#peachicks 2024

[kedreeva]

So, about a week ago we had a pretty bad (LOUD and COLD) wind storm, and one of the 2024 babies hit her head on the roof of the coop when she spooked. I was anxious about the storm and so I checked the coop cameras before bed, just to make sure everyone made it up to the roosts and was doing ok with all the racket. I saw her on the ground and went out to see if I could get her up to snuggle with her family.

When I got out there, I found her braced on the ground with a bloody face, dazed and confused and mostly blind. I picked her up and carried her inside to see if she would survive the night.

She did, but it was rough. She could barely see, she couldn't stand up without falling over, she was clearly in pain. I weighed the risks, and decided giving her an anti-inflammatory painkiller was worth it. I tube fed her because she couldn't see to eat.

Toward the end of the first day, she could wobble to her feet, but she couldn't stay there without support. I tested her balance with a gentle nudge, and it wasn't great, but it was better than the first night or the morning. Warning for the video, because it's hard to watch.

Anyway, she remained in the house for a few more days, until her sight began to return better and she started showing signs of distress at being caged or approached. She still wasn't eating on her own, but she was calling/crying for her family and was liable to harm herself worse when feeding time came because she thought she could get through the wire cage. So she went back outside while the weather was nice. She's able to follow her moms and sister around, sleep with them on the perch, etc, even though she's not feeding herself again quite yet.

Which means that 2x a day, I make a mushy goop of bird food (soaked chow, vitamin drizzle, raw quail egg, and water) and I bring her in to tube it directly into her crop. She doesn't particularly fight me on it, which is both nice and not great.

But importantly, I always make a little too much (better than a little too little), so Bug gets to thieve the extra as a snack, and she is so excited about the watery gruel.

Anyway, keep the little hen in your thoughts. If I can get her to eat on her own again, I will probably look for someplace to give her a pet-only home that understands she's a lil brain damaged.

[kedreeva]

Good to know that baby peafowl also stick a leggie out of the covers when they get too hot at night

[kedreeva]

The Twins, a pair of hens in Earl's pen. They're from Polaris x Corona, and they're funny little gals. One of them is extremely outgoing- she watches Aurora (her mom) very carefully for what to do, and comes up to take treats out of my hands. The other one watches the first one to decide if she's going to get eaten, and won't come up to me until everyone else has proven they're not being eaten for several minutes.

Bug absolutely despises them. She WILL chase them if given half a chance, but they will run to Eris (their other mom) and Eris would fight god for half a corn chip, so Bug often ends up in hot water for her opinions on children. She sulks by chasing Earl around instead, and he runs because he doesn't know any better. Not a lot of thoughts going on in that one's head, but at least he's generally nice to the babies.

[kedreeva]

Biggest purchase at Tinley was 2,000 live superworms for $50 (GREAT deal since they're normally $40 for 1k near me), and I unpacked them this morning and scooped some into a container to give them this morning.

Please enjoy 30 seconds of delighted SCREAMING from Onyx and Opal. Onyx is hands down my loudest treat screamer, followed by her sister, Eris. They'll both scream until they're out of breath, take a breath, and launch into a renewed scream like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum except on the opposite side of the spectrum, where they're just so overcome with joy they cannot help but let it out. Onyx only beats out Eris because Eris will get over it after 10-15 seconds, whereas Onyx will scream over every treat, every time, forever.

[kedreeva]

Nothing lasts forever, and fortunately that's true of the bad things as well as the good. When I got home from the vet alone today, I walked my pens to check on the rest of the birds, and what should I find but Aris, off her nest of 6 eggs, with 6 perfect little babies following her around.

I only stayed for a minute, but it looks like one purple, two pied (not sure if blue or purple, I didn't get close), two blackshoulder, and one that's either white or bs pied. Wonderful as a first hatch of the year!

[kedreeva]

We must intimidate the treat, so it knows who is boss

[kedreeva]

It's a girl, it's a GIIIIIIIRL!!!

She's a hen!! That's GREAT news, as it means she already has a home lined up with a kind lady who is stoked about getting purples.

Even though her phenotype is white, because she is from a purple morph male, genetically she is purple. Had she been a male, it could have gone either way-maybe purple but maybe blue het for purple instead.

Given her size, skull shape, and demeanor compared to her brothers, I had been leaning towards her being a hen, but with whites it's ALWAYS just a "best guess" kind of scenario. It's still nice to guess right!

