my peacock had 41 train feathers pulled out will he still breed?

[deerman]

KSM , just ask , there is alot to learn , no problem. peafowl are alot like turkey raise about the same, peacock nothing like a rooster that rapes any hen he can. Peahen will not stand to long in front of a peacock, unless she want to mate with him.

 

[KWAK]

thanks

 

[Kev]

Quote:
Like deerman said, please continue to ask questions.

Displaying is actually only part of how peahens choose males. They do like males with more eyes in the tail, but they also pay attention to other things such as how often the male yells(read that in one study, peahens were more attracted to males who yelled more frequently), probably other cues too.

It's normal for only very few males get to breed at all out of an entire feral population- many males, females had free choice & able to visit many different males etc. Often one or two males would be doing well over half of the total breeding in the entire season, with 2 or 3 others getting to breed a couple times with the rest either not getting to breed at all, or maybe once or twice. Don't think it's yet fully understood all the 'reasons' why peahens choose a male(s).

Males either come to a common area and display within sight of each other, and/or a male will have his own area well away and out of sight of other males.

With limited mates, they will breed with each other. Displaying is just such a strong instinct in males, so they do it irregardless if they have a full tail or chopped off tail etc. Same for peahens, they will make their own choices if possible.. but if not given a choice, most peahens will 'make do' with the available male, also because their instinct to breed is very strong.

Fanning the tail is a pretty strong part in the mating process, what the males do is put on a show, both visual and auditory.. and if he thinks he has a chance with a nearby peahen, he lets out a special "wanna mate?" call and 'rushes' at the peahen.. if she accepts, she crouches down for breeding. If not, she just gets out of the way.... and that's the end of it. Some males will stop quickly but some males are pretty persistent and will 'rush' at the peahen in bit of circle.

 

[MinxFox]

Nice info Kev! I also read something in an article that suggested that related males tend to display near eachother. I haven't heard about the calling thing, that is pretty interesting and it sounds like it would make sence. I also wonder if maybe how good they are at displaying is a factor too. Like if they are good at showing off their feathers and shake their train a lot or something because I can tell a big difference in the way my two year old peacock displays and the way my four year old peacock displays. The two year old is just more excitting to watch. He turns a lot and scratches at the ground and at plants. He also pecks at plants and sometimes picks up things. It looks like he is trying to impress the peahens when he does that.

 

[Kev]

Ahhh another "behaviourist"!

I love watching the little things they do.. Like you, have noticed differences in how individual males behave while displaying and also otherwise.

My IB did something I haven't seen any other peacocks do, he would jump up to a perch with minimal flapping- just once or twice then smooth out his entire body by flattening all feathers against body(he looked really slim and 'sharp' doing this), arch his neck and raise the bump behind head, and jump 'forcefully' from perch to perch again with minimal or even no wing flaps.. he really shook the perches hard during this 'performance', he also would land on perch hunkered down and ever so slowly stand up to full height(neck stays arched whole time) and repeat by jumping to another perch several times in a row. He was also a big favorite with all peahens, peahens in adjoining pens often desperately tried to breed with him- squatting right by the wire closest to him..


I've read about the related males displaying close together. They do this even if raised separately or different ages. wonder how do they tell? If I come across the study showing peahen preference for noisier males, will put link on here..

 

[MinxFox]

That sounds like a very interesting display! I love watching their behaviours. Some are more adveturous and curious about everthing and some are the boss and know it too so they walking around were they please forcing others to get out of the way! Each one is different. My peacock that ran away liked to display to bugs flying by. That was always very funny. I like how easy it is to observe peafowl. They will go about their business if you are watching or not, although for a long time my peacock Dragon hated it when I watched him preen his train, and sometimes he still will stop preening when he notices I am watching.

 

[KWAK]

found my 1st egg!

 

[patty12]

probably but he may start breeding in the night time because he is ashamed.

 

[elizabethbinary]

Yes he will and PS: those feathers can sell for $1-2 EACH. Might wanna think about that

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Yes , I give mine away, but they do sell for that here, 3.00 in craftshops. I would get thousands each fall.....I even sent some rare color one to your country Elizbeth.

Opal, peach,bronze,cameo ,charcoal, and whites....Don't think many of those colors are there.