Only one peachick. Would like care advice.

[MizPookie]

We were planning to get peafowl, and talking to various people who had them. We visited a breeder, read up on the internet, and eventually decided that it might not be safe to free range the birds where we live. There were mixed opinions, but the person with the most experience said that the peafowl were less intelligent than turkeys and would most likely not avoid the fenced yard where poultry-eating-dogs live.

However... someone gave us an egg when we first started looking into getting peafowl. We put it under a broody banty hen, and today, it hatched. And despite our decision, we're excited to have it.

So we have just the one peachick We have it caged with the broody apart from the other chickens. We also have one banty chicken egg under that hen and that one should hatch in the next day or so. We wanted it to have company.

Questions:
Will a banty chicken usually take care of a peachick? I ask because when the chick wandered out and made sad little peeps today, it was a different call from a baby chicken, and the hen didn't cluck back the way they usually do to attract a chick. She's letting the peachick stay under her for warmth, though.

Without another baby chick, will a peachick have trouble learning to eat and drink? I hope the chicken egg hatches soon, but if not, should I scramble around to buy a chick or two for company?

Will one peacock or peahen be okay with only chickens for company? I know that some people say that it's not healthy to mix chickens with peafowl, but the breeder I visited seemed to be doing this without problems. I wondered whether it would miss having another pea if it has never had the experience.

Advance thanks for any advice you can offer.

 

[jimmythechicken]

i would get it a friend if the other egg does not hatch.all my daughters peachicks cryed 24/7 if they did not have a friend or 2 to play with.we raied a peachick last year with a chicken friend an he was fine he got so close with his chicken friend that when we broke them up an put him in with the peas he cryed for a week or 2 he still seems to like the chickens when the free range by his pen he fans an talks to them.everyone raises them differant you need to do what works for you good luck with the new chick an lets see some pics

 

[ColbyNTX]

Your first concern is to make sure it is eating and dronking! If the hen is still brooding eggs and not getting up with the chick then it's not eating and drinking.

 

[MizPookie]

Update: I couldn't get the peachick to eat until I offered the broody hen some mashed egg. When she eagerly ate it, so did the chick. So I think eating is taken care of.

Drinking, however, is another story. I tried to interest the chick in the waterer (it's shallow and filled with marbles, for safety). S/he didn't seem interested. I assume the broody is coming out to drink at some point, but I haven't seen that.

Any tips on getting the chick to drink? I tried putting the tip of the chick's beak into water, and also offered up water on my fingertip.