As much as we love all our babies, the one species that we breed here at The Farm that really excites us is our peafowl. From their beautiful tails (both spread and at full rest glistening in the sun . . . the vision often leaves me speechless, or unable to utter more than “Wow”) to the cock’s neck feather structure (which really does look rather like the dragons of antiquity), peafowl are amongst the prettiest birds in the world. Okay, I know some parrots would take exception to that opinion - but please note I did not say they were the prettiest birds in the world. Though I could be persuaded.

Peacocks are sweet, but they can be protective and jealous of their territories. Mystic, our india blue pied male wants to maim me every time I go into his pen to feed, whether it’s breeding season or the middle of winter. The only way to keep him from attacking is to act crazier than he is by threatening to pick him up. By doing that he thinks his human companion is really nuts and will stay away, although that doesn’t always work.

We have our breeders housed together in pens to create some highly desirable stock. For example, in the silver pied pen are a silver pied cock, a black shoulder silver pied hen and a silver pied hen. The resulting offspring can yield one of several varieties, including india blue pied, dark pied, black shoulder, white and india blue. Some will be split to black shoulder. The genetics of peafowl is among the most complex, and I will not pretend to understand the possible combinations. Pat, however, is extraordinarily knowledgeable on the topic. Feel free to drop us an e-mail with any questions.

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