It's Mating Season for My Peafowl
It’s a very special time of year for the peafowl at my Bedford, New York farm - it's the beginning of breeding season.
From now until early August, the peacocks display their stunning and iridescent tail feathers, strut back and forth shaking their hindquarters to produce a rattling sound, and make loud calls to the females. The peahens tend to choose males with the longest, most colorful tails. It’s always very interesting to watch these mating rituals up close - the "tail show" can be quite amazing. Many of you comment on how much you enjoy the posts on the animals at my farm, so I thought it was a good time to share this update on my gorgeous birds.
Enjoy these photos.
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- As many of you know, I share my farm with an ostentation of beautiful peafowl – peacocks as well as peahens. Their pen is outside my stable, completely enclosed to keep them safe from predators. Here is a beautiful “blue boy” perched just outside the coop. Peafowls are very hardy birds, and even though they are native to warm climates, they do very well in cold weather as long as they have access to dry areas away from strong winds. These birds will spend most of their days outdoors, and nights in their coop where it is warm and cozy.
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- Peafowl are members of the pheasant family. There are two Asiatic species – the blue or Indian peafowl native to India and Sri Lanka, and the green peafowl originally from Java and Burma, and one African species, the Congo peafowl from African rain forests. All my peafowl are Indian.
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- Both male and female peafowls have the fancy crest atop their heads called a corona. Male peacock feather crests are blue or green in color, while female crests are a more neutral shade of brown or cream. This is a female – a peahen. All my birds are friendly and come up quite close to visitors.
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- During the mating season, the peacocks will do their ritualistic dance to attract the hens. Here, one of the youngest peacocks is fanning its tail in competition for the females. Although his tail is still very short, he does his best.
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- The stiff rear feathers underlie the front feathers and provide support when the whole tail is raised. At this stage, this bird’s tail is not very heavy, but it will grow longer and more showy as he ages.
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- During the dance, the peacock turns in circles showing off his tail. This display is known as “train-rattling.”
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- Another young peacock fans his tail nearby. He is also doing the ritualistic dance. These males start practicing their dances when very young.
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- Peacocks are polygamous by nature, often having several partners during the season, and after courtship, and mating.
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- Here is a white peahen, who doesn’t seem so interested in these young peacocks. Notice, the females are less iridescent with more muted colors and markings, and no long tails. She continues to forage for food on the ground. The birds get a healthy mix of cornmeal, soybean, and wheat. I also feed the birds spinach, cabbage, and squash. In the wild, peacocks are omnivores – they eat insects, plants, and small creatures. They do most of their foraging in the early morning and evening.
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- This hen is watching the activity from her perch. While these birds are ground feeders and ground nesters, they still enjoy roosting at higher levels. In the wild, this keeps them safe from predators at night. My outdoor birds all have access to natural perches made from old felled trees here at the farm.
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- Here’s a young peacock opening his tail inside the coop.
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- All peacocks and peahens will look you in the eye, but if you stare at them or seem aggressive in body movements, they will feel threatened. I love how friendly all my peacocks and peahens are with people.
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- And here is a mature male with his gorgeous tail feathers hanging behind him. After breeding season ends in August, the males lose their long tail feathers and then grow them back before the next breeding season begins. The train gets longer and more elaborate until five or six years old when it reaches maximum splendor.
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- Peacocks and peahens are very smart, docile and adaptable birds. They are also quite clever and very curious. This is a mature peahen.
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- The beautiful feathers of the peacock grow to five feet long when mature – that’s longer than the bird’s body.
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- And, a mature peacock can have up to 200 feathers in his tail, which can weigh about a half pound during mating season. Peahens usually choose males that have bigger, healthier plumage with an abundance of eyespots.
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- Here is one of my adult peacocks turning his body as he starts lifting his tail. Researchers found that the longer the train feathers, the faster the males would shake them during true courtship displays, perhaps to demonstrate muscular strength.
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- And here is a peahen watching with some interest – maybe. Once a peafowl pair has bred, the peahen will usually lay about three to eight brown eggs. It then takes about 28 to 30 days for the eggs to incubate before hatching.
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- No matter the species, these male creatures boast impressively sized and patterned plumage as part of the courtship ritual – it’s so interesting to watch.
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- As beautiful as peafowls are, they don’t make very melodious sounds. Peafowls have 11 different calls, with most of the vocalizing made by the peacocks. Look at this bird’s train. One can see this “tail show” several times a day from each male in the enclosure during the season.
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- Here’s a closer look at the gorgeous eyespots on this mature male’s lower portion tail feathers.
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- Peafowls are stunning to look at, but do not underestimate their power. These birds are extremely strong with very sharp spurs – just look at the legs and feet of this peacock. Full-grown, peacocks can weigh up to 13-pounds. Females can weigh up to just under nine-pounds. I wonder if we’ll have any peachicks this year, stay tuned…
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