Peahen laying for the first time

[lilredwagon]

Hello,
I inherited a young nesting pair of peafowl that live at my school. She snubbed my nesting box and instead laid her eggs under a rose bush. The eggs should be hatching the week after school gets out. Their coop is an open air quad with a steel roof structure in part of it for cover and shade. What do I need to do when her eggs hatch? Will the male be ok around the babies? She didn't lay her eggs near the food and water so I'm planning on adding a smaller food and water set up closer to her nest but otherwise what should I do?

 

[Waterfaery]

Are these free range birds? I don't know where you are so I don't know what kind of predators you have but I would consider putting up some sort of temporary predator protection around the area where she is nesting.

After that, if they are free range, your choice is to interfere a lot and build a more permanent pen to contain them or else trust nature and hope for the best. Peahens make great mothers and protect their babies fiercely.

The peachicks will be mobile very quickly after hatching and she will bring them to the food and water and probably move them away from that nest to a different spot to sleep. As soon as they can fly, which won't be very long at all, she will get them to roost up high with her.

The peacock won't be a problem. Most likely, he will be disinterested but I have heard of some peacocks taking an interest and helping out.

I would advise reading the stickies section at the top of the peafowl forum and learning as much as you can.