Tips for incubating peacock eggs?

[Angel07]

I’ve collected 4 peacock eggs and I know the basics of incubating peacock eggs but does anyone have any tips for me? I want the best chances of hatching as many out as possible. Especially since one of them has a crack in it. I’ve coated the cracks in nail polish so hopefully it’s right.

Thank you in advance.

 

[KsKingBee]

The people that have the best results put the eggs under a broody hen for the first 15 to 23 days then put in the incubator.

 

[KsKingBee]

I knew you'd have the best answer...back in the day I just incubated in the bator- - - all the way!

You are too kind. I am still down with the Rona but I'll get a bit of info out. As I stated above the large breeders mostly use chickens to start the eggs then transfer them to the incubator to finish out, I have not excelled in this yet. I set about 200 eggs per week all season long and I just don't have enough chickens or space for them, but it is a proven way that works best. Actually, if you don't have very many eggs just let the broodies do all the work but be sure to have them isolated as other broodies will injure the chicks if they get out from under mom before she gets off the nest. Fortunately, this is a habit that peahens do not have, peahens are more likely to co-mother chicks.

The basic rule of thumb for incubating pea eggs is 100*F although you can fine-tune this by counting the number of days it takes to pip and hatch. Longer than 26 days to pip and you are too cold, shorter than 26 days and you are too hot. Humidity will vary widely according to your local climate. 45% works best for us here and increasing it to 60% at hatch. You can find the best humidity by weighing the eggs before you set and again at one-week intervals on a gram scale. You need to lose approximately 13 to 15% of the total egg weight by the time they hatch.

There is a lot more to this but I am worn out, sorry.

 

[007Sean]

Haven't hatched peas in quite sometime but I'll tag a few that have: @casportpony , @Dany12 , @Midnightman14

 

[KsKingBee]

Opps, sorry I left you out...wasn't intentional! @KsKingBee

No worries, being down from getting the covid antibodies yesterday I don't really feel up to a detailed post. Perhaps in a day or two.

 

[007Sean]

The people that have the best results put the eggs under a broody hen for the first 15 to 23 days then put in the incubator.

I knew you'd have the best answer...back in the day I just incubated in the bator- - - all the way!

 

[beanb142002]

You will need to see if a pea egg will fit into the cradle far enough to touch the floor so it will roll. I find the most important aspect of an incubator for peas is humidity control.

The original cradle would not hold them however there are 3d printed replacement cradles online that hold larger eggs.

 

[KsKingBee]

I have the larger turner for my nurture right 360 tbat only holds 12 eggs and I had pretty good success hatching with it last year. On shipped eggs I was able to hatch 8 out of 12

Wow, that is great results on shipped eggs.

 

[Midnightman14]

Hi everyone! Hope all is well I don’t have much experience raising chickens or incubating. I am currently raising a few chicks and don’t have broody hens yet, hopefully some chicks turn out to be females anyways I am trying to incubate peafowl eggs in a very small incubator, brinsea mini advance.

I noticed the turning is near impossible because of the size! What is the best way to turn manually? Would it be a bad idea to get them into another incubator at this point? We’re on day 9.

Also, I didn't know about weighing the eggs before incubating, is there a guide I can reference to check the air cell? Every how often do you guys weigh the eggs?

I appreciate your help and hope you all have a wonderful day!

Most turners on smaller incubators aren't strong enough. You can compensate by turning the eggs 180 degrees a couple times a day. Or you can do what we do with our max 20 rcoms and leave the turner on while also doing the 180 turns.

 

[DukesDucks]

I'm sure you'll get some great advice. I've done the incubator route but actually had more success slipping peafowl eggs under broody chickens and ducks.
Good luck. Let us know how it goes. Always find the hardest part is being patient from the time of the first tiny hole in the shell to the peachick finally fully hatched.