peacocks

[Kev]

yes, but it depends on if the premises or the chickens are infected carriers of certain diseases. Blackhead is the most common concern, chickens can get infected and carry blackhead with little or no problems yet it is very lethal to peafowl.

Blackhead goes through a host cycle that includes earthworms/soil critters and also internal parasites(worms). Regular deworming will break this cycle and keep the risk to a minimum.

Blackhead is not everywhere, this is why some people "have had peafowl/turkeys(it kills turkeys too) with chickens for years with no problems". It IS a very good precaution to deworm if one doesn't know if blackhead is present or not and a necessity if it is known to be.

With either regular deworming or if blackhead is not present, there isn't much problem keeping them together.

 

[deerman]

Quote:

Peach White eye Peacock (eyes of train feathers)

 

[deerman]

Check this post, for more pics of my peafowl.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=110970

 

[mario49]

Quote:
is there a way of telling that blackhead is going through the chickens?
any way of telling that they have it or not?
can i stop it once they get it?

 

[Kev]

Once blackhead is there, it is there permanently. Chickens normally don't get sick from it at all, although very occasionally one does get ill and die from it but this is uncommon. I don't know if there's any way to visually tell if they are carriers.. however blackhead is known to be more prevalent in some regions of USA than others so contacting the local AG office should have information as to the risk level.

However it is pretty widespread(seems to be much more so in wetter regions) so if you have bought birds from multiple sources, especially auctions, swap meets and the like or had birds shipped in from other states, chances probably are rather high that several of them were carriers and infected the premises. Part of the cycle involves shedding eggs in the feces and the eggs can be dormant in the soil for very long time and can infect a wide range of birds- including wild birds.

Once it is there, the only way is to take preventative measures. Regular deworming is one way and many breeders raise their peachicks on wire for several months(some even keep them on wire for a full year.. a few go as far as to keep them on wire permanently).

Probably can find out by fecal testing for worm eggs by a vet or specialist.

This all probably seems very scary but quite a lot of people have chickens & peafowl together with not much problems and depending on regular deworming & keeping peachicks off ground for a bit.

 

[Kev]

Deerman, are you another fan of white eyes? Many times I have been tempted to breed white eyes into everything.. however they just don't sell too good here so that reins me back.

I have bronze, BS silver pied(breeder male split purple), purples, opal(really like this color a lot.. very tempted to try for white eyed or silver pied opals..) pied spaldings, greens, whites, a whole bunch of white eyed hens split for white or silver pied and bronze. I have to say I am surprised at the bronzes, they look so much better in person than in pictures- my two breeder bronze cocks are coming threes, can't wait for spring time to see those two!

 

[deerman]

Kev, I do like a well marked white eye peacock. Not all are marked well. I like the Silver Pieds, and as I am sure you know all Silver PIEDS are White eye.

I also have a 2007 hatch Bronze Peacock. He is turning white, just like the Very First Bronze Peacock. He has bronze body with white wings, Last year he had no white feathers. He looks like a pied, but he has no pied in his background.

Have a Charcoal Peacock, think he will be white eye also.

 

[Kev]

Yes that is true, and it is also very odd that the amount of white on chicks/young birds is not necessarily a solid clue as to how they will be marked as adults..

I'm aware of silver pieds having white eyes and thought they were just pieds with white eyes added. But my own breeding results have been confusing. Let me explain..

For many years I had white eyeds and whites out of white eyeds. Built up a very large stock of these.. and a few years ago decided to get silver pieds.. a few owners/breeders told me exactly this- silver pied are white eyeds so I asked if a silver pied male would produce silver pieds if bred with white eyed hens split white and white hens out of white eyed.. they said "yes" so I went ahead and just got a male(gorgeous male almost all white with few small patches of color) and put him with a couple white eyeds split white and white hens homozygous for white eyed.

Well, 3 seasons.. same results: bunches of whites, bunches of obviously pied but minimal marked(most did not even have white on back or tail area) and a very few "medium pieds"(with some white on back/tail but not very much).. zero silver pieds.

I got confused and curious(and at that time breeders still were telling me silver pied x white eyed= some silver pieds).. got another silver pied male, the current BS silver pied split for purple and put in with him, white eyed split white and homozygous white eyed white hens. Results of 2 seasons were exactly the same(except for half of the daughters being purple also) as results out of other male.

So if silver pied are also white eyed, how come I have not gotten any silver pieds?

Anyways I plan to put a white and a medium pied daughters out of the silver pied male with the BS silver pied male for the upcoming season. Also thinking of putting the BS silver pied daughters with the white son out of the silver pied.. just to see what comes out of them. I do expect a few silver pieds to come out these but this does make me wonder if there is something different about silver pieds more than just being a pied with white eyes..

Ah yes the Bronze Clifton had. He was a neat bird. I understand some breeders are trying to bring back this type, bronzes that turn mostly white. So far none of my bronzes show any white on them.

You have to show pictures of that Charcoal sometime! Have never seen charcoals.. how are they different from Opals? They don't seem dramatically different from each other in pictures.. but then I never expected how bronzes really would look from just pictures. Out here there are very few breeders/owners who have any color other than blues. So I pretty much don't get to see any other colors other than I've bought and shipped in..

 

[deerman]

Well all silver pieds are all white eye, but not all white eyes are split to Silver pied. Another strange thing about white eye only one bird needs to be W.E. to produce W.E. chicks.

Yes my Bronze is turning just like Clifton bronze peacock, trying to find a bronze hen turning white. Hope to get a bronze with colored body with a all white train.

The charcoal have lots of problems, like hens not laying, short life of the peacock(6 or 7 years) this will be my first year trying the charcoals, do have blue hens split charcoal.
Yes as young birds the opal and charcoal do look a little alike.
I have both opal and charcoal, easy to tell apart when next to each other.

 

[Kev]

Are you saying the pied in silver pied is different from regular pied? 2 different pied genes?

For regular pieds, a mating of pied x white or split white bird is supposed to produce pieds.. this is where I was going with for the silver pied x WE split white and white WE hens. Pied gene from the silver pied cock combined with white from the hens.. "supposed" to throw white eyed pieds and silver pieds? Is there something I'm missing..

Yes I agree white eye appears to be dominant.. have crossed to blues and chicks grew up white eyed.

A colored bird with white tail would be quite cool, irregardless of what color they are!

Knew charcoal hens did not lay but the cocks not living long is new to me.. this gene must be doing something to their insides..

Do you have WE or pied opals?