Need advice concerning setting and introducing new peafowl

[hvnsnt3388]

Ok...I have 2 pens with peafowl. One pen has a mature female and a mature male. The female has been setting on eggs for 10 days now.
My other pen has 2 mature females (both actively laying eggs) and 2 immature males in it. My mature purple blackshoulder is, how do I put this, really interested in mating. EVERYTIME i go in the pen to feed or whatever, she hunkers down as if she is expected to be covered by a male. Well, yesterday, I stroked her back and she was twitching her tail from side to side......I really would like to put her in with the mature male. I need someone to help me decide what to do here. Should I put her in the pen with the mature male? Im afraid the disturbance could run the setting female off of her eggs. Do I have enough time left in the breeding season to wait for the clutch to hatch and then add her to the pen? I do plan to remove the chicks from mom and imprint and raise them in the inside brooder.

Also, off topic but would like to get some advice on pest control. The female that is setting is in a next on top of a brooder box, really high off of the ground, but im afraid that with the hatching mess ants will be attracted to the nest and kill the babies. I just had this happen with a clutch of chickens. Should I dust the area with malathion dust a few days before expected hatch? Should I remove the eggs from mom when they start pipping? This is my first clutch and could really use the advice!!!

Thanks!

 

[ColbyNTX]

I would remove the male and put it in the pen with the other 2 females and leave the broody to her eggs alone. I would also let her hatch the babies fully. I wouldn't use any ant killer in the pen. You can mix Ivomec with corn meal and let the ants eat it and it will kill them. You can put like 1cc in a cup of meal and mix it up then just sprinkle it on the mound.

 

[hvnsnt3388]

The other pen has 2, 1 year old males in it......its not big enough, I dont think.......about 300 sq ft. I would be putting 5 peafowl in it......3 of them males! Oh my! How long is the breeding season? Maybe able to get a new pen built relatively quickly, we just need the tin for a roof and labor, lol!
mix ivermec....isnt that a liquid? mix liquid ivermec with cornmeal and sprinkle it on the ground below the nest box? Should I scatter alittle around the box itself? We have a serious issue with ants. I have used DE on them, used malation, and buried ant killer under hills and still cant seem to get them under control. We just lost 6 hatchlings before they could completely hatch from a clutch of chickens. The ants were attracted and swarmed the chicken nest. It was horrible!!!!!!

do you think I could break a couple of chicken eggs away from the next to draw the ants to them instead of them going for the pea eggs?

 

[ColbyNTX]

Yes, it is a liquid. Don't use too much because the peas will eat it if you put out a pile. If they just eat a little, it will deworm them but an OD can be deadly.

 

[hvnsnt3388]

Ok, ill give that a try! Thanks for the advise!

Anyone have any suggestions about the male/female pairings?

 

[Barrdwing]

ColbyNTX is right, it would be a bad idea to move a new bird in where she might come in contact with the broody. A strange hen may drive her off of her nest; it might even be out of pure curiosity, but the damage would be done. Is there any way for you to fence off the area of the pen where the broody is? That might be an acceptable compromise for her, and allow you to move the purple blackshoulder in long enough for her to have her "romantic liaison" with the male.

 

[Kev]

I would move the adult male in with her, and move or temporarily let the young males free range if possible as not to overcrowd that pen.

It's always best to have a broody or mother peahen by herself in a pen whenever possible. Moving the peahen in with her you run the risk of the peahen becoming the dominant one and bothering the broody or the broody becomes so bothered or outraged at the intrusion she either comes off the nest for a long time or quits... or nothing happens.. but you never know which situation will happen until it's well too late.

The male will display and breed with the new hen in new pen, no worries about that. If the pens are adjoining, I would try lifting or moving portion of the divider and go from there.. I'd personally move or let loose the young males and herd the adult male into there if possible. If moving/letting loose the young males is not an option, perhaps let that peahen in with the male and shoo her back out after he breeds her. With the 'condition' she is in, she may immediately squat for the male and hopefully he will not hesitate at all(it is normal for some males to want courting and taking some time first... other males 'dive right in')

Good luck!

 

[hvnsnt3388]

Thank you all for your advise!!!!

i have about 2 weeks left on broodys clutch before hatching. I think, as long as there is still time in the breeding season, i will wait for the clutch to hatch then put the purple BS into the pen with her and the mature male. He is standing over the broody alot lately, is this normal?

I am too scared to turn the young males out for fear they may not return. Allowing her an affair may be too much of a chance with the broody, sure would hate to lose the eggs because of the invasion even if only a short interaction.

We have a frame ready to close in for all the peas, just havent been able to get past the heat we have had lately to work on it.

I may be worried alittle too much, but my plan was when the broody hatches her clutch, to remove the chicks and rear them in an indoor brooder box so I can keep them off the ground and also try to imprint them. Is this a bad idea? Should I leave them with mom? We do have free range chickens and Im afraid of them picking up something from the chickens.

can I go ahead and worm broody while she is still setting? Should I wait til after the clutch is born?

She is setting on 5 eggs, I havent candled them and I sent 13 eggs to a man that incubates for me. He told me the other day (16 days into incubation) that all of the pea eggs look good so far......Holy moly, looking at a possiblity of 19 chicks!!!!!

OMG! What have I gotten myself into!!!!!!!! LOL!

 

[Barrdwing]

I wouldn't worm her while she's setting--too risky. It could be enough to convince her that her chosen nest site is unsafe, and she would then abandon the clutch. I have had peahens abandon nests for much more minor upsets, so no, don't worm her yet if you can avoid it.

Our other peahens like to hang out near broodies; I figure that so long as nobody is pecking at the broody or her eggs/chicks, things are OK. I'm always a little nervous, because peahens sometimes seem to target other hens' chicks. But the peacock himself has been fine; he hasn't been the least bit aggressive towards chicks. About all he does is announce a new hatch by yelling a lot more for a few days.

I go both ways regarding hand-raising peachicks. I will say that our peahens are tremendously bonded with their chicks from day one, and having twice watched peahens mourn lost single chicks, I hate to see any hen go through that. You could take some of the chicks and leave her a few--I've seen folks recommend that as a safety net in case something happens to either batch of chicks. Regarding concerns about disease coming in from the chickens: unfortunately, if there is a contagious disease or parasite around, exposure is going to happen regardless. With our young peas, raised by their mother in the pen adjoining the chicken yard, so far we have only had one get sick (blackhead) and he was three months old when it happened. He needed treatment, but bounced back fast. One thing to keep in mind with parasites is that stress makes any parasite worse, and gradual low-level exposure is better for developing immunity/defense against the parasite, as opposed to sudden exposure in an inexperienced host. So raising birds on wire can backfire in that regard.

What I have done with my new pea moms is to fence off a 6'X10' portion of their coop, and shut her in there until the kids are a month old. By then they're much stronger and faster, and also quite tired of confinement.

 

[dipilu2]

I'm glad you came on this site. I've been raising my peafowl since the Mom and Dad were 10 days old. 3 1/2 years later, they are very healthy and spoiled! She had her first brood of 6 this summer (on mothers day!) and I let her raise them for 2 moths before letting them go to a new home. They have each other so that's a plus, but I next year I will let them stay with mona a longer since they learn so much from their parents. I let them free roam. Most of the neighbors love them and are very fond of my male (he is known to knock on their doors to visit). Momma needs to roam! She needs to teach her babies how to forage, whats' dangerous, what is not. They need to learn the lay of the land and where the predators are. The momma will always stick around, its the male you have to expect to roam. Good luck!