My 3 year old male is molting all his feathers already- is it too early in the season, could he be s

[doudini2]

Hello pea lovers,

My 3 year old male started molting last week- generally he molts once in a few moths, but suddenly there were piles of fluffy feathers and he lost about 20 of the long beautiful feather in the last week, 7 of them only yesterday itself.

The truth is he seems less horny, he dance less and is calmer- usually in Spring he chases my feet all day long and charges a lot and even has this weird fits, where he dips his head and shakes it for hours, as if in trance, and then I can hold, hug and pet him and he does not mind.
So he did stop doing his "male" frolicking, and does not play (read: hump) with his stuffed toy as much.

We feed him all sorts- he loves grains, people food, vegetables, etc.

He seems fine and healthy, but all his feathers are falling out- should I be worried? It is only June an we are in NJ, so not even that hot. Do males shed iregularly and individually or is something off. If I remember last year he started molting only in Fall or end of Summer....

Thank you for any advice.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Hello! Glad to see you here and get an update on the lovely Henri!

Here in California, the boys are running the full range as far as moulting goes.
Pippy, who is also 3, has been losing his train feathers in handfuls, while some of the other guys still seem to have every feather.
I wouldn't worry about Henri, he's probably fine.

But: How about some new pictures????

 

[zazouse]

I thought my soon to be 3 year old pea was molting but it was my 2 year old pied that is molting, however my older male no longer has the swelling in his neck and he is barely mating at all, all my hens are either sitting or just about done laying for the year I guess, but he still has all his train so far.

 

[doudini2]

Hello,
thank you as usual. He is so funny lately- behaves like a human: After going for boarding, he is happy to be home and loves us, but when he gets bored he is nasty-

recently he attacked a space heater, and had to go to vet because his foot had a bruise, he loves to pick fights and is soooper spoiled. But he is so sweet when we have time for him on the weekends, he loves to watch netflix with us and watch us cook some yummy food, which he later gets to taste as well.

I have attached only few pics, I am ding finals for school, but will share many more once I have time to upload them all.

Good luck all and enjoy the summer

This was him in his "after display" trance and he let me basically handle him and hug him!




He loves sun and spreads his feathers every morning.



Here he is in his full dance mode while often attacking my feet

 

[frenchblackcopper]

If his calling and loud vocalizations has ceased his breeding season is over. At Pea Palace here is becomes almost dead calm when our males lose their trains. Almost don't know we have any at all when the trains drop.

 

[zazouse]

I am wondering if it has anything to do with the train at all, cause Master P is not dropping his train yet but I think I only have 1 white girl left laying and it has not been consistant like before, I am pretty sure that a couple of last years hatch may be getting ready to start laying , they been going off by themselves a bit here and there and last year I got my first egg from my year old girls in july so mabe he knows and is waiting them out, but I am just guessing

 

[clinton9]

Natural for 3 year old peacocks to moult slightly earlier than 4-year old and older peacocks.

I studied the Indian Blue peafowls in New Zealand, they are mostly kept by people, but there are feral birds that been shot as pest.

Breeding season November to January.

Moult season August of 1st year to September of 2nd year.

Peachicks in their 2nd month of age on March. Hatching month: January.

In New Zealand the adult peacock start to moult the primaries on November and shed the train on February and it take 8 months to reach fully length, fully grown by September.

On 16th January one alive adult male had new primaries 1st-2nd and 2/3 grown growing P.3rd and growing P.4th. P. 5th to 10th were old. Train feathers and tail feathers were all old and not in moult.

On 12th March one alive adult male had new primaries 1st -5th and 2/3 grown growing P.6th and growing P 7th and 8th. P. 9th & 10th were old. This bird was 3 year-old, by earlier moult season and had 1/4 grown growing train, with train feather tips 18 c.m. from tip of real tail feathers.


On 24th March 2012 the alive 3-year-old adult male peacock in new 3rd adult plumage, have new primaries 1st-6th and 3/4 growing P. 7th and 1/4 growing P. 8th and P.9 in pin., been shed on 8th March 2012. P.10th were old and due to shed on 25th March 2012, and primary 10th will be fully grown on 12th June 2012. The central tail feathers 1st & 2nd are in pins and less than 100mm from skin. The 3-year-old peacock had 2nd adult plumage, with 6 eyes on plain green train on austral springtime 2011, before start to moult its old primary 1st on about 19th August.

On 20th May 2011 the shot adult male had new primaries 1st-5th, with growing P. 6th to 8th. Old P.9th were going to shed in 2 days time (22nd May) when pin is 1 c.m. P.10th is old and will shed in 20 days time (10th June), with P.10th (outermost) take 80 days to regrow, finish on 30th August. Been shed primary 1st on about 2nd November 2010. (220 days between shedding of P1st and shedding of P.9th)
Tips of growing train were 13 c.m from tip of 566 c.m. central old tail 1st which had shed the day the bird were shot. Tail 1st take about 80 days to regrow.

One shot adult male on October and on 11th September 2011 an one freshly dead adult male had fresh plumage and no moults and on October adult male peafowl, the train tips were 86 c.m. from tips of real tail feathers 1st. Tip of central tail feathers 1st were 54 c.m. from tip of rump feathers which are next door to shortest innermost train feathers.
The heart is 54 m.m. x 32m.m. shaped like a pear and the testies were 40m.m. x 15m.m. and getting bigger. The skull were 93 m.m. from tip of beak, to back of skull.

