nesting areas for peahens...

[critters]

will peahens nest next to each other or do
they need separated "boxes/nests" ?

my 3 girls are in the same enclosure
so wondering what changes I might need
to make if any before the time comes and
I have to do something last minute....
would rather set things up now....
different corners....in a row....whatever....

 

[zazouse]

Mine free range and yes they nest together but i am not sure if they will use a nest box, mine like to make a divit in the ground like my guineas do and they also like to lay up high on things like my much pile, conex box, loft of the barn and 6 foot up on a sagging part of a canopy. They don't seem to like having anything to hide in like my chickens, when i find their nest in the woods it is usually by a tree or in some fallen branches and by fallen trees.
there is a hen in this photo, click on original photo and see if you can find her.


there is a hen on this box

 

[MinxFox]

We made nice nest boxes for my peahens and only one has used them in the 3 or more years we have had the boxes. They have nested underneath the nest boxes... They have tried nesting in dog boxes before. We have two dog boxes one stacked on the other, in a corner of a smaller attached pen and the peahens have tried nesting in the top one before, but the straw did not seem to cushion the eggs enough because one egg would always end up breaking. I have read that using sand in the box along with straw can help. I no longer worry about providing them a special nest box because one of my peahens always nests in a corner of the pen under a small thatched roof made out of palm fronds, and the other one likes to nest under any of the bushes in the pen. The other peahens didn't make a nest last year.

I have seen free-range peahens at someone else's place nest next to each other underneath a little shed used to store bird food.

For the thatched roof idea, it is in the corner of the pen and open on both ends. We cut some date palm leaves off to make it but palmetto leaves would work too. You get some fencing and attach it to the fence and the ground as the base then lay the leaves across it for the roof. Around the sides of the fence you can put up more leafy branches to give the peahen some privacy.

Here is what it looks like...This version has a shower curtain to make sure the peahen doesn't get all wet. I am guessing you might not have any bushes in your pen, so this will make a nice natural looking nesting area. I am not sure if your girls will like this or not, but my peahen Ice has almost always used this corner to nest. She likes it a lot.

 

[SunBaked]

Mine free range and yes they nest together but i am not sure if they will use a nest box, mine like to make a divit in the ground like my guineas do and they also like to lay up high on things like my much pile, conex box, loft of the barn and 6 foot up on a sagging part of a canopy. They don't seem to like having anything to hide in like my chickens, when i find their nest in the woods it is usually by a tree or in some fallen branches and by fallen trees.
there is a hen in this photo, click on original photo and see if you can find her.

Wow even knowing she is in there somewhere I can't find her.

 

[zazouse]

she is at the base of the tree.

 

[SunBaked]

Oh wow, perfect spot. I bet I never would have found her.

 

[critters]

thanks for sharing...great ideas too!

Zazouse, didn't find her on my own...thanks for pointing her out!

 

[zazouse]

Oh wow, perfect spot. I bet I never would have found her.

The only way i found here was she moved her head to look at me walking by and she caught my eye, i knew the general area she was from her flying in honking after she layed her egg.

 

[SunBaked]

The only way i found here was she moved her head to look at me walking by and she caught my eye, i knew the general area she was from her flying in honking after she layed her egg.

Lol, she must have been honking cause she was very proud of herself

"Look at me, yea that's right, that egg over there? I laid that egg!"

 

[zazouse]

It is their egg song so to speak, onl;y thing is it sounds like the alarm call too.

The ones that fly from the nest are the easest to find.
they can take you for a long walk before actually going back to the nest if they think you are watching.