The Peafowl breeding season in the UK is from March to July. A peacock reaches maturity and full fertility usually at 3 years old. Two year old peahens can start to lay eggs, however fertility improves from when the peahens reach three years old.
The peahens lay an egg every other day, usually during the evening. It is easy to tell when a peahen is going to lay an egg. Their wings get droopy and move to a different position against their body and point downwards.
The peahens will usually scratch an indentation in the grown to lay the eggs in. Providing straw or sawdust shavings can help to provide a softer nest for the peahen.
How many eggs will be laid during the peafowl breeding season
When the eggs are removed daily a single peahen can lay up to 30 eggs. If the eggs are left in the nest the peahen will usually start to sit on the eggs when there are five or six eggs.
When there are two peahens or more in an area often they will lay in the same area, moving the eggs from one site to another, sadly breaking and damaging eggs along the way.
If the peahen starts to sit on the ground, she is vulnerable to foxes. A fox will walk straight up to her and kill her. When your peahens are free ranging, it is best if you can entice them into a pen or shed to sit on their eggs, where they will be safe.
Once the peahens start to lay eggs I pen them, moving any eggs already laid into the nest once they have laid another egg.
The natural method of incubation is a lot less reliable than incubating eggs within an incubator. The peahen will frequently break eggs or get off the eggs before they hatch.
The peahens will fight with other peahens about who is going to sit on the eggs. Consequently the eggs roll out and get cold.
For this reason most breeders incubate peafowl eggs artificially in an incubator to get the best hatch rates.