In my three study birds on 25th March 1994 to 8th December 1995. One male peachicks and two female peachicks.
During post juvenile moult, male took 222 days from shedding juvenile P.1st to when new immature P.10 is fully grown, and during post immature moult the same male took 324 days from shedding immature P.1st to when new 1st adult P. 10th is fully grown. Head feathers are the last feathers to be replaced, with last white juvenile chin feathers been shed 395 days later after shedding immature P.1st. At 20th month old the head and neck feathers were all blue immature feathers, mixed with 1st adult blue feathers and free of white feathers on chin. Post 1st adult moult started 72 days later after 1st adult P.10th were fully grown, and 101 days later the 1st adult P.4th were shed., at same time the 2nd adult P.1st-2nd were fully grown.

Adult post breeding moult duration: 300 days for fully adult male peafowls to renew 10 primaries.
Immature P. 1st took 58 days to regrow, during post juvenile moult and 1st adult P.1st took 86 days to regrow.
Immature P. 10th took 69 days to regrow, and 1st adult P. 10th took 73 days to regrow.
Adult P. 10th take 80 days to regrow.
Juvenile, immature, 1st adult flight feathers grow at 4 mm daily growth per day.

The train were not heavy to hold with your hand as feathers were light and the peacocks don't feel much stress, and capable of flying fast at 40 k/m, the 20 greyish brown tail feathers were used as rudder and brake, the train remain closed and trail behind bird as bird flies.

32 Crown feathers were 55m.m., with bases were buried 4m.m. deep in skin and the feather shafts were bare of webs, expert for tips...they were like "flowers" on head.

Had thick downy feathers and thicker plumage allowed peafowls to lives down to temperature -10oC.

Peafowls are most intelligent of game birds, at same intelligence as Canada geese. Mother peahen allogrooms the chicks and father peacocks and mother peahen show foods to chicks by pick the food and hold the food for chick to pick & eat. Peachicks are brooded often by mother peahens.

There are four immature plumages: juvenile, immature, 1st adult, 2nd adult.

1) juvenile plumage last from hatching to @ 8 month old.
2) immature plumage last from 27 days old to 28 months old.
3) 1st adult plumage, like adult, but barred rump, back and short barred train, from 7 month-old to 1 1/2 year old.
4) 2nd adult plumage, like adult, but short entirely green train.

Domestic peacocks in 2nd adult plumage, had breeding for 1st time, capable of fathering the peachicks.
5) 3rd adult plumage: Fully adult & breeding for 1st time in wild peacocks.

Late juvenile feathers look like immature feathers, while late immature feathers look more like 1st adult feathers. 1st adult belly feathers do not have white on feathers.

I been studying on few longest peafowl train feathers, and found the train feathers grow at 7mm per day.
One 1537mm train feather take 225 days to regrow.
The longest train feathers of adult male peafowl, take 240 days to regrow, the longest train feathers had "fish tail" on tips.

0n 11th September this year, I had collected the three shot peafowls...two 1- year-old male peafowls and an one 1-year-old peahen from my friend, and I been studying them.
They start their wing moults on August and most birds had 1/2 grown primary 1st, but no tail moult and no train moult and in early stage of body moult, with most old feathers and few growing feathers. No crown moult. None of these 1-year-old peafowls are in breeding season as their sex parts were small, in males-very small 13mm to 15mm X 3mm, like a rice grain, while female had 25mm X 10mm, with biggest egg being 4mm. Peahen start to breed when they are 32 months old. 1-year male's heart: 50mm X 30mm.
Peafowls are strong flier and strong birds, with colour of breast muscles same as for pleasants, in colour being dark pink and yellow skin.
Both central tail feather 1st and longest train feather of 1st adult plumage, are 505mm, from a 1-year-old peacock.
These two male birds were 20-months-old, by moult patten in flight feathers and barred short train feathers.
Male 1-year-old peafowls had leg spurs 15 mm, while one female 1-year-old peafowl had leg spurs 9 mm.

Body length of 1-year-old peafowls:

one male 1125 mm
one female 955 mm

I measured them from tip of beaks, to tip of tail feathers.

Peafowls of both sexes, had yellow bodyfat on back & rump, where train feathers grow from, and had a small oil grand.

I had updated this study again by corrected the wing moult duration of adult IB male peafowls, from 370 days, to 300 days, but I may re-correct my mistakes again once I get more informations about moults of IB peacocks.

Also well fed peacocks kept by humen, tends to have shorter moult durations than wild peacocks.


A immature male Bronze domestic turkey living in a farm, took 160 days to renew from all old immature flight feathers, to all new adult flight feathers, while adult male wild and feral turkeys take 180 days to renew all flight feathers, start in springtime and finish in autumntime.

Clinton.

 

[casportpony]

Hello,
thank you as usual. He is so funny lately- behaves like a human: After going for boarding, he is happy to be home and loves us, but when he gets bored he is nasty-

recently he attacked a space heater, and had to go to vet because his foot had a bruise, he loves to pick fights and is soooper spoiled. But he is so sweet when we have time for him on the weekends, he loves to watch netflix with us and watch us cook some yummy food, which he later gets to taste as well.

I have attached only few pics, I am ding finals for school, but will share many more once I have time to upload them all.

Good luck all and enjoy the summer

This was him in his "after display" trance and he let me basically handle him and hug him!




He loves sun and spreads his feathers every morning.



Here he is in his full dance mode while often attacking my feet

Great pictures, but I don't think he's attacking your feet... he's courting them, lol, that what my P-Dawg does.

-Kathy