| Subject: Re: Brenda, Here is some info. on Peafowl we talked about. and the link to site. |
Author:
ambar wati
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Date Posted: 16:05:11 02/12/04 Thu
In reply to:
Sandy
's message, "Brenda, Here is some info. on Peafowl we talked about. and the link to site." on 23:59:20 07/19/02 Fri
>Brenda, Here is some information on Peafowl you
>requested. Also has some infor on what we talked
>about. Feeding Peafowl Cat food? But here it says Dog
>Food.. I was just told about cat food. Thought you
>might like to read this. Here is the link to the site
>also.
>
>http://www.peafowl.org/ARTICLES/14/
>
>UPA
>
> PEAFOWL
>Family Phasianidae
>
>By Craig Hopkins
>-----------------------------------------------
>
>The Scientific Classification of Peafowl:
>
>Phylum: Chordata
>Sub-phylum: Vertebrata (Vertebrates)
>Class: Aves (Birds)
>Order: Galliformes
>Family: Phasianidae
>Sub-family: Phasianinae
>Genus: Pavo ¡
>Species: Pavo cristatus (blues) and Pavo muticus (Java
>greens)
>Subspecies for P. muticus: P.m. muticus | P.m.
>spicifer | P.m. imperator
>¡ There is another Genus [Afropavo] for the Congo
>peafowl. The sole known species is Afropavo congensis.
>Very little is currently known about the Congo
>peafowl, which was first scientifically recorded in
>1936.
>
> Peafowl are native to India, Burma, Java. Ceylon,
>Malaya. and Congo. Peafowl are relatives of pheasants.
>The main difference between peafowl and pheasants is
>in the plumage. Peafowl are very hardy birds and with
>proper care, can live forty to fifty years. The term
>'peafowl" refers to the species name. The male is
>called the peacock and the female is called the
>peahen. Offspring under the age of one year are called
>peachicks.
>
> Peafowl come in a wide variety of colors including
>blue, green. white. light brown. and purple. These
>colors and many other colors which were not mentioned
>have come from selective breeding done by people all
>over the world. The India blue and the green peafowl
>are the two most common colors of peafowl found in the
>wild. India blue peafowl are by far the most common
>peafowl in captivity and they are what most people are
>familiar with from visits to zoos and parks.
>
>BREEDING
>
> Peafowl normally reach breeding age at two years.
>Peahens will sometimes lay fertile eggs as yearlings.
>They will lay these eggs late in the summer after they
>have turned one year old. The best chance for a
>yearling hen to lay eggs is when she is in the same
>pen as a mature male. A mature male is a peacock which
>is at least three years old. A peacock will not have a
>full train until he is three years old. The tail train
>will lengthen and get fuller over the first two to
>three years. After the peacock is five or six years
>old, the tail train will remain consistent in length
>and quality for the rest of the bird's life as long as
>the bird remains healthy. The tail train is very
>important to the breeding cycle of peafowl. The
>peacock will molt the tail in late summer and this is
>when the breeding season will end. A two year old
>peacock that has a one to two foot long tail train
>will be a better breeder at this age than a peacock of
>the same age that doesn't have a tail train of any
>size.
>
> A mature peacock in prime condition can be mated
>to as many as five peahens. The egg fertility rate for
>each male should be monitored closely to determine how
>many peahens each male is capable of mating with
>successfully. When selecting peafowl for breeding
>purposes, unrelated males and females should be
>selected. Inbreeding can lead to many problems with
>both the eggs and the chicks. No matter what age of
>peafowl are purchased or raised for breeding purposes,
>the birds must be healthy. A healthy bird will be
>active, have good feather quality, straight legs and
>toes, and clear eyes.
>
> Peahens begin laying eggs in April and will lay
>eggs every other day until a clutch of seven to ten
>eggs is achieved. The eggs are light brown in color
>and are similar in size to turkey eggs. If the eggs
>are collected from the nest for artificial incubation,
>a peahen may lay as many as thirty eggs. Peahens which
>are allowed to roam freely about a farm, will hide
>their nests in tall grass, around shrubs, and in brush
>piles. The nest is a depression scratched out in the
>ground and lined with grass. Nests in such locations
>are many times destroyed by possums, raccoons, and
>skunks which will eat the eggs. Peahens that are
>setting on these nests are vulnerable to attack by
>coyotes, fox, and stray dogs which will kill the
>peahen. peahens which are kept in flight pens will use
>old tires, wooden nest boxes, and empty barrels for
>nest sites. These structures should be filled with hay
>or straw to provide nesting material.
>
>INCUBATION
>
> There are several methods of incubating peafowl
>eggs. The first method is artificial incubation. We
>incubate the eggs at 99-100 degrees F and at a wet
>bulb temperature of 83-85 degrees F. The eggs will
>hatch after 27 to 30 days of incubation. The eggs
>should be candled after 10 days of incubation to check
>for fertility. If an egg is not fertile, it should be
>removed from the incubator so that it doesn't spoil
>and possibly contaminate other eggs in the incubator.
>Eggs should be placed in the incubator as soon as
>possible after they are laid and no eggs should be
>held more than 10 days before incubation begins. This
>rule also applies to the alternative incubation
>methods that will be covered next.
>
> Natural incubation of peafowl eggs can be done in
>several ways. The first is to allow the peahen to set
>on her own eggs and hatch them herself. Peahens
>normally do a good job of incubation but this method
>limits the number of eggs that a peahen will produce
>for the year. Once she has set on a clutch of eggs,
>she won't lay any more eggs for that season.
