Peahen problem, HELP!

[cindyschicks]

I have some peafowl on the property I rent. Last year of the for peachicks that made it out of their nests, one female lost both of hers.

This year, one of the peahens was nesting in an old ornamental well outside my front garden. I have been keeping an eye on her since one of the male peacocks chased her off her nest on Monday. She had six eggs, by Monday, one egg had hatched and one had pipped.

Last night (Tuesday), we had some very wild storms, 3" of rain fell in an hour or so. So this morning when I did my nest check, momma was off the nest grazing in the field with the other adults with one peachick following along behind. There is a dead peachick in my front garden and one hatchling left unattended in the nest with three eggs.

So, I chick napped the remaining baby and eggs. I have moved the baby to a brooder in the house, but have never raised peafowl. The eggs are under lights, but I don't have an incubator.

What temp should I keep baby "Peabody" and the eggs at?

What special care do they need? Should I find this little one a buddy? I have a baby Cayuga I could put in with Peabody, but he is much older, not huge but at least 4 - 6 weeks. I have newhatched chicks but I believe it is not safe to put chicken young with peafowl young?

I have been semi-successful with raising young chickens, but I don't want to have "rescued" this little one only to have it die on me.

Help!

 

[chickenzoo]

Hi, glad you were able to save them. Keep the peachick warm in the chick brooder with a baby chick etc. It is not really until they get older that you have to worry about chickens and peas together, they have to come in contact with the ground first. (chickens) They should be fine for now. Chick starter will be fine for now, but most people will feed peas gamebird starter or turkey starter. Eggs should stay about 99.9, you can try a heating pad and see what your temps run on different settings( with set a towel over it ) and then place the eggs on it and keep in a plastic bin.. or if you're plastic bin and light stay about that temp.... might have to put a small covered pan of water for humidity also.

 

[cindyschicks]

Chickenzoo,

Thanks for your help.

I have two broody chickens whose babies are hatching this week. What do you think if I try to tuck the eggs under them? These two have been sitting a communal nest and doing a great job so far.

 

[chickenzoo]

Worth a shot.... if they are good mommas they probably won't care.

 

[lorad]

Broody hen would be my first choice, just as long as the chicken won't abandon the nest after the first chick hatches! I usually brood my turkey poults with the same age guinea keets- this is my first year with peachicks. I didn't have any guineas around the hatching date so the peachicks got a couple chicken "buddies", which I moved out a couple of days ago. Good luck!

 

[cindyschicks]

Okay, I was reading on another site that peachicks have to be taught to eat. I have "Peabody" in with Stella, an Araucana chick, but who is going to teach Peabody to eat? Will he/she just pick it up from watching Stella?

My broody hens took the new eggs like champs, actually I gave one to one hen and two to the other but the hen that I gave the two to was already sitting on so many eggs that I decided to move one of the peafowl eggs. Probably chose the wrong one to move because she watched me slide it out from under her and then under the other hen (they are sitting right next to each other) and she tried to get it back or make sure it was properly covered not sure which.

These two hens had two chicks of their clutch hatch already but have let the other hen in the house take care of the the hatchlings while they continue to sit guard over the eggs.

 

[Kenboy]

Peachicks do not need to be taught to eat but a lot of people say so. I have been breeding peafowl 26 years and have never put peachicks in with chicken chicks.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
I also don't put chicken chicks with my peachicks. Maybe wrong wording here. More like were the food is and what is food...Red feeders and hardboil eggs yolks over the food ....helps. reason some people use teacher chicks.

 

[Kev]

Peachicks seem to come in two types of feeders. One type readily peck at things that are interesting to them. The other type seem to almost never/rarely peck at anything on their own- they only do so when something else is. "Naturally", the peachicks would have a mom sort of feeding them by picking up tidbits for them to grab from her beak or doing food call to get them very interested.

In a brooder, the first type will do well.. the second type will do better if there are other chicks, it can be other peachicks or other species such as chicks. I suspect this is the basic reason why some believe they need help, others don't think so.....

Both types do equally well if raised by hens or peahens. The second type will eventually wean off from depending on others so much.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Myself I couldn't care less how long you have been raising peafowl.. or even any infor you have on them.. with your past public record..in Texas