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Peacock pigeons have long earned respect among pigeon breeders. Peacocks are named for the chic tail plumage that the pigeon holds upright, like a peacock. The tips of the feathers resemble a fan that adorns a dove.
The history of peacock pigeons
Today, few people remember that peacock pigeons have a different name - trumpets. This name did not catch on, as the name "peacocks" fully reflects the peculiarities of the appearance of the pigeon.
This pigeon is native to India. For the first time, peacock pigeons were mentioned in the 16th century. During this period of time, the tail of the bird was paid more attention than the physique. Modern breeders are preoccupied with the posture and head position of peacock pigeons.
In Europe, peacock pigeons appeared for the first time in England, since India at that time was an English colony. Accordingly, the breed was finally formed in England. At first, peacocks were divided into 2 types: Scottish and English. The English peacocks had a wide tail, a somewhat coarse build, since the breeders had a priority tail plumage. In addition to a rich tail, Scottish peacocks had a royal posture and grace.
Domestic pigeons peacocks have not lost their popularity and fascinate with the beauty of numerous fans of the breed.
Characteristics of peacock pigeons
Peacock pigeons are prized by breeders for their ease of maintenance and care. Even a novice amateur will cope with keeping a bird. In addition, peacocks get along well with other breeds of pigeons.
The peacock pigeon is a breed with certain standards that have not changed for over a century. The main characteristics of the breed:
- head thrown back almost to the upper tail, small in size, without forelock and tuft;
- the curved shape of the pigeon's neck;
- the body of the peacock is rounded;
- slender beak with a narrow beak, medium length;
- the shade of the beak and eyelids in peacocks is the same;
- the color of the pupil depends on the color of the plumage of the pigeon, the eye rings are thin;
- the peacock's breast is in the shape of a ball, directed upwards;
- the back is short;
- legs are devoid of feathers, widely spaced, legs are bright red;
- the plumage of peacocks is dense, hard;
- the wings are well pressed to the body, the flight feathers touch the tips;
- the size of the peacocks is different (miniature individuals are more valuable);
- the tail of a pigeon with dense plumage, located vertically, the lower feathers touch the ground, the shape is rounded;
- developed upper tail.
There are up to 50 feathers in the tail of the peacock pigeon breed. The number depends on their thickness and width. The standard of the breed is the white peacock pigeon, but a number of other colors are allowed.
Peacocks with a thick or long neck, a large head, and an undeveloped body are subjected to culling.
Do pigeons fly peacocks
Like most decorative pigeon breeds, peacocks fly poorly and extremely reluctantly.Today it is an aviary bird. But experienced pigeon breeders know that pigeons need to fly every day. This allows you to keep them in shape. The flight of a peacock pigeon is uneven and does not have the grace that flight breeds of pigeons are endowed with. At the moment of climb, they flap their wings noisily, they can do several somersaults over their heads, like their progenitors, the tumblers.
It happens that peacocks are blown away by an air stream. This is due to the windage of the tail and flaps, as well as the small weight of the pigeon. The height to which peacocks can climb is 100 m. The flight duration reaches 90 minutes, and the maximum flight distance is 100 km.
Thus, peacock pigeons can circle above the dovecote, albeit very awkwardly. They fly long distances only when necessary.
Varieties of peacock pigeons
There are several subspecies of peacock pigeons. All of them differ from each other only in the color of the plumage, the rest of the characteristics of the breed are similar. The most common are snow-white peacocks.
The color of peacocks is quite varied: from pure white to caramel color. There are individuals of a gray, gray shade, there are representatives of the breed with several colors in plumage. Peacock pigeons of black color look very solemn. There are several types of peacocks in pigeons: American, European, Indian, Russian. Their main difference is the suit.
The colors of the plumage of peacock pigeons are diverse. The most common are:
- white - without impurities, brown eyes, beak, beige claws;
- the black - with a greenish tint, orange eyes, ocular rings, claws, black beak;
- blue - juicy, gray-blue color, iridescent tint on the neck and chest, black stripes on the wings and tail, the tail must coincide with the shields, the eye rings, beak, black claws;
- silver - has light shades, neck, throat of an iridescent, silvery tint, stripes on the wings and tail of brown color, orange or pearl eyes;
- red - pigeons of peacocks of red color, usually without impurities, neck and throat with a metallic sheen, pearl eyes, beak, claws, sandy eye rings;
- yellow - a peacock pigeon of golden yellow color, with a silvery sheen on the neck and throat, orange eyes, beak, beige claws;
- almond - casts gold, brown blotches pass along the plumage, flight feathers and tail in spots of white and black;
- brown - peacocks of a chocolate shade, orange eyes, beak, pink claws;
- in the box - the plumage pattern consists of light and dark tones, the letter "t" is visible on the wing, the color of the eyes, rings, claws depends on the plumage.
Also among the breeders are popular colors: blue with powder, silver with powder, dark blue and marble peacocks pigeons.
All the colors of peacock pigeons can be seen in the photo.
Peacock pigeons
The "Americans" have a ball-shaped breast, a small head. From the outside, it may seem that they have no back and neck. The head is located between the chest and tail. Plumage is one-color: brown, yellow, white.
Indian pigeons peacocks
The smallest of all peacocks. This is its main difference from other standards. The breast does not stand out too much. The color is monochromatic. The most impressive is the color of the bird with beige plumage.
