Peafowl

Peafowl are one of the most beautiful and graceful fowl that provides the quintessential beauty of pastoral  life.  Bobby and Aileen Castlebury, located in Texas, raise four colors of peafowl.  The following information is from their site and if your appetite is whetted, you can visit for pictures of their peafowl and see their many other interests and talents. It is truly a wonderful surfing experience and highly recommended.

The India Blue peafowl are native to India, and are the peafowl from which the Black-shouldered and White peafowl have mutated. During breeding season, the Blue peacock's displayed, rustling train is a fascinating sight. He spreads his train to attract the peahen, although she may sometimes not even notice. The peacock's long train of beautiful feathers is often called the tail by some people, but these longer feathers are actually the upper tail coverts. The true tail feathers are seen from behind when the peacock struts; they help to hold the train erect. This long, beautiful train is molted each year in late summer. The peacock will have his full plumage (including the long train) his third year.

In contrast to the beautiful colors of the Blue peacock, the Blue peahen lacks bright coloration, which helps conceal her from predators when she is allowed to incubate her own eggs.

If peafowl are raised on a farm or estate, they may be turned loose to roam at free will. Even though they may be allowed to roam, a penned area is needed prior to their being turned free, to acclimate the birds to their surroundings.

Also, they may need to be penned during breeding season. A shelter should be provided in the penned area for extreme weather conditions. Each pair of peafowl should have a minimum penned area of 400 square feet. Feeding within this penned area will train them to return and make catching them easier if there is a need. 

The peacock begins his raucous call early in the Spring, and the call continues throughout breeding season. Often, there is a "telltale" slight crook in the upper neck of the peacock, indicating that breeding season is nearing. During breeding season, the peacock often "struts" for the peahen, wanting her to notice his lovely train. He usually always turns to face the peahen, but she is not always attentive.

The peafowl pair seem to enjoy each other's company, but often a breeder will place several peahen in one large pen with one peacock and still maintain fertility in the eggs.

The White peafowl are not true albinos, but color variations of the India Blue peafowl. The White lack coloration in all parts of the body except the eye.

The Black-shouldered peafowl are a color mutation of the India Blue peafowl. The barred buff and black feathers in the India Blue are replaced with black feathers tipped in dark blue and green in the Black-shouldered. If the Black-shouldered is crossed with an India Blue, the offspring will be either Black-shouldered or India Blue. Strangely enough, the peachicks (young peafowl) of the Black-shouldered are creamy white, with wings tinged in a buff color. This buff colored wing is the main distinguishing factor between baby White peachicks and Black-shouldered.

Additional peafowl links

A few pictures of bren's peafowl located in Paradise. 

Di, Charles, Camilla	Charles has a nice train at one year.

2005 and another black shoulder hen has been added along with a brand new pair of purple peafowl. The black shoulders are going on three years so this should be a good breeding season.

The trio added another  hen I named Fergie- top roost		This year they will all be three. Notice the change at three in Charles' train!
New purples getting acquainted	purple hen	New purple peafowl	still not named

 Pea chicks hatching out at Lyn's Almostafarm, located in Missouri. 

This is a white peachick. 

Now after several months Lyn has built the Pea Castle and moved the young peafowl into it. Out of many eggs  a small percent hatched and lived. Follow the link to read her journal of this new experience for her. Lyn was hatching the eggs for someone else. She kept 3 India Blues for her pay. Lyn now has two cocks and a hen. 

The peafowl are now about 8 months old and time has come to check out Lyn's Almostafarm. It took  several week ends of encouragement, but the peafowl finally ventured out into freedom. 

Brenda's two year olds have been laying and after setting numerous eggs, one finally hatched. July 12,2004. Here are the first pictures. This came from a BS cock and a pen or BS hens and one White hen. 

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