Breeding Stately Peafowl

28YEARS AGO Peafowl are not only beautiful, they also make good eating. In this article, Roy Billett explains how to raise your own peafowl, from hatching chicks to feeding your cocks and hens.

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“Before you go ahead and buy chicks, contact your nearest nature-conservation authority to find out what are the regulations on keeping the birds. They should certainly not be allowed to roam the veld where they will be easy prey for predators. Some pointers on hatching and raising the birds come from a book Pea Fowl Breeding And Management by Loyl Stromberg and published by the Stromberg Company, of Pine River, Minnesota.

“There are several ways of incubating peafowl eggs. First, natural incubation in which the peahen will lay six to 10 eggs and then sit on them. If its nest is destroyed, for instance, by a dog, or for some other reason, it may lay and sit a second time.

“To obtain the maximum number of eggs from a hen, remove the eggs from the nest daily. Depending on the species, the hen will continue to lay up to a maximum of 35 eggs in one season. A second method of incubation is to remove the eggs daily and set six to eight eggs under a broody chicken hen. In this case, the hen will take care of the peachicks after hatching.

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