OT, new peacocks

Re: OT, new peacocks

Don Stephan

That's great news, congrats pseudo-dad!

When do we see the first hatched peacock inspired bowl?

Oh, and what is the correct terminology for peacock eggs and generalized peacocks? Are there separate names for the males and females, like rooster and hen chickens?

Re: pea. . .

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In New Jersey

Thought it was "peacock" and "peahen" but . . .

terminology

John K Jordan

Peafowl - all of them

Peahens - females

Peacocks - males

Peachicks - little ones

Peafowl eggs - eggs. One will make an omelet, perhaps an expensive omelet - eggs for hatching can be $30 each with no guarantee.

But you can say "peacock" for everything and everyone will understand.

JKJ

They can fly 4 days after hatching?

Chuck Nickerson

I don't know much about birds, but that seems unusual.

Re: terminology

Don Stephan

(This could go in so many different directions . . .) and what to call the lad or lassie behind the incubator and brooder?

terminology, flying, and eggs

John K Jordan

>>> and what to call the lad or lassie behind the incubator and brooder?

I've been called a peabrain before but that was unrelated to the birds.

The guy who took care of the peachicks while I was out of town called them "chick peas." For brooders I use 110-gal rubber livestock watering tubs with 2' high sides. As for flying, before he got a chicken wire cover on the tub he found one sitting on a 5-gal bucket halfway across his garage! They were 4 or 5 days old at that point.

I can't believe how fast the wing feathers grow. The chicks are hatched with the feather shafts/quills about 25mm but only what looks like a tiny hair on the end. Just for fun I've been tracking the growth on a couple. Within two hours the soft feathers on the ends of the quill are around 3mm long. A few hours later I measured 5mm, then 11, then 19mm at seven hours, 24mm the next day. The quills are longer too. On chicks a couple of weeks old these wing feathers are about three inches long and the upper, layered feathers are in. The feather growth would make an interesting time-lapse video!

I suspect that since they nest on the ground in the wild the birds that can't fly up to a branch in a few days end up as a small snack in the food chain.

Something interesting about the vibrant peacock colors. Looking at the feathers under the microscope I found the strands look like stacks of tiny donuts, all are the same dull red color with transmitted light. I suspect the brilliant colors are due to thin coatings of cells, sort of like the colored reflections you see on multicoated camera lenses or the colors from a drop of oil spreading on the surface of water. Amazing.

Another perhaps interesting observation I made concerning eggs a few years ago, discovered when walking through the woods with a 365nm UV light looking for things that fluoresce. I spotted a brilliant red in the weeds and found it was a nest of guinea eggs. Some were brighter than others. More observation showed that the freshest eggs were the brightest and the color faded with time. Eggs of all species I examined fluoresced but the brown eggs were more vivid. I use this to guess at the age of eggs when I discover a nest. Internet searches about this fluorescence found nothing at the time but now I see an article, but nothing about aging.

More peacocks are hatching now, another one late yesterday and one during the night - eight so far out of 10 eggs. I've got video now of one hatching to add to the video of the chickens and guinea hatching. Unfortunately I don't know of a way to post them here unless I upload to youtube or somewhere.

A friend brought three more eggs yesterday so the saga continues. A nice present considering I've seen peacock eggs from $25 to $37 each this year. Even baby peacocks are more expensive this year - one dealer prices day-old chicks at $500 for eight.

JKJ

Re: terminology, flying, and eggs

Chuck

Interesting read, Thank's for the information. I still don't understand why the price is so high? Are they hard to raise or is it just a supply and demand thing?

Re: terminology, flying, and eggs

John K Jordan

>>>...I still don't understand why the price is so high? Are they hard to raise or is it just a supply and demand thing?

I have no idea. The rarer and more exotic variations apparently go for more.

This list might be interesting. When I got my first peacocks I had no idea there were so many variations - I had only seen India Blues and White. It looks like these people are breading for new color variations.

http://www.leggspeafowl.com/adult-peafowl-for-sale.html

http://www.leggspeafowl.com/photo-gallery.html

The birds so far have been easy to raise - shelter, food, water.

JKJ