Author: Christin Herbst
Planning Unit: Carroll County CES
Major Program: Poultry/Small Flocks
Plan of Work: Livestock Production
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Over the past several years, incubating poultry and waterfowl eggs has been a popular project with the Carroll County Cooperative Extension Service. Ducks, quail, and a wide variety of chickens have been successfully hatched, with the hatched birds being offered to Carroll County 4-H’ers for county fair projects.
The 2021 incubation project features a new bird species our Extension Office has yet to incubate: peafowl.
Peafowl are native to Sri Lanka in India, where they were found living in open forests near streams. Peafowl males, or peacocks, are most widely known for their beautiful, eye-catching plumage. Peafowl females, or peahens, are any variation of browns, greys, and creams. Peahens can lay only about five to nine eggs a year in their most reproductive years (fourth year and up). The birds eat grains, insects, snakes, small fish, and frogs.
Six peafowl eggs were purchased from the Peafowl Information Center, a peafowl farm in Iowa. We are awaiting their arrival (expected in May) so the incubation project can begin. Incubation of peafowl eggs is approximately 28 days.
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