spoil the hen chicks and stay fairly distant to the cocks so there won't be a problem later when they mature. It is normal for chicks to cry when they get 'lost' so momma and the other siblings can find it.

I am still learning about the peachicks. What about the brown ones makes you think they are males? Any suggestion on a dna sexing company?

 

[KsKingBee]

We use IQ Bird Testing. There are many doing the testing and for less money, but IQ has been very accurate for us. We currently test about 150+ per year.

 

[Artistickatt]

So I had two of my four chicks accidentally imprint on me this summer. I realized this at about one week old and distance myself from them and it made no difference.Luckily mine are both hens. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still have issues with them crying. At four months old, it is a bit better than it was at three months. I make a point of putting them out in their daypen in the yard and leaving them be. At first they cried a whole lot. I would stick my head out the door say something to them and then duck my head back in. You honestly have to treat them like they are babies you are trying to get to sleep through night. Now I can leave them outside all day long. They may fuss for a few minutes and then they get distracted and they’re very happy to see me when I pick them up at the end of the day to take them back to their night cage.

Peafowl can be very noisy so it’s a good thing that you were planning to get them to a farm outside of town.

 

[KsKingBee]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/peafowl-sticky-topics-index.389059/

 

[KsKingBee]