Kids are hatching!!! 3 cute peachcicks :)

[zazouse]

pictures

 

[NateinFL]

Good luck with Silver Pied Randy

Zaz- I couldn't sleep either, had a little beak pecking my cheek all night long

. Hope your peas don't try and go investigate that fire today.

I gave one of the 3 babies to a friend last night, she is very good with animals. She'll keep him for a couple months then give him back. Thinking about getting a cheap playpen for these guys if I can find a used one cheap.

 

[zazouse]

i would make them a ground pen on a clean area they need the sunshine and need to dust bath, they will be flying in within a week so you are gonna make sure you got a top on whatever they are in.

Your friend may not want to give up the pea

I use chainlink pannels that are covered with hardware cloth, i can move them around and set them up anywhere.
I use bark mulch i get for free in the pen and add fresh sand as they grow so i can keep the pen clean, after i turn the babies loose i open the gate and let the chickens turn it and later i take it to my garden so it can finish composting.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

Yes, I have a few more charcoal eggs cooking,,but maybe only 2 at that. Most have been "clears" and have since been dispatched in the trashcan.Charcoals is a very trying color,as I'm learning quickly,many develope normally only to never break thru the air sack,,some never pip,,just seems this color still has many genetic issues to be worked out.I don't think all of the hens my Charcoal male is with "likes" him and they are not breeding with him,,this I know can happen and maybe next year things will change,,all the hens quit lating in this pen 2 weeks ago,,but last eve I found 2 freshly laid eggs,,both went in the bator tonight,,hoping the long vacation these girls was on and seeing the crock-pot opened their eyes a little as to what egg laying is for.Another thing I'm doubting is those who say a hen can lay fertile eggs for many days from one breeding,,my records of eggs collected and their dates compared to incubated eggs that was or stayed clear does not support extended fertile eggs.

 

[NateinFL]

i would make them a ground pen on a clean area they need the sunshine and need to dust bath, they will be flying in within a week so you are gonna make sure you got a top on whatever they are in.

Your friend may not want to give up the pea

I use chainlink pannels that are covered with hardware cloth, i can move them around and set them up anywhere.
I use bark mulch i get for free in the pen and add fresh sand as they grow so i can keep the pen clean, after i turn the babies loose i open the gate and let the chickens turn it and later i take it to my garden so it can finish composting.

Good idea! I don't want to put them in any pens that my chickens frequent, and my free-range Cricket and BS hen would bully them to no end and probably make them leave the yard once I start letting them out on their own. I'm thinking a dog pen is in store if I can find a used one rather cheap. I know how this works, the cages just kinda get built as needed lol.

However, I'm still thinking the baby playpen would be good for when I'm not home, only for the first month or two. They totally dislike being in the cage and this way they won't rub their beaks raw trying to get out. Someone nearby has one listed for $10

Here's a pic of the one my friend is raising. His knee is scraped since he came out of the egg he took 36 hours to hatch that's why.

 

[NateinFL]

I got a new playpen for my babies! They seem to like it already but they want to be with me at ALL times so it's making it difficult. I'm going to cover it with netting I bought a while back. And when they get bigger I can take it outside and flip it upside down to let them eat their greens

. I took them outside yesterday and today for bugs (in-between the rain bands of T.S. Debby) and they have voracious appetites when it comes to their bugs. I love watching them steal them from each other back and forth

the pied baby is definitely bigger and smarter. But the white one's not far behind him. This is going to be an interesting Summer!

 

[NateinFL]

Feel so bad for my little pied

I was replacing a window in my house and pulling the old window out when the glass shattered and he was right underneath. Glass landed all over him and he immediately went still. He wanted to go to sleep. No blood or glass I could find on him. 30 minutes later he is alert now and eating/drinking but he is favoring his right foot. That was stupid of me to pull the window out with them standing right there. Hoping he is okay

. I have looked him over and cannot find any glass on him. I also put myself eye-level to the ground to get even the tiniest pieces of glass up. I think he is just bruised. So mad at myself

 

[Kedreeva]

Another thing I'm doubting is those who say a hen can lay fertile eggs for many days from one breeding,,my records of eggs collected and their dates compared to incubated eggs that was or stayed clear does not support extended fertile eggs.

I wonder if it's a shorter time for some of the color mutations for peafowl. I think it's the charcoal mutation that does funny things to their lifespan, so I don't see why it couldn't also have an effect on sperm count, which could make a difference in terms of extended fertility of eggs. I would guess most people don't remove their males from pens after a breeding, letting the whole pen stay active instead, so there's not much data on this. It'd be interesting to experiment and see for how many days after a mating you get fertile eggs if the male is removed.

Also, I'm surprised your kids aren't flying out of that playpen! Once mine figured out they had wings it was impossible to keep them in any sort of untopped brooder XD Are you considering the chain link as a playpen or as a housing area? If the latter, just remember predators like raccoons can get their hands through, and your birds can get their whole head through, but the hardware cloth zaz mentioned works. Love the little pied, it's got quite a lot of white on it!

 

[NateinFL]

I have the playpen covered with a baby gate now, they learned how to hop out of it real quick! Good news is that my pied that had pieces of a glass window shatter on him yesterday is okay

. I was so concerned I was going to have a crippled chick on my hand but he is walking perfect again today. They already followed me out to the mailbox today and now have one on my shoulder, other on my lap. Other is enjoying his time at my friend's...they LOVE him.

 

[NateinFL]

A few more pics sorry I just can't resist

. Chocobo came to visit yesterday and they got to play together. They kept yanking at his tail, it must have looked like a bug to them lol.

My playpen for the birds. Chocobo L, Shadow M, Chance R.


Shadow preening her feathers


Shadow and Chocobo displaying for the 1st time...even at a few days old the natural instinct to display and "fanning" their tails starts.










Chance and Chocobo






Chance and Shadow