[kedreeva]

Well, it is a sad and joyous day. I've been back and forth with a nice, retired gentleman from nearby who wanted to get some peafowl. He made it out today and took home two pairs; a pair of purple BS from Polaris and then, to my sadness but also happiness, Bismuth and Citrine.

I'm gonna miss those little shits. It will be more peaceful without them, as Bismuth didn't get along with Stella and Citrine didn't get along with Bug, but I still loved them both a great deal and I'm SO relieved that they were able to go to a home together. They absolutely adore each other. I've been promised update photos as they grow and mature, and the guy is in the process of relocating to a few hundred acres down south where they won't have to deal with harsh Michigan winters, which I'm sure they will appreciate.

I will still probably post some photos of them, as I have some from days I took a bunch of photos I didn't end up posting, but send your well-wishes to them in their new home!

[kedreeva]

Aris at least tries to make sure the babies get some treats before she starts eating them for herself.

The clicking she's doing is a warning to other birds nearby to stay back while she investigates, and a little bit a warning to me to behave.

[kedreeva]

Corona with her 3 children, perching in the most annoying place possible. This roost was installed for the pigeons, back when I had them, to give the pigeons someplace to sit that the peafowl couldn't access. I was incorrect. They think it's great.

[kedreeva]

Aris and some of her 2024 chicks

purple blackshoulder, white, purple blackshoulder pied, and the chimera chick.

[kedreeva]

Corona today hatched 4 of her 5 eggs, and then left the nest. The 5th was cold when I got there, but it was cheeping, so I brought it in and put it into the incubator with a bunch of warm water to keep it humid.

10 minutes later it pipped the shell and an hour after that it was out. Here's a 4-hours-old peachick:

I waited until dark, and then walked out to where Corona was sitting with her other 4, and shoved the chick under her in one quick motion. She bitched at me a little, but ultimately refused to move. In the morning, she will have 5 chicks instead of 4, and be none the wiser.

Years ago I was told - repeatedly, by everyone, and sometimes in quite nasty ways - that it's impossible to put chicks under peahens at night, that it doesn't work. But I've done it a bunch of times and... It's always worked. There's no reason it shouldn't work, if it's being done correctly.

At any rate, Corona now has 5 chicks- 3 purples, a bs, and one that may be bs pied or white. Hard to tell yet.

[kedreeva]

Wendy and her 4 children

[kedreeva]

It's amazing how many people who raise these birds don't know how much they absolutely love fish.

Turn up your sound to hear the ecstatic screeching of some peahens trying to tell their children there's treats here. Eris tends not to share when there are treats (even with babies) but she dropped the first two fish she got for them which is impressive for her.

I tried to give a couple to Bismuth and Citrine, but the moms were having none of it.

[kedreeva]

Every morning, I get up and I grumble and shamble out to let the birds out of the coops into the flight pens, and every morning Aris pops out and I count her chicks as they pop out behind her. 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6! Then I shuffle off to open up the closer pens, and feed the quail.

Except yesterday, when I let out the barn pen, I counted chicks- 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... ..... ....????

My stomach drops, because what if something happened? I can hear peeping inside, but is that Corona and her chicks? Where is #6?

So I hurry all the way back around - because the door between flight pen and coop is small, and while I CAN fit through it involves crawling and wiggling - and I get to the barn pen's coop, and I can hear it.

There's a peachick crying for mom somewhere

I look around, and I cannot see this thing anywhere. It's not in the doorway, it's not blending into the shavings, it's not in the rafters or on the shelves, it hasn't gotten itself onto the wall runners.

But I can hear it. I KNOW it's here, I just cannot find the little shit.

And then I see something.

I see the plastic purple bowl I feed the adults wet chow in, overturned on the ground. And I see it twitch. And twitch again.

Sure enough, the lost peachick had somehow managed to flip the bowl over on top of itself, to be trapped underneath. I was laughing so hard I could barely grab the bowl to free it. The baby was fine, I lobbed her out to her mom and she went flying back to safety.

Sometimes I feel like I am paranoid about taking safety precautions and wiring things certain ways or avoiding potential problems that no one would ever think could be a problem, but I swear to you, if there is a way to injure themselves, get stuck, get out, whatever, these little shits will FIND IT.

[kedreeva]

Wendy with her 4 and Onyx with her 3 kids this morning.