>Occasionally, if a nest is destroyed during
>incubation, a peahen will lay a second clutch of eggs
>and set on them. A second method of natural
>incubation, which allows for maximum egg production,
>is the use of broody chickens or ducks. The peafowl
>eggs are collected as they are laid and then set as a
>clutch under a chicken or duck. The size of the clutch
>is determined by the size of chicken or duck to be
>used for incubation. The eggs are left under the
>foster parent until two days before the normal hatch
>date. The eggs are removed from the nest and put in a
>hatcher. A new clutch of eggs is put under the hen and
>the process is repeated. If the eggs are allowed to
>hatch under the foster hen, the risk of disease in the
>chicks is much greater, and many times the hen won' t
>stay broody to allow for more eggs to be set under her.
>
> The rule of thumb in brooding peafowl chicks is to
>start the chicks out with a brooder temperature of 95
>degrees F and decrease this temperature by 5 degrees
>for every week of age. Brooders can be made at home or
>can be bought commercially. The brooder should provide
>a consistent heat source so that the chicks don't
>become chilled or overheated. The heating area should
>be large enough so that the chicks don't have to pile
>on top of one another to stay warm. The brooder should
>have a wire bottom floor so that droppings and wasted
>feed fall through. Brooders with feed and water
>troughs attached to the outside help keep the chicks
>healthy because the chicks can't get into them and
>make a mess out of the feed and water. The last thing
>that a brooder must have is a lid. Chicks that are
>only a few weeks old are surprisingly good flyers. The
>chicks are usually left in the hatcher for a day after
>they hatch. This gives them plenty of time to
>completely dry off and to gain enough strength to
>stand. The chicks are then placed in a small wooden
>brooder using a heat lamp for warmth. Chicks under a
>week old should be kept in small groups so that they
>learn to eat and drink without having to compete with
>one another. Chicks sometimes have to be taught to eat
>and drink. This can be done by placing a teacher
>chick, which is 3 to 4 days old and has learned to eat
>and drink, in with the new chicks. Baby chickens or
>pheasants can also be used as teacher chicks. If no
>teacher chick is available, I place a shiny marble in
>the feed and water container for the chicks to pick
>at. While picking at the marble, they will learn to
>eat and drink at the same time. I also provide the
>chicks with finely chopped lettuce or grass clippings
>along with their starter feed. The green color of
>these seems to attract the chicks' attention and
>provides a natural food source for the chicks.
>
>FEEDING
>
> Peafowl are not finicky in what they eat. They
>will eat shelled corn, cracked corn, oats, rabbit
>pellets dog food, trout chow, sunflower seed, grass,
>dandelions, insects, and many other foods. Since
>peafowl are members of the pheasant family, their diet
>should be structured with this in mind rather than
>feeding them like a person would feed a chicken.
>Breeders are fed a game bird layer feed during the
>breeding season. They are fed a game bird maintenance
>feed during the months prior to and after the breeding
>season. Dry dog food mixed with these feeds throughout
>the year provides a source of meat protein and also
>provides a treat for the birds. Shelled corn is added
>to the maintenance feed in the winter months as a
>source of extra calories to improve body heat. Chicks
>are fed a medicated starter feed for the first six
>months and then are switched to a game bird grower
>feed until they are a year old. After they are a year
>old, the birds are fed the maintenance feed until they
>reach breeding age.
>
>HOUSING
>
> The housing requirements for peafowl are dictated
>by the age of the birds. As mentioned earlier, chicks
>can be kept in small brooders until they reach the age
>of two to three months when they no longer require
>heat. The chicks can then be kept in small buildings
>or a large flight pen until they are sold or reach
>breeding age. Breeders require much more room because
>of the males' long tail train. A flight pen for
>breeders should be at least six feet tall and ten feet
>wide so that the male can fully spread his tail. The
>length of this flight pen should be determined by the
>number of birds to be kept in this pen. For example, a
>pen for a trio of breeders should be twenty feet long
>with a building or shelter attached to the end. The
>flight pen must be covered with wire or netting
>because peafowl are strong flyers. The building or
>shelter should be six feet tall and be at least eight
>feet wide and eight feet long. The roosts should be
>placed four to five feet off of the ground, and made
>so that they can be removed if a hen starts laying
>eggs while up on the roost. A flat roost such as a 2"X
>4" board should be used rather than a round roost. If
>a round roost is used, there is a chance that the
>birds' toes will suffer frostbite in extremely cold
>weather because the toes are exposed while gripping
>the roost. A flat roost allows the bird to sit on its
>feet without having to grip the roost which prevents
>frostbite from occurring.
>
>MISCELLANEOUS
>
> Peafowl are very hardy birds but there are a few
>preventive steps that can be taken to insure the
>health of the birds. The easiest way to keep adult
>peafowl healthy is to worm them at least twice a year.
>Many of the diseases that peafowl are susceptible to
>are carried by internal parasites. There are several
>wormers available that can be given orally or mixed in
>the drinking water. The use of wire bottomed cages and
>brooders will help keep the chicks healthy. Feeding a
>medicated starter to the chicks will help prevent
>coccidiosis. The starter feed should be kept fresh
>because these medications lose their effectiveness
>over time.
Whats the feeding of Green peafowl in the natural/jungle? arigato gzms
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