What's with my peafowl?

[deerman]

Don't see enought spalding to keep them from breeding this year.

Yes she should lay and eggs should be fertile. My guess with right diet, come June they will breed, Most all 2 yrs will breed unless green or high % spalding(don't see that in yours)

 

[Kev]

Without knowing the history, would have pegged him as an 1 1/2 to 2 year old bird. Not three.. but hey sometimes surprises happen.

It is pretty normal for 2 year old hens to lay.. often they don't lay that many eggs..

 

[Kev]

Quote:
All of my 2008 hatch peachicks looked like 2 year olds in 2009 I traded some to Sid at Texas Peafowl and he thought they were 2 yr olds, colored out with small trains, so I would not judge the age just by the neck feathering.

For me the patch below the neck has been generally reliable. Not the neck, but the patch that starts out white on males and stays off-white or buff on females. On males less than year old, it's either mostly white or white peppered with dark feathers. Past one year, it starts to 'fill in' as the white gradually disappears. I never saw a male younger than one with this patch a solid dark color.

I know what you mean, some of my yearlings will grow out eyes and have a fair bit of color, look just like a typical 2 year old, these can start showing first eyes as young as 5-6 months old. Had one male that was showing eyes at just 3 months old, this one had a 2 foot long train feathers(not all colored or eyed) at 6 months old.

I've had people shocked at the appearance of those yearlings and also some of my 2 year olds having pretty well advanced tails and coloring too.

 

[homesteadingcowgirl]

Thank you all for your help. So, I'm understanding that nothing is wrong and I don't need to do anything different, just wait a little longer. It does seem that yes he should have more tail feathers in but probably won't until after this molt???

 

[Choctaw Valley Farm]

With the male not having a tail with eyes, I wouldn't count on any fertile eggs and if she does lay eggs you will just have to cross your fingers

and hope that they are fertile.

Steve

 

[Kev]

But you're also kind of implying in the reverse, the yearlings with eyes are fertile... are you saying that?

It's back to the annual tail molt. He may not have had enough male hormones to produce a colored tail during the molt.. however there's the several months in between the molt and spring time.. perhaps there's a chance his testosterone had increased during this time. The small body feathers do get replaced rest of the year, that's one way a male can get a nicely colored out neck despite the tail being quite colorless- it's one of the reasons I think the patch below the neck can work as indicator of age of young males.

Right, wait until the fall molt and see if his tail gets more color.

 

[deerman]

Had a 2 yr old charcoal male with only one eye feather, with 3 2 yr old peahens. 80 % fertile eggs from him. Would be odd not to have 2 yr old to breed. Except for greens.

 

[Choctaw Valley Farm]

Well with the age that was given this male should be almost 3 yrs old. If the birds were 1 1/2 yrs when she got them and she has had them for a 1 1/2 if I can still add right that would make him 3 yrs old and has never had a tail, Unless I misunderstood the first post. Just wish I could get 2 yr old males with no tail and with out eyes to fertilize eggs, I have a 4 yr old Midnight B/S male that grows about a 2' tail never has gotten eyes and has never fertilized an egg, also have a 2 yr old Purple male with a 4' tail with eyes on two 4 yr old Purple hens and out of 30 eggs none have been fertile, last year these hens with a different male produced around 35 peachicks. So just because it is suppose to happen and they are suppose to breed at 2 or 3 if MOTHER NATURE is working against you, they will not do what they should be doing anyhow.

Or maybe I could just put them on that Super Hero Ultra Kibble Feed wounder if that would help my birds?

. ( from another post on here)

Steve

 

[homesteadingcowgirl]

Well, I guess you all see my dilemma and the reaons behind my questions!! Is there some reason his testosterone would be low? Anything I can or should do? Hopefully my only peacock won't be infertile. I guess I will revisit this post in June-ish. I know that deerman had reported getting 10 eggs a day. I am guessing you must be in a warmer climate? Probably also with older birds or are your younger birds also laying too. I did have one unaccounted-for egg yesterday, but it looked exactly like a turkey (which I have) egg, so I am guessing it wasn't from the peahen. On the fertile issue, I have never seen them mating so that answers that (atleast so far). They "court" each other and of course he displays with his non-existent plumage!
@ Cherokee>> You are right, he has never had a tail. Only one eye feather and a couple of "half-eyes". Two years are absolutely accounted for, any additional would be depending upon how old you judge him to be in the pictures. The couple I got him from stated that he was 2 at the time. They have a whole slew of them free range at their place.

 

[NCIndiaBlue]

Here's some pics of my 2 year old black shoulder male - the others are yearlings.