AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Hello everyone, the season is all but over, the boys are losing their trains and not displaying to the girls very much at all. 2 hens laid 3 eggs each but then stopped. Neither sat on her eggs. This means that out of 2 mature males and 3 mature hens we have zilch in the way of chicks. We do have 2 hatched by our bantam hen and they are a month old now. Being a bantam I was limited as to the number of eggs I could put under her. I did put 3 but that was one too many for her to manage. Has anyone else had a similar experience of non sitting hens this season? I am putting it down to the drought and the almost constant smoke haze we had. Thankfully the recent day of rain has eased that problem. I was looking forward to lots of chicks this year, really rather disappointing. I am hopefull that next season will be a lot different.
cheers
Janb

Hi Jan, as we don't allow our Peahens to sit this is not an issue for us, however we did experience a 8% drop in fertility in the latter part of the season. We believe the reason for this and the early start to the season was due to the extended dry conditions. Lets hope 2007 brings above average rain fall? Bantam hens (Pekin & Silky) are excellant for the incubation of Peafowl eggs and should sit on 3-4 eggs without any issues (there are exceptions of course) we hope 2007 season is a bumper year for you and all the Members.


Thanks
Peacocks Australia

Hi Jan and Brett. Jan knows all our news of goods and bads but others may like to know. We locked ours up and they laid about forty eggs but wouldn't sit so we gave up and let them out. We had a one year old white sit on five eggs under our tank. Al built a cubicle around it. She hatched out four, two white, two pied, one infertile. We moved them into the big aviary and one of the pieds still got taken by a young fox that made a tiny hole larger. We were away. We then had a plague of foxes, like three in our backyard all the time. We have had three shot and we trapped one and the ranger shot it, so about twenty to go we reckon. Wish they'd bring the bounty back. Another white laid in a pile of logs under the woolshed and on a bed too. Al made a cubicle around her. There were seven. Two must have been stolen while she was out in the day time as we used to open up the cubicle so she could go, but the other five hatched, two plain, one loud pied, one dark pied and two white. We moved them to the aviary too. Then there were the two sharing the nest but a fox jumped up and broke the window and they left the nest. We would love to incubate but it is so cold at night here that everybody says you can't keep them warm enough. We also have power cuts in thunder storms. Hopefully next year they will use the cubicles we have built. Our pied hen got taken by a fox. We think she must have had eggs somewhere and had just started sitting. I had had heaps of searches but couldn't find where. Anyway, hopefully we will do OK with these ones. It is so good having them outside the kitchen window, but you know, twice I have heard a commotion at 7am and walked out to see a fox at the back door. One sprang on to a mature male and he flew up in a tree. THey were all calling a different call when the young one was in the trap. Also I had to kill a brown snake who was absolutely fixated on getting through the aviary wire to get a chick to eat. The mother was trying to kill it through the wire so I had no choice really. It is a very stressful thing, breeding!!! The chicks' antics keep us very happy tho. Good luck with everybody's babies. Pam

Hi Pam, sorry to read about your troubles with Foxes, they are an issue in many states of Australia but they seem to be a very big issue in Victoria. For this reason we have always recommended "locking-up" your Peafowl prior to the breeding season, particularly Peahens. just imagine what would have happened to your Peachicks if you didn't Pam? Good luck with your Peachicks hope all goes well!


Thanks
Peacocks Australia

Continuing the fox saga. Some people shot 5 around our place last weekend, so that is 10 accounted for and I still saw one trotting up our paddock at 10am a few days ago. We have some good tips to pass on to others. Our perches are high and the hens start teaching the chicks from Day 3 to fly up to them. We have found they are not ready till Day 15. In the clutch of 5, 3 got up but the other two didn't and the mother just left them there on the ground. We put a big spotlight shining into the corner of the aviary and they huddled ther for the night. PLUS, another one fell down during the night and joined them, plus an older chick from the first clutch ended up on the ground that night, and it was cold, so we left the light there for a few nights, just in case. We also put an extension ladder at an angle leading up to the high perches and that works a treat. They hop up the rungs, resting in between. When I work out how to get our pics down to 200mB instead of 200KB I will send some. We took heaps last night of the chicks poking their heads out from the Mums. Today I was sitting in the aviary watching when all the cockies outside went berserk. An eagle was flying over. I doubt if the Mums could see it as the roof is covered in leaves on the wire and is under a huge tree, but they told all the babies to go under the tin roof part of the pen and they ducked right down and cringed and made a different noise. Amazing!!

Hello everyone,
We are just back from a 3 week holiday and to our amazement we found Piper sitting on the nest. I have no idea how many eggs are under her, or indeed if there are any at all. This is so late in the season for her to lay and sit. I will keep you all posted.
The two chicks hatched by our broody bantam are growing well. She is a good mum. I think we may have one cock and one hen. I can see light brown flight feathers on one so am sure that is a boy, just need to be sure of the other and will look closely next time I see her/him stretch his/her wings out.
cheers
Janb