Peacocks are birds, and it may be natural to wonder if they lay eggs and if they are edible. Well, while peacocks are male birds, their female counterparts, peahens, do indeed lay eggs. Read on to discover if you should be switching up your morning egg breakfast.
Peacock eggs: While peacocks do not lay eggs, as they are male, peahens, which are female, do lay eggs. Their egg-laying season begins in the spring and they will start to lay an egg per day, for four to eight days. Once finished laying, peahens will sit atop their eggs and incubate them. This process, known as a clutch, can happen two to three times in the spring. Peahens can lay eggs on their own that are unfertilized, but they will not produce baby peafowl. Instead, you can eat these eggs once they have been laid. Fertilized peafowl eggs will hatch in 28 to 30 days, producing baby peafowl. You can decide to sell fertilized eggs or wait for the peafowl to hatch before selling them.
Do peacocks lay eggs?
Let’s go over a bit of natural science, first. Peacocks are male and peahens are their female counterpart. Together, they are referred to as peafowl.
When you see a peacock with its bright blue and green plumage, that is a male bird while females are brown in color and have very short tales. While we generally refer to peacocks as a type of bird, for this article, it’s important to note that peafowl is the entire species.
So, do peacocks lay eggs? No, as they are male. However, peahens definitely do lay eggs, as they are female.
How often do peacocks lay eggs?
Peahens won’t start laying eggs on their own until they are about 2 years old. This is in stark contrast to chickens, who start laying eggs after about 6 months.
An interesting note is that peahens can lay eggs without coming into contact with a peacock. However, the eggs will be unfertilized in this situation.
If you want peafowl eggs for eating purposes, then unfertilized eggs are best but if you want peafowl eggs to hatch more birds, then you definitely need a peacock and a peahen.
A peahen will lay eggs daily for about six to eight days. After this, she will make a nest and sit on them in order to incubate them.
However, you can remove the eggs for eating purposes and the peahen will then continue to lay additional eggs. The time period stops after about a month, as peahens only lay eggs in the spring.
If you are lucky, a peahen will lay two clutches of eggs, and perhaps even three if she is older. Once summer is in full swing, however, a peahen will stop laying eggs and won’t start again until the beginning of spring.
How long does it take for peacock eggs to hatch?
The incubation period for peahen eggs is 28 to 30 days. While you can gather the eggs and incubate them yourselves, it’s easier to just leave them in the nest and have the peahen incubate them herself.
Those that breed peacocks professionally will usually remove the eggs and place them in an incubator. This is to better keep tabs on the eggs and avoid any accidental damage to them, either from falling out of the nest or being exposed to the elements.
Peahens are good mothers and are patient enough to keep their eggs warm. They prefer open or very large coops, so be sure to give them enough space to incubate their eggs.
Furthermore, peafowl like to roost in trees, so if you have them in a closed enclosure, be sure to build them around a tree and keep the fence as high as possible.
Are peacock eggs good to eat?
Peahen eggs are great for eating. They usually taste similar to chicken eggs, although some people believe they have a slightly gamier taste to them.
Expect peafowl eggs to be larger than chicken eggs. This is an easy comparison as almost everyone is familiar with standard chicken eggs.
While chicken eggs are about 2.5 inches in length, peafowl eggs are 3 inches in length. And, while chicken eggs are 1.5 inches in width, peafowl eggs are 2 inches in width.
As far as taste goes, peafowl eggs take on this characteristic based on what they are fed. Quality feed and a diet rich in protein will produce more flavorful eggs, so if you are raising peahens for their eggs, be sure to provide them with an adequate diet.
How much do peacock eggs cost?
The laying season for peahens is very short, as they only lay eggs in the summer. While they may begin by laying four to five eggs, this can grow to be five to eight eggs once they are four years old.
Supply and demand tell you everything, and peacock eggs cost quite a bit. Expect peacock eggs to fetch between $10 and $40 per egg.
Unfertilized eggs will be less expensive as fertilized eggs hold the promise of another peacock.
While peacock eggs are perfectly edible and can be substituted for large chicken eggs, their scarcity stops many people from buying them.
You can certainly sell peacock eggs for eating but don’t expect to make a lot of money off them, as you only get a few per year. Instead, selling them, or merely eating them for your own enjoyment, is more like a bonus if you happen to have a peahen as a pet.
As for selling peacock eggs for breeding, this is a bit more lucrative as the price per egg is higher. Just remember that you will need a peacock and a peahen to fertilize the egg.
Conclusion
Peafowl is a type of bird and it is the female peahens that lay eggs. They only lay in the summer and you can expect between four and eight eggs per year. While you can eat unfertilized eggs, you will need fertilized eggs for breeding purposes.
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