Pastured Peacocks

by gloria scholbe
Autumn 2002

July 31, 2002 was a momentous day for me because the eggs my two-year old peahen had been sitting on actually hatched. I really didn't think the eggs would be fertile, partly because this was her first clutch. The other reason was that a few days prior, I found two of the eggs broken and they definitely were not fertile. As a matter of fact, albumin and yolk from the broken eggs had dirtied the other five, so I took those eggs into the house and washed them off while Abby was getting herself something to eat.

I almost threw the eggs out, but something made me put them back after cleaning the mess off of the nesting area.

The two peahens, Frosty and Abby, laid the eggs in a corner where the fence met the house. Abby incubated the eggs, and the other four birds roosted on the fence above her every evening. Abby is an India Blue hen and Frosty is a Black-shouldered hen. The other three are peacocks.

In the photo above, you can see the day-one chicks. Two of the chicks are Frosty's and the other three are Abby's. Most of the photos in this story are thumbnails. If you click on them, you can see a larger photo.

Frosty was very aggressive to the young chicks. Sometimes she would dart in to grab a chick and toss it away. Two of the male peacocks also would try to grab a chick or stab it with their beaks. If I hadn't taken the time to follow them around and chase off the older birds for the first few days, the chicks probably would have been killed.

Once they were a few days old, however, the chicks were strong enough and fast enough to avoid the older birds. Surprisingly, Abby didn't try to protect them from the other peacocks even though she was very concerned about protecting them from me and the chickens.

Just a few hours after hatching, Abby led the chicks out from the hatching area. Even at such a young age, the babies were pecking at tiny bugs that were nearly invisible to me.

One of the chicks was very weak at first. He couldn't go very far before he would lay down and go to sleep. Abby was keeping a close eye on all five, though, and she always went back for the one who was lagging behind. After two days, the weak chick was as strong as the other four.

For those first couple of day, the chicks were pretty slow and they tired easily. Their trips afield were mainly around to the south side of the house and back to the west side. They rested in the shade under bushes.

On the second night, Abby took the chicks to the peacocks' favorite roosting spot, which is on the clothesline poles. Unfortunately, those poles are seven feet high, too high for the chicks. Next Abby tried to get them to roost on the four foot fence, but that was also too high for them.

Until they were old enough to roost, Abby found a different place to sleep each night so it would be harder for predators to find them. The baby chicks would tuck themselves underneath her to keep warm.

On the fourth day, Abby brought her chicks to the back porch. She flew on top of the fence rail and dropped to the ground on the other side. The chicks just walked through the fence mesh, since they were so small.
	Abby taught her babies to pick up small pieces of gravel from the driveway for grinding their food and then she took them into the back yard to lie in the sun. Favorite spots are sandy depressions scratched in the yard where the birds like to take dust baths.
After a week, the chicks begin to grow feathers over their baby down and they are often seen exercising their wings. Short flights land them on Abby's back, a friendly place to be when adult peacocks are around.
	The chicks are strong and athletic at only eight days of age. They love to fly short distances and test their skills of balancing, running, hiding, and foraging. Abby is an incredibly attentive mother that never allows them to stray far from her side.
The chicks are nicely patterned, alert, and healthy.
	At ten days they began to roost on the four foot fence, but they still are small enough to cuddle under Abby for warmth or security when they need her. If you look closely, you can see one of them hiding under her in this photo.

	Pretty picture at two and a half weeks old.
The first indication of crest feathers appeared at 18 days of age. You will have to look very closely to see them.
	Nowadays the chicks are more confident and Abby does more following than leading.
The male chicks are developing darker feathers than the females. At three and a half weeks old, it is apparent that one Black-shouldered and one of the India blue chicks are female.
	Abby and the two Black-shouldered chicks.
Even though they are over a month old, they still crave the security and closeness of their mom.
	Abby really dotes on these chicks and always keeps a close eye on them.

	At six weeks, they have become too large for all of them to tuck under Abby, but she can still fit one or two under her wings.
Foraging for bugs is their main daily occupation.
	Here you can see the difference between girl and boy Black-shouldered chicks.
The two girls are at the top of the photo and the three boys are furthest to the right. They are eating chopped hard boiled eggs.
	A favorite place to perch is the roof of my car. They are 11 weeks old now. The male Black-shoulderd shows color on the front of his neck.
The whole herd of ten peacocks, adults and juveniles, are foraging among the trees in Autumn.