at what age does male peacock start mating/breeding?

[faizan]

last year i had an indian blue male who waz jus 18 months old and and started mating with 2 year old peahen and hatched 2/3 eggs
this year i have another indian blue whoz jus 17 months old , he mated wid a black shoulder peahen and hatched 4/4 eggs...!!
in other articles i have read that male peacock mus be atleast 2 year old but mine are mating way berfore that and doin it with great fertility rate... they are doin it way better dan adult peacocks....

 

[Choctaw Valley Farm]

Male peacocks normally don't start breeding til the age of two and if they are high % spalding sometimes 3 yrs and if one of the pure green subspecies 3 or 4.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
I didn't know that, why are the spauldings and greens slower/later to mature?

Steve

 

[deerman]

Mine start their 2nd spring.....so yes they could be under 2 yr old by a few months. Even the ones hatched in July and Aug. will breed their 2nd spring.

so ones hatched in 2010 will breed in 2012 and etc.

Thats for india and low % spaldings.

Dont understand 17 month old ones ,because breeding season is not year long, about 4 months at best. so by that the youngest should be 20 months their 2 nd spring.

 

[coloradopeafowl]

Steve_of_sandpoultry=
I didn't know that, why are the spauldings and greens slower/later to mature?

Steve

Well first there are two species of peafowl. Green Peafowl and India Blue Peafowl.

In the blue peafowl falls the mutations of- In Green Peafowl there are three subspecies-
White Java Green (Muticus-Muticus)
Cameo Burmese Green (Pavo Muticus Specifer)
Purple Indo-Chinese Green (Pavo Muticus Imperator)
Charcoal
Midnight
Peach
Taupe
Opal
Bronze
Violetta
And any of these can have the patterns of-
Barred Wind (wild type)
Blackshoulder
Pied
White Eyed
Silver Pied

Blue x Green=
Spalding
Spalding can be in any color such as-
Bronze x Green= Spalding Bronze
Midnight x Green = Spalding Midnight
There is only one mutation to originate from a spalding and that is jade.

So some breeds take longer to mature than others, thats why blue and its mutations mature normally at two while green and its subspecies mature at three and four. Spaldings are a mix of blue and green so therefore they have the green blood in them and mature just a little slower than pure blues and a little faster than pure greens.​

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Well first there are two species of peafowl. Green Peafowl and India Blue Peafowl.

I understand that,

my question was why do the greens mature later...... do you know? I was looking for more than "just because they do"

Steve​

 

[faizan]

Quote:
dear deerman, breeding season is different in different areas. In some areas like india the summerz are long, the breeding season is lasts more than 6 months late march to late september, so obviously the peacock could be approx 18-19 months old in the next season...
and by the way in earlier comment i said my peacock waz 17 months old , actually hez 18.5 months old..sorry for dat mistake.

 

[Shepicca]

But as you didn't put where you were from in your profile how was anyone to know you were from India? As a very high % of users of this forum are from N. America it would be natural to assume that that is where you are from too unless you say otherwise in your profile.

 

[faizan]

Quote:
sorry, didnt knw that....thanx for telling me dat i havnt mentiond ma country in ma profile

 

[Choctaw Valley Farm]

Quote:
I understand that,

my question was

why do the greens mature later...... do you know

? I was looking for more than "just because they do"

Steve​

I don't know for sure, but here are some other things on the three subspecies also:

1. They Mature later 3 or 4 yrs old before they breed.

2. They don't lay as many eggs as the Blue species.

3. Harder to hatch and keep alive, they seem to have more leg problems then the Blue subs.

4. They are more flighty and will be the ones to break there necks before the Blues.

5. They can't handle the cold like the rest of them.

And I don't know why, haven't found books on it. I just know because we raised them for 7 yrs and this is what happened to us.