AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Just wondering how many clutches of eggs a breeding season will a peahen lay. I thought one of my peahens had wondered off a few weeks ago and we had lost her. A few days later she returned honking nosily. We sneakily followed her into the bush and found she had a clutch of eight eggs. I let her sit until what I estimated to be about day 26 and when she got off we collected 7 of the 8 eggs to put into the incubator. They were already pipping!!!! A very anxious wait over the next 36hrs and we now have 6 little peahen chicks, very exciting. When she came off the nest today I went to check on her remaining egg and it was gone with no sign of a chick, we have had alot of goannas on the move latley so I guess we got the eggs just in time. I am wondering that if she does not have chicks to raise will she lay another clutch of eggs? Any info would be welcome as this is the first time I have raised peachicks, thanks.

PA will confirm but I am pretty sure if you take the eggs away she will lay another lot after a break. But I reckon you should feed her up a bit with extra protein and add calcium. Why did you take them away??? Why not let her finish the job? You can put a goanna-proof cubicle over her and open it up in the day to let her walk out for her daily constitutional and close it at night. We use plastic outdoor tables with holes drilled around the circumference and attach wire and shade cloth with a long skirt. When the chicks are hatched out we leave them locked in for a few days with food then catch all chicks in a small cage and walk Mum down following us carrying the cage to a safe pen. You save yourselves a lot of work in raising the chicks! Just a thought. Cheers, Pam

PA will know but an interesting question
Cheers Drew Smith

We take our eggs off the Peahens as well for the same reasons ,Goanna's and Carpet snakes are rampant where we live , This way we get more eggs and nice Healthy Peachicks and they are also a lot quieter as most of the chicks are raised in the brooder and as far as the chicks are concerned you are mum , It's also easier to make sure they get a good start on Turkey starter , .... You will get more eggs doing it this way Some of our mums are better layers , mainly the older hens . But generally they don't bother sitting as we collect the eggs daily and stick them in the bator or under bantams in goanna proof avierys , We have had two peahens sit this season and hatched successfully ,
Technically our way of doing it isn't two clutches of eggs it's one drawn out long clutch , and I haven't had a hen sit and then start laying again until the following season . But I think if the weather permits she may .

I did feel mean taking them all away thats why I left her with one egg. The location she chose to nest would be impossible to secure and despite best efforts I know that eggs and chicks would have ended in the belly of the abundant reptile population we have (not by choice). My other peahen has chosen her nesting spot on top of the tank stand, rather difficult to get to, but when we first looked she had 5 eggs under her. The first 6 chicks are fat and healthy and run to us when we open up the cage. They are safe and secure from predators too. Will keep a look out to see if Mum #1 lays again although must say the peacock has quietened down alot in the past few weeks.

Hi Tutty. Email me privately with your e-address and I will give you ideas for securing nests and sitting hens. Having said all that it is easier in Qu to raise them under heat than in Vic but I believe the hand raised ones never develop the immunity that the natural ones do but I am always happy to be proved wrong. Cheers, Pam

Hi Pam could you post on this board how to make the nest secure from predators i.e fox.
We had to remove eggs from our peahen last week and put it in an incubator because she went to FOX COUNTRY. We where glad that she was not taken out - we believed she was already gone since she was away for 2 days and suddenly resurfaced. We watched were she went and found the nest.
Another Question: are they able to get fertile eggs in their first year?
We believe she is a bit more than a year old...

I seem never to be able to post pics on the board but we use all sorts of things, mostly green plastic outdoor tables which we buy from opshops etc. We put shadecloth, tarps, chicken wire, whatever we have available, etc by drilling holes around circumference and cable tying or wiring curtains to the table with a skirt longer than the height. Then we put logs, rocks etc, around the hem on the ground. The front we make so we can open it up during the day and close at night. This year we used a really long old table over Bianca as she nested alongside a tree root on a steep slope on a creek bank. When the chicks hatch we leave them locked up in the cubicle for a few days until they are walking around then we catch the babies and put them in a small cage and walk slowly down to a big aviary with the mum crossly following and lure her in there where we keep the hens and chicks till we sell the babies at 4 months. The trick is to work out what you are going to use as the cubicle when you first find the egg cache and set it up, then you have to wait until you are sure she is sitting and place it over her. If you do it too early she will start another nest. If this happens we put the abandonned eggs under a chook or in an incubator until we have a chook or if we are lucky enough to have a hen sit at precisely the same time, under her. One hen sat in the back of the Landrover tray so hubby made a lid of pine and wire to fit the tray and we took it off each day. In and under the woolshed we use those blue tarps nailed to the frames and wire on the front. This is stressful as it has to be done when she is sitting but we try and do it when she is having her daily wander. We still have two hens sitting, one in the next property in a fab place under a redgum root on the banks of a creek but so difficult to secure. We have just put bird netting all around and over the top and the same with one sitting under an old tankstand. We are not completely happy with the setup but had no other option really. There are 3 days to go and I "pray" everyday!!!! I will try and post a pic in the gallery but otherwise private message me with your email or ring and I will send you a pic or two. Yours, Pam

And I forgot, yes, ours breed at 1 all the time but you have to have a mature male. I think it is Tahir that says he has had the males breed in their second year. By unplanned situation I have some eggs from a 2 year old hen that was in with a 2 year old male whom I saw mating with her. I sold the two separately as they were promised to people but I have put the eggs under a chook just to see. I am thinking that maybe in the hotter states this youthful fertility may be possible! Cheers, Pam

hi someone tried to send my message but I'm unable to open it... have to wait until I make more posts... lol
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