Today I was in the peachick pen with Peep and the three white peachicks and I was cutting some branches that I let grow through the pen in the spring and summer then cut them when the leaves fall off in cold weather and I left the peachick's door opening up to the adult peafowl pen on purpose just to give any of the chicks a chance to enter the large pen on their own. The curious white male walked out of the pen and stood there in the large pen 1 and a half feet away from the peachick pen. He stared at a leaf. Then one of Ice's peachicks walked up. Ice's peachicks are less than half as big as the white peachicks. Ice's chick and the white male peachick stared at eachother then all of a sudden Ice's little peachick jump kicked the larger white peachick and then did it a second time and he ran off and then my adult peahen Damsel kicked him and I herded the white peachick back into his pen. I couldn't believe it that a little peachick was able to beat up a big peachick, and the little peachick is a little female and the white is a male...
This made me think about something I read about peafowl: The mom evidently passes her status on to her peachicks. Ice is the dominant peahen and Alto my adult peacock is the only one that out ranks her. I guess that means Ice's chicks will be highly ranked. With Peep and the white peachicks I haven't noticed much established dominance. I have only recently seen a bit of pecking and that was only when Peep got mad that the white peachicks were stealing the leaves I was trying to hand feed Peep and so he pecked at them and chased them off to let them know he wanted the food but other then that they all get along really well and the white peachicks are all related and they are really close. They love each other and sleep very close together at night. Ice's peachicks have started to pick on each other. The largest one reminds me of Ice. She holds herself up very high and is dominant over her two sisters. Her best friend is second in charge and she is the one that kicked the white peacock, then Ice's white peachick is the lowest in the peachick pecking order. Today her sisters were running her off when she got too close to them. They never did hang out with her much.
I just thought it was strange to see all the shows of rank in the little ones and not in the bigger peachicks. I guess it is because the smaller ones were hen raised.
I really need to name all of my peachicks. I think they are at a good age to know a good name for them.
This made me think about something I read about peafowl: The mom evidently passes her status on to her peachicks. Ice is the dominant peahen and Alto my adult peacock is the only one that out ranks her. I guess that means Ice's chicks will be highly ranked. With Peep and the white peachicks I haven't noticed much established dominance. I have only recently seen a bit of pecking and that was only when Peep got mad that the white peachicks were stealing the leaves I was trying to hand feed Peep and so he pecked at them and chased them off to let them know he wanted the food but other then that they all get along really well and the white peachicks are all related and they are really close. They love each other and sleep very close together at night. Ice's peachicks have started to pick on each other. The largest one reminds me of Ice. She holds herself up very high and is dominant over her two sisters. Her best friend is second in charge and she is the one that kicked the white peacock, then Ice's white peachick is the lowest in the peachick pecking order. Today her sisters were running her off when she got too close to them. They never did hang out with her much.
I just thought it was strange to see all the shows of rank in the little ones and not in the bigger peachicks. I guess it is because the smaller ones were hen raised.
I really need to name all of my peachicks. I think they are at a good age to know a good name for them.