peahen laying issues

[hvnsnt3388]

I am having some issues with my peahens laying eggs.
First, I have a blackshoulder and purple blackshoulder hens in with 2 immature males. They are just turning a year old, so we know eggs will not be fertile. They are both laying an eggs every other day of so.

Second, I have 2 hens in another pen that are mating but not really laying. They have laid 3 eggs in the past 2 months. 2 were broken and one (the first egg of the season) I picked up because she laid it on the wire brooder pen.

The second hens were previously free range but are not now. They both successfully laid and hatched a clutch last year in the" wild". I built a nest box and put it on the ground under the brooder. Filled it with hay and even dithered 3 eggs from the first hens to possibly encourage them to lay there. Sunday they laid an egg on top of the brooder again but it was cracked. So, I moved the nest box on top of the brooder and am hoping they will use it since they like to lay up there. I covered it with cedar branches to help" cover" it some.

Should I move one the hens over into the second pen since they are actively laying? Is there anything I can do to help encourage the second hens to lay, I.e., more cover throughout their pen, dig a small hole for nesting, etc?

 

[MinxFox]

The second hens will have to adjust to laying in a pen. When peahens get ready to lay sometimes they walk back and forth in front of the fence. To me I think what they want is to get out so they can wander around and find the most ideal hidden place for them to lay away from the other peafowl. Since they are in a pen their nest options are limited. They will have to get used to having only a few areas to lay in. Moving the peahen could make her stop laying altogether. Some people say that a peahen that isn't good at picking the right nesting spot or incubating and hatching eggs will be totally different when they let them free-range and make their nest free-range. I am sure it has to do with them being able to pick their true favorite place to have a nest rather then having to settle for some place in a pen. Peahens seem to like enclosed areas for a nest, or I have one peahen that laid an egg yesterday under a plant. She dug a small depression in the dirt under the plant and laid an egg there. Just try and give them a few options like maybe get some palm fronds or something and make a small lean too with lots of cover so they feel safe with some hay beading or something. We build a nice nest box for them but they won't use it at all except for standing on so don't go all out making a great nesting area and expect them to use it, even with fake eggs since we have fake eggs in the new nesting area we made. My oldest peahen did lay in a dog box, it was a dog box that was stacked on top of another dog box. She laid a bunch of eggs and set on them until she broke the 7th egg and abandoned the nest.

So far I have seen some problems with my peahens too, one is inexperienced and lays off of a perch above the nest box so when she lays the egg, it hits the nest box and breaks.

I think you just have to be patient with them, but someone else might have a good solution...

 

[NateinFL]

I totally agree with Minx, I think the issue is that they want to lay elsewhere besides the pen that they're in. Do you let them free range at all? If so, maybe keep them close by in the evening with bread and hopefully they'll pick a spot near your house to lay. Since they were "wild" before, they might be accustomed to laying up on roofs, etc. Hope things work out for them.

 

[C&Rman]

Quote:
Wait so when I do get my peafowl they will want to lay outside of the pen? Mine can't free range our neighbors are really mean and hate all of our animals and they call the cops on them

but I am only getting a pair so there wont be any reason for her to want to lay away from the male will there? There is grass in the pen that is around 9-12 inches tall and I will build her a box hidden in the shelter with tree branches covering it that should be good right?

 

[MinxFox]

No I wasn't trying to say that they have to be outside of the pen to lay, I am just saying that they will lay in the pen and can successfully do so, but they do better free-range because they can find their own place to lay more to their liking...This doesn't mean they can't lay right when they are in a pen, it just might take them longer to get used to laying in a pen then if they were free-range...I am probably not explaining this right...Mainly just don't worry about free-ranging them. I wouldn't let them out to lay...I am just explaining that that is why it can be hard for them to lay in pens and choose good places, because they see places outside the pen that they would rather be and they can't get past that thought...They will still lay in the pen correctly, just give them time but don't let them out unless you really want to.

 

[hvnsnt3388]

Minx, that was great advice! Thanks! Helps put things into perspective! She made a nest yesterday and finally laid in the depression she created in the hay/dirt.

I considered putting the other hen from the pen with immature males in with the mature male because she is laying faithfully. As a matter of fact, whenever you reach down to touch her when she wandering around the pen, she actually hunkers down as if she is expecting to be covered by a male.....funny, huh?! I just figured it wouldn't hurt to move her. Her eggs are not going to be fertile, the males are only about a year old. But, I also don't want to create chaos in the other pen with hens that have raised babies. So, shell stay where she is.

No, I do not allow them to freerange. I would love to, but we are surrounded by blackwater state forest.....it would be to tempting for them to disappear into the forest, never to be seen again. Especially since they were free ranging at their previous owners.

 

[MinxFox]

Oh gosh I love Blackwater State Forest! I went there not too long ago for an art field trip with West Florida High school. We had a booth at the art festival there...If you were there maybe you saw us, we were making scarves out of torn fabric and stuff. I love going kayaking down Blackwater too, sooo much fun and beauty!

Anyways I am glad to hear she made a nest! That is great, I wish you the best of luck with your peahens and their egg laying...Just remember they don't set on the eggs until they lay a certain amount of eggs like maybe 4-6 or so then once they lay all the eggs they start laying on them. This is so that they can make sure all the eggs hatch on the same day even if they were not laid on the same day.

Good luck!