new Whites in with India blues EYE PECKING!

[peafowlmom]

HI, I just put 2 white's
93 to 4 months) in with my 2 India Blues(3 to 4 months) and the India's are pecking their eyes and and feathers. They also don't want to share any treats. What should I do? Will they stop or are they gonna really hurt the whites? Thanks ahead of time to anyone with answers!

 

[konopswj]

My white used to peck at my blue. Around the eyes and head, sometimes it looked like on the eyes itself. Never saw any damage to the blue. Sometimes he even held his head down and let the white one do it. Eventually he stopped, turns out the blue ended up becoming the more dominant bird in the end.

Watch for tearing, loss of feathers, blood. I would say if you see any issues like that then you would have to separate, otherwise they'll establish a "pecking order". I have also seen them take crests off of each other, if there isn’t any damage to their skin, again, I wouldn’t worry.

Hope this helps.
Walter

 

[Bigcreekpeafowl]

Sometimes you have to intervene.
We have put chicks together from different hatches (little younger). And have had to remove the chicks or some of them that are getting injured to the point of having to remove them.

One of our worst happened in one day, a chick being pecked and picked at to where his eyes were swollen shut. His little head was very swollen. He was shivering. I felt very bad and so sorry for him. He of course had to be removed. Just yesterday had to take one of four out of the chick pen because it was bleeding and injured.

I too have noticed putting in a different color such as the white you mentioned can intensify the picking.

Also like you mentioned the chicks that are getting picked on may not be eating and drinking like they normally would which peachicks need good nutrition to thrive. Prolong stress is not good for peafowl.

I would watch them close, most of the time the picking is not serious and goes away with time. However there is a pecking order.

 

[Pavo Royale]

I have had trouble putting whites in with blues. One starved to death last year after putting it in the pen with the others at about 6 months old. It actually died at the vet's office. Another younger chick died this year from unknown causes. This chick was hatched naturally and was left in the pen with older peas. Its blue silblings are thriving. I have come to believe that the whites are seen as defective by the other birds. Incidentally, I have not seen any physical abuse such as pecking.