Peacocks are great, amazing animals, but to be specific, they are male and therefore do not lay eggs. Their female counterparts, peahens, are capable of laying eggs and the process of doing so may surprise you.
Do peacocks lay eggs: Peahens, the female birds in the peafowl species, can lay eggs. They do so usually in the summer. Over a period of 10 to 12 days, peahens will lay four to eight eggs, and then it takes 28 days to incubate them. Before this happens, provide your peahens with a healthy diet and while she is nesting, make sure she is safe from predators. If you decide to gather the eggs for eating before they are incubated, your peahen may lay another clutch of eggs later in the summer.
How to tell if a peacock is going to lay an egg?
While peacocks are male birds, and therefore do not lay eggs, female peahens do lay eggs. This happens usually in late spring or early summer.
Peahens can lay up to three batches of eggs during this season and it can be hard to tell just when it will happen. The one-time peahens won’t lay eggs, however, is if she is already sitting on a clutch of eggs.
If you allow your peahen to incubate her eggs, she will sit on them for up to 28 days when they hatch. She won’t move much from the nest and instead will rely on her mate to bring her food.
It is especially important to protect your peahen during this time. She will be more vulnerable to predators as her instinct is to sit on her eggs and protect them.
Be sure to keep a watchful eye out for coyotes or foxes and check fences for any broken boards or signs of digging underneath. Fix any holes as they appear to protect your peahen.
If your peahen is ready to lay an egg, there are a few changes in behavior you can spot. Look for her back to become straighter and her tail to lift up in a straight line.
As for her body, it should look wider and her wings will droop closer to the ground. She will walk around but may stay closer to the nest she has made.
Peahens lay multiple eggs over a period of 10 days and the eggs may be left in safe spots before being gathered into the nest. If you want the eggs to hatch, it’s best to leave the peahen alone during this time.
What to do to help your peahen lay eggs
Maintain a healthy Diet
Provide your peahen with a nutritious, well-balanced diet. It should be a mix of protein and leafy greens, along with freshwater. The more nutritious the diet is, the healthier your peahen will be and the healthier her eggs will be.
Allow your peahen to incubate the eggs herself
There are some farmers who prefer to gather eggs and incubate them but peahens are smart birds and know what they are doing. Sometimes it’s better to let nature continue as it is supposed to.
If peahens see their baby peachicks born, it is also easier for them to feed and care for them until they are a few months old. Then, you can determine the sex of the chicks and separate them easily from the mother.
Provide a safe space
Peahens are very vulnerable when laying and incubating their eggs. They must build a nest and stay atop their eggs to keep them warm.
As a result, peahens do not like to move much, which makes them easy prey for predators. Even if a peahen knows there is a predator in the area, she won’t abandon her eggs and unfortunately, many peahens are killed during this time.
Take all precautions and ensure the peahen’s habitat is as safe as possible. Repair any fence holes and be on alert for predators.
You may want to walk the perimeter of your peahen’s habitat daily to see if there are any signs of digging on the other side of the fence. Furthermore, peacocks are really good at alerting others to danger. If you hear loud screeching, go out immediately to see if there is a predator in the area and do your best to scare it away.
How many eggs do peacocks lay?
Peahens are the ones who lay eggs and they go about it a bit differently than you would think. Unlike chickens, who lay eggs almost daily throughout the year, peahens are more concentrated.
They will lay start to lay an egg every other day over the course of 10 to 12 days, for a total of four to eight eggs. Once this period is over, a peahen will gather her eggs and sit on her nest for 28 days until the eggs hatch.
As a peahen owner, you have two choices for when this happens. If you want baby peachicks, it’s best to leave your peahen alone in a safe place.
However, if you want to keep the eggs to eat, you should go about and gather the eggs as they are laid. If this is done, peahens will repeat the cycle one or two more times in the mating season.
When do peacocks lay eggs?
The mating season for peacocks starts in early spring and continues until late summer. You can expect peahens to lay their eggs any time in this period although it is more common in summer.
If you decide to take away peahen eggs so they can’t hatch, a peahen may lay a clutch of eggs two to three times in a year.
Conclusion
While we commonly refer to all peafowl as peacocks, they are the male birds and peahens are the female birds. Peahens lay eggs, usually four to eight at a time, although they might be able to lay two to three clutches per year. When your peahen is laying eggs and incubating them, be sure to do what you can to provide a safe environment.
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