Incubating peafowl

[Momhunter]

Why are incubating pea eggs so hard?? I have great luck with my chicken and quail eggs but stink at the peafowl. I had 6 eggs due to hatch yesterday and only got two chicks. Those were very nice pieds. Out of the other four eggs one was clear and pulled it, two look like quitters, and last one is blacked out with large airspace and looked good but no activity. I will give it another day then pull them out and open them up.
On my 3 eggs last week I actually had two live live chicks, one died after about 1/3 zipped and the other internally pipped but never finished. I was going to assist them both if not progressed by lunch time, then was to busy at work to get a lunch break. When came home that evening they were both dead. I was so disappointed. I have a waiting list for people wanting peachicks but can't hatch enough!!!

 

[zazouse]

Why are incubating pea eggs so hard?? I have great luck with my chicken and quail eggs but stink at the peafowl. I had 6 eggs due to hatch yesterday and only got two chicks. Those were very nice pieds. Out of the other four eggs one was clear and pulled it, two look like quitters, and last one is blacked out with large airspace and looked good but no activity. I will give it another day then pull them out and open them up.
On my 3 eggs last week I actually had two live live chicks, one died after about 1/3 zipped and the other internally pipped but never finished. I was going to assist them both if not progressed by lunch time, then was to busy at work to get a lunch break. When came home that evening they were both dead. I was so disappointed. I have a waiting list for people wanting peachicks but can't hatch enough!!!

I think in my case it has something to do wiith 2 of my hens being related to my male because I have set eggs from other hens at the same time right next to theirs and they hatched no problems but these hens eggs had all sorts of hatching troubles and crooked toes also.
Where in texas are you located?

 

[Momhunter]

I think in my case it has something to do wiith 2 of my hens being related to my male because I have set eggs from other hens at the same time right next to theirs and they hatched no problems but these hens eggs had all sorts of hatching troubles and crooked toes also. Where in texas are you located?

Ponder. I was told my pair were unrelated when purchased. I know my older blue peahen is not related, and having trouble with eggs from both hens being quitters.

 

[Hens and Roos]

Do you think it could be diet related? We had 4 that quit a good ways along.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Mycotoxins and selenium causes quitters most of the time. Too high levels of either one can cause this to happen. Thats the only problem with buying ground feed from your country grain elevator. They do not have the ability to check all these levels in what types of grain you request be mixed for your ration.This is a very big problem during drought years especially with corn used as feed.Aflatoxin exceeds levels for many human uses and many may have recalled several brands of dog food that uses corn as a source of protein that had huge recalls 2 years ago in the Midwest. Just because it's unfit for dogs doesn't mean the large companies still do not grind and mix it for poultry feed.It may work in all types of poultry with high aflatoxin levels but if these levels are high so is the mycotoxin level which hurts you if your breeding peafowl.

 

[casportpony]

Very good info, thanks, but would that explain why I had 6 quitters in the incubator, but no quitters from broodies? Or is it more likely that my incubating skills have a ways to go?

Learning lots here, going to try several things differently next year.

-Kathy

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Kathy,,we all know the challenges of hatching peafowl here,,I personally wouldn't rely on a broody to sit 26 days or more,too many reasons for her to stop.I switched incubators this spring,and that along with a big power outage 22 days after the incubator was first filled cost me dearly on 3 full trays of eggs.Gotta love drunk drivers who smacks a power pole at 2am,,also breaking the transformer on the pole,,total time without power was 6.5 hours.I don't have any chicken breeds here that are reliable enough to give any pea eggs to,,although I have a pair of blue laced red wyandottes that think all spring and summer is sitting time.
Was your 6 incubator quitters the only peafowl eggs in the bator?

 

[FeatheredFreind]

Please I NEED OPINIONS!!!!!
I have only 2 eggs out of 9 shipped pea eggs. They are due to hatch next week. I have 5 broody hens, 3 I know are die hard sitters. I have my pea eggs in a Little Giant incubator with a fan (it is all that I have). Should I leave them in the incubator or should I give them to a hen??? I have two of the hens in their own pen big enough for them to get up eat, drink, bathroom break and back on their only nest. I really hope these two peachicks make it.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?????

 

[Heidisgran]

when are the hens eggs suppose to hatch?

 

[FeatheredFreind]

when are the hens eggs suppose to hatch?

not for 2 more weeks