info on hatching and raising peachicks?

[jenlynn4]

I have been currious about this...I currently raise silkies but according to what I have read here that peachicks are much harder than chickens...how so? If I were to hatch chicks this spring would they be old enough to go outside by mid-late summer and then survive winter? Would i need to provide heat for the first winter? And what extra care do the baby chicks need? Also Is incubation different than chicken eggs? (I guess I better do more web searching too)

I will be buying 1 or 2 year old pairs this spring, but was thinking about trying to hatch some just for fun. does anyone have pros/cons of this?

 

[Chicken0Boy]

I want to know the same questions!

I reall want soem peachicks.

 

[snowshoe]

My chicks go outside in pens with wire floors off the ground at 6 weeks old here in central PA the ones I keep stay in these pens until they are 3 month old or older then they are wormed and then go to there pen on ground. .
My birds have coops where they can get completly out of weather but most of the time they will roost outside even the young birds after a week or so roost outside freezing rain and below zero temps seem to be the only thing that will have them roosing inside.
I have pretty good luck at hatching my peaeggs but if I can start them under broody chickens the hatch rate seems better.
I use auto turn in my incubator for them but I also turn them once a day by hand.

 

[Chicken0Boy]

How much space does a peachick need at 3 months old in a brooder?

 

[jenlynn4]

I found a couple good links on the net...its actually pretty easy to find the info once you start looking! LOL I just want to learn as much as I can BEFORE I get them...One thing I couldnt find is what all medicines and wormers do they need...Any input on that?

 

[destiny_56085]

Ok...where's deerman to answer this one?

I'll try to hit it up best I can for now. I also have silkies and raise a few pea's every year too. Incubation with them is very fussy compared to chickens. Best to have a broody sit on them for you and them move them to the hatcher for the last few days. Humidity has to be just perfect and I've only had luck in 1 of the old redwood incubators. If you leave them with the mother peahen, they will hatch well but I've found that all the chicks slowly disapear one by one. I've had broody silkies hatch a few, but they have problems keeping the babies alive too.

Peachicks are essentially dumb. They really don't know how to eat on their own at first it seems. Mealworms or something that moved to get their attention sometimes works. I know the peafowl breeders might say no to this, but I put the peachicks in with my silkie chicks and they learn to eat with them. The peachicks are also too dumb to sit under the heat lamps too it seems like. Brooding them with my silkies helps and they keep them warm. If you can get them past the baby stage, you have done well.

Peachicks are really sensitive to alot of diseases that chickens aren't. Most pea's are raised on wire for that reason. I keep my silkie brooders super clean though and they don't seem to have a problem with them. Worming is a big issue...keep up with regular treatments of Wazine/Ivermectin in the water.

A 3 month old will hardly be in a brooder anymore. By about a month old they are already 6"+ tall and by 3 months they are closer to a foot. They will be flying and perching on stuff by the time they are a month. Last year I raised some in a 10' wide x 30' long x 8' high flight pen. I still lost a few because they tend to fly into things, crash, and sometimes remind me of Wily Coyote. Self destructive....

Best idea is getting started yearlings if possible...

 

[MinxFox]

Incubation of peafowl eggs lasts 24-28 days.
A good website for peafowl is the UPA. After you get into peafowl you might want to become a member. I like being a member it is pretty cool. I sooo want to go to one of the yearly meetings but they are always too far for us since I have school and everything.

http://www.peafowl.org/

Here is the link to the UPA page with lots of health related stuff about peafowl.
http://www.peafowl.org/ARTICLES/health.htm

I didn't start with peachicks and haven't even had them yet so I hope you have good luck with them.