Peacock Nest box question - trying again...sigh

[arlee453]

I am still at a loss for what to build for a peahen nest box. Does anyone out there have breeding pairs of peafowl that can share with me what they use for nest boxes?? Please....anyone???

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

Our peafowl free range, they nest where ever. A friend that keeps them penned just puts straw in a corner and lets them do whatever.

 

[arlee453]

Thanks for the reply... one of the girls seems to be making a depression in the ground, but it's right in the doorway of the shelter - so she'll get rained on if that's her spot for a nest.

I read on peafowl.org and other places about a box to make to encourage them to lay there - any ideas on size, height, nesting material - is hay/straw OK, or shavings??

 

[SueNH]

Make a spot in a quiet corner, lean a board over the area for a little privacy.

I only have a pair that are too young yet but making an educated guess...

Make it big enough for her to stand up and turn around comfortably. Hay or straw is easy for them to arrange to their liking. Since peas are a bit more high strung than chickens I'd do some sort of covered lean to type thing but with a view.

I have heard a lot of tales of them laying eggs wherever. Make the nest enticing. Maybe even a pine branch or too so it appears hidden a bit over sides and front.

 

[peachick]

The spot she is making in your doorway is just a dirt bath spot... it wont be where she will lay her eggs. (most likely)
Peahens lay their eggs at dusk generally they pace around the pen clucking for a good 20 minutes before they finally lay their egg..... kind of interesting to watch really. Most of my hens (I have about 30) lay their egg from their roost. It drops 4 feet to the ground and almost never breaks. I keep straw under the roosts at breeding season to cushion the eggs when they fall.
I do have a few hens that like a nest box. What I use in each pen is a medium/large plastic dog crate full of straw in a quiet corner of the pen.
Breeding season wont start for a month or two so you have lots of time to set something up for her.....

 

[arlee453]

thanks SOOO much Peachick - that is just what I needed to know!

I have an old dog crate I can put in the corner, and will also cushion below the roost. That's all the guy who we got them from would say - that they will lay off the roost - but that was a little vague the way he put it.

Thanks again

 

[gjfarm]

I have a large wooden doghouse filled with straw.

 

[BigByrd24]

I use a couple different thing for nesting. The one they use the most for me is a 55 gal plastic barrel cut into 1/3 with Wheat Straw.

Here is a link http://www.hopkinslivestock.com/nest_boxes.htm

 

[spectrumranch]

When we raised alot of peacocks we had nest boxes for them to lay in.

We used rectangular open top wooden boxes or the ends of plastic barrels. The boxes were about 16 inches wide, 30 inches long and about 12 inches deep.

After attaching to a wall in the coop, we put about 2 to 3 inches of sand in the bottom, then some wood chips and a little straw. The sand on the bottom and the wood chips help the hen to be able to make an impression without digging all the way down to the flat board.

If there is not enough bedding in the nest the hens will have a hard time keeping the eggs underneath themselves when they try to incubate.

Hens will lay eggs on the ground if they don't have a raised box to nest in. Generally in a corner or behind something. But the advantages of nesting off the ground are not being disturbed by others, nests that don't flood in heavy rain, and the eggs contained in one spot.

You want to keep the nests at a level lower than the roosts so the birds don't use the nest as a roosting spot at night.

If the hens are not comfortable or don't feel secure to make a nest, they will drop eggs around the pen or off the roost.

Randy www.spectrumranch.net

 

[kuntrygirl]

I searched BYC for pics of nesting boxes for pea hens and came upon this thread. Lot of great ideas posted. This gives me something to think about and decide on what to do.