How to Breed Peacocks

People have successfully raised peacocks for centuries for their aviaries or home gardens and for feather production. There are several varieties of peacocks available for the hobbyist today, and their lifespan can easily reach 40 years. The peafowl will reach sexual maturity and be ready to breed at 3 to 4 years old. Breeding is quite easy and the peahens (which look rather drab compared to the flamboyant males) make excellent mothers. They will produce one brood per year, usually of four to six eggs. Incubation of the eggs is usually 28 days.

Things You'll Need

• Worm medication
• Water soluble vitamins
• Water soluble electrolytes
• Oyster shell
• Broccoli
• Kale
• Spinach
• Large dog crate
• Large wood box
• Straw
• Pine needles
• Dry leaves
• Sawdust
• Sand

Instructions

1. Worm the peafowl a month before spring mating begins, which usually begins in March or April. Purchase worm medication from a veterinarian and follow the directions on the label. Worm both the male peacock and the female peahen.

2. Purchase a water soluble vitamin and water soluble electrolyte for peafowl from the veterinarian or a local feed store. Follow the directions on the label include these in the peafowls' drinking water. Begin to give this to both the males and females a month before breeding season begins and continue through breeding and laying.

3. Purchase oyster shell from a local feed store. Place the oyster shell in bowls where both the peacock and the peahen can readily consume it. Peafowl enjoy oyster shells and will readily consume the ground-up mixture, thereby receiving high amounts of calcium.

4. Feed spinach, kale and broccoli to pea fowl a month before breeding season begins and continue through breeding season. Feed as much as the peafowl will readily consume. These greens supply valuable minerals for egg and sperm production.

5. Make nesting areas in advance for the peahen to become familiar with. A shed will work, or a large dog crate or wooden boxes large enough for the peahen to lay inside can be utilized. Fill the nesting area with pine needles, dry leaves or straw. But don't be surprised if the pea hen chooses not to use this location. Peahens are notorious for choosing their own nesting location and that is often right in the middle of the ground instead of the area carefully provided.

6. Place the male peacock and the female peahen together. They will naturally mate throughout the day at their discretion. The male peacock will fan his feathers and dance before the female to beguile her.

7. Feed the fowl black sunflower seeds during mating because the seeds are high in Omega 3, which is believed to help with fertility and overall health. Also provide whole wheat bread crumbs because bran is believed to stimulate laying in peahens.

8. Create a dust bath from a mixture of dug-up garden soil with 25 percent sand and 25 percent sawdust. The peafowl will "bathe" themselves by rolling around and flapping their wings in the dirt.

Tips & Warnings

• Technically, only the male is a peacock; females are peahens and chicks are peachicks.

• Peafowl belong to the family of birds known as phasianidae. This family of birds also includes chickens and pheasants.

• Mating behavior will begin at 2 years of age but for her eggs to be fertile, the peafowl needs to be between 3 to 4 years old.

• Peachicks are born fully feathered and can fly within a week.

• Peafowl breed best when allowed to free roam the property. If the peafowl must be caged, be sure the cage is large or breeding will not take place. An ideal peafowl cage should be 6 to 7 feet tall and at least 400 square feet large. A larger pen is even more conducive to breeding behavior. Provide sheltered roosts, 40 inches off the ground, in the cage for the peafowl.

References

• Peacock Breeding
• General Peacock Information
• Peacock Information

Resources

• Peafowl Information