Lady Penelope has arrived.

Janb · **Posted:** Sat Aug 12, 2006 6:31 pm

We bought another peahen on Thursday (Lady Penelope, a mate for Lord Snowdon) and she is settling in reasonably well. I think she is older than Piper and she does seem a little stiff in the legs today. I think this might be because she was held in a cage overnight waiting for us to collect her. Is this likely to be the cause? She is eating and drinking but does not seem to know what the perch is for. She slept on the floor of the pen last night.
I heard of a woman in Shepparton who breeds peafowl. Does anyone have her contact details?

p.s. Today, Saturday, Penny seems less stiff and did actually perch!! I am so pleased, I think she is settling in quite well and hopefully will accept Snow as her mate very soon.
cheers
Janb

Mrpeewee · **Posted:** Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:13 pm

Glad to hear that she is settling in very well! Sometimes when their legs are restricted they can be stiff for a few days, I hope they breed for you.

R_M · **Posted:** Tue Aug 22, 2006 9:57 pm

Jan, is this the pied hen you were after for your white male....?
If so the results should be interesting.
I now have bred a few pied hens to breed back to my dark pied male (he only shows a few white feathers but some of his progeny have been very nice.)
The young hens will be old enough this year so we shall see what happens.
Mind you I had a lot of trouble getting rid of birds I bred last year...
Good luck with your breeding season....the birds are showing interest here already.
Buggsy

Janb · **Posted:** Wed Aug 23, 2006 5:53 pm

Hello Buggsy,
Unfortunately Lady Penelope is not the pied I was hoping to find for Lord Snowdon, she is an Indian Blue. I advertised twice in the "wanting to buy" section of our local newspaper for a pied but no responses offering me hens of any colour at all.
But hopefully from their mating (if it happens) there could be some pied in the chicks. Likely? She is walking better but I think she is of an advanced age now that I can watch her closely, she certainly does not have the robustness of Piper (Sir Percivals mate who is just over 3) and also I note one of her side toes is smaller and this causes her to be a bit unsteady on her feet at times. I understand what you mean about difficulty selling birds, I have advertised 2 young males several times but to no avail. Might have to seriously consider the auction system. I didn't want to go down this path as I would really like to be sure they will be going to a good home but I may not have a choice. Peahens on the other hand are in demand but, of course, I don't have any for sale this year.
cheers
Janb

Janb · **Posted:** Wed Aug 23, 2006 6:03 pm

Hello Mr Peabody,
She is walking better but I think, now that I can watch her closely, she is of an advanced age. She certainly does not have the robustness of Piper (Sir Percivals mate who is just over 3) or the smoothness of feathers and also I note one of her side toes is smaller and this causes her to be a bit unsteady on her feet at times. She has mastered the perch in the pen and perches every night but doesn't use the outdoor perch in the enclosure, despite Lord Snowdon using it a lot to demonstrate what it is for! There is plenty of room for both of them (and a few more) so it isn't that she couldn't fit on. She does seems to prefer resting on the ground when outside the pen and in the enclosure. At what age do peahens stop producing fertile eggs or even mating?
cheers
Janb

Mrpeewee · **Posted:** Wed Aug 30, 2006 5:31 pm

Hi Jan,

Peahens will lay for a long time, I have heard of some hens laying well into their teens (up to about 18). However not all will do so. If she is older she may prefer a lower perch so she does not jar her legs going up and down. Hope she lays well for you this season!

Janb · **Posted:** Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:15 pm

Thanks for your response Mr Peabody, since the post to which you have replied, we have now realised that Lady Penelope has a worm infestation. We have isolated her and have been trying to treat her for Gapeworm. So far no success and tomorrow morning she is off to the vet. I am feeling really sad for her as she is such a sweetie and must be wondering where her other owner has gone and why on earth is she feeling so unwell.
Janb

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