new to peas... questions

[squeak1387]

About 6 months ago. They were prretty newly hatched. I know nothing about them, was told I got 1 male and 1 female. Only problem is they both every once in a while walk around with their tail feathers up. I can't tell them apart. So if you guys could help and answer some questions that would be great.

1. How do u tell male from female?
2. Do both put their tail up sometimes?
3. What age do they start to lay?
4. When is breeeding/laying time?

And any other info would be great!!!!!!!

 

[Glenmar]

Can you post pictures? Both males and females can display their tails.
Male India Blues will have barring females will have faded to a more solid color.
Breeding season is March- July.

 

[squeak1387]

i am not sure if they are blues or greens. but i am working on getting pics up right now

 

[squeak1387]

pea #1

pea #1

pea #1

pea #1

pea #2

pea #2

pea #2

pea #2

both

 

[MinxFox]

Sorry to tell you but you have two males (peacocks).

To answer your questions:
1. How do u tell male from female? Peacocks will have barring on the wing, Peahens will have solid brown wings.
2. Do both put their tail up sometimes? Yes, both peacocks and peahens display so that isn't a reliable way to tell the sex. Even as adults sometimes peahens will display, the females usually do it to look threatening and the males just do it to show off for the girls or to anything else that moves.
3. What age do they start to lay? Normally at 2 or 3 they start laying.
4. When is breeeding/laying time? The breeding season is Spring-Summer. All during that time is the laying season then the breeding season ends when the peacocks shed their train feathers (what most people call the tail but it is really tail coverts and the tail is what holds it up).

Here are some pictures of my India blue peafowl:
This is a two year old peacock displaying. They do not get a big train until three years of age. Your males are not going to be this colorful yet, but they will be eventually.

This is what the train feathers look like of a two year old peacock:

This is what a peahen looks like:

Peahen displaying.

When getting a peahen, look for a bird with solid brown wings and no barring.

 

[squeak1387]

What is the earliest you can sex them based on feather color?

 

[MinxFox]

For India blues it is normally pretty early, maybe around four months old the peahens start to lose a lot of the barring that they have as young chicks, and the peacocks keep the barring and show more of rust colored flight feathers with some dark feathers in the center of the wing. The peahens will continue to get more sold wing coloration and the peacocks will continue to get more of a bold stripe pattern until it is a big contrast of black and white.

Here is a young peacock I am hand raising that is around four and a half months old. We knew he was a he since he hatched because there was something about him that just screamed "Peacock", we were right because as he got older he never lost those stripes.

 

[Birdrain92]

With me, I sexed them once they were dry from hatching out I only hatched out 5 though so I don't know if it works everytime or if it was just luck but if you look at the primary wing feathers on the peachicks you can tell a difference. The primary feathers should look close to that of an adult male of female. The males had an orangish color while the females were brown.

 

[msmolly]

So can any one help me sex these peachicks? The first pictures are at 3 days old, and the other is, same chicks 6 days old. There are 3 India Blues(browns) and 3 Pieds. There is clearly some stippling or barring happening on all three brown(IBs) shoulders, is that significant? The Pieds, I have no clue, but there are a few speckles happening on one of the Pieds shoulders, you can kinda see in the last pic. Sorry, the chicks move a lot faster now, so getting in focus-pictures is getting harder.

 

[zazouse]

With me, I sexed them once they were dry from hatching out I only hatched out 5 though so I don't know if it works everytime or if it was just luck but if you look at the primary wing feathers on the peachicks you can tell a difference. The primary feathers should look close to that of an adult male of female. The males had an orangish color while the females were brown.

Interesting theory shame all mine are pied, white or have white flights