European type peacock pigeons
"Europeans" are not so bloated, more elegant than American peacocks. The neck is clearly visible, has a strong bend, a small back. Plumage color, most often dark, variegated.
Russian pigeons peacocks
As for Russian peacocks, they differ from other standards in their larger physique. They have a well-defined neck, massive chest. The plumage color is varied.
Ribbon pigeons peacocks
They are characterized by a border of a contrasting shade at the end of the tail or in the middle. The color of the body and wings is monochromatic.
Shaggy pigeons peacocks
The "highlight" of these peacocks are dense feathers on rather short limbs. The length of feathers can be more than 10 cm. Sometimes there are spurs on the legs of birds (up to 5 cm).
Chubby pigeons peacocks
On the nape of the forehead peacocks, there are small raised feathers. The most valuable are birds with a large, fluffy forelock.
Red-tailed pigeons peacocks
Beautiful birds with a monochromatic body and wings. The color of the tail is always red, cherry or brick.
Black-tailed pigeons peacocks
The color of the body and wings is often white, shiny. Tail color is black, saturated color.
Breeding peacock pigeons
True connoisseurs of the breed are well aware that breeding peacock pigeons at home is a rather troublesome job. The peacock dove is a prolific bird. Parents carefully incubate and feed all their offspring. The breeder needs to cut a little 5 feathers from each side of the female's tail at the beginning of the mating season. Otherwise, it will become an obstacle to successful mating.
Usually, puberty begins at 5 months of age. If you want to get a pigeon with certain data, you need to form pairs. Individuals with the correct body and tail characteristics, as well as strong immunity, are involved in breeding work. The physique of a female peacock should be of medium fatness. Overfed individuals often produce unfertilized eggs. Thin female pigeons are not conscientious brood hens. They prefer to leave the nest in search of food. Attention should be paid to the color of the plumage. It is better to pick up peacock pigeons of the same color. If this is not possible, then you should choose a white pigeon. Ultimately, the dark color will dominate. In the process of work, constantly picking up pairs, it will be possible to get a white peacock pigeon with a gray or black wing. Thus, when forming pairs, you need to understand what result you need to achieve.
Then the selected individuals are placed in spacious, previously disinfected cages. The desired length of the cage is 70 cm, the height and depth of 50 * 50 cm. Inside each cage, hay is laid, from which the parental pair of pigeons will build a nest. A few days after mating, the female peacock pigeon begins to lay eggs. Usually a clutch consists of 2-3 eggs. Eggs ripen within 19-20 days.
Recommendations when buying brood pigeons
When buying producers, you need to study and check the pedigree of peacock pigeons. The selection should be made in the spring-autumn period, when the bird has a show appearance. It is imperative to check the health of the pigeon: pay attention to the plumage, the eyes of the bird. You can lightly knock on the cage - a healthy pigeon will react immediately. A video of peacock pigeons can be seen below.
Incubation period
After the eggs appear in the nest, the hatching process begins. A young female peacock pigeon may have only one egg in a clutch. This is considered the norm. The main task of the pigeon breeder at this time is not to disturb the couple in the nest once again. However, on days 10-12, you need to check the eggs in the clutch for fertilization. To do this, each egg is carefully viewed into the light. The embryo is formed by this time and will be clearly visible. The procedure can also be performed using a special device - an ovoscope.
Feeding chicks
Peacock pigeons are considered impeccable, caring parents, but the breeder needs to be prepared for anything. Therefore, the parental couple needs to be put under control, because a peacock pigeon chick can live without food for only a few hours.Initially, the female pigeon feeds the chicks with goiter milk, and if she does not do this within 2 hours, then she will have to artificially feed the chicks. To prepare the mixture, you need to mix warm milk with mashed boiled yolk. You can feed with a pipette. More complex feeds begin to be given from the age of one month.
How to feed peacock pigeons
Peacock pigeons should be fed according to their functional needs, season and age. Since the digestive system of pigeons is weak, moreover, they have a small beak, it is quite difficult for them to eat large food (corn, legumes). Therefore, it is recommended to give cereal mixtures in crushed form.
In winter, pigeons should receive feed enriched with high-calorie foods. It is not recommended to add large amounts of protein feed. Legumes for this period are completely excluded from the diet. The best proportions are 60% barley and 40% wheat. Rapidly digesting feed is a threat to the health and life of pigeons, since peacocks that are inactive during the cold season can die, especially in unheated rooms. Therefore, in winter it is necessary to feed the birds to their fill.
The summer feeding ration should consist of easily digestible foods at the rate of 30-40 g per bird. Be sure to include green juicy food.
From mid-February, the mating period of peacocks begins. It is necessary to enrich the diet of pigeons with protein feed. They should be no more than 20% of the total diet. At the same time, it is important to introduce up to 10% of oilseeds (flax, sunflower, hemp). This will provide good masonry.
The breeding diet starts in March. Vitamins, minerals, amino acids are added to the feeding mixture. Such a feeding diet will ensure good reproductive performance and successful rearing of the chicks. Feed mixtures should be composed of wheat, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, yeast, millet and oats. Experienced breeders add vitamin E and potassium iodide.
For those amateurs who train peacocks for circular years, it is necessary to think over the feeding ration. Starting in April, when pigeon breeders let the birds fly, carbohydrates are added to the feed mixture for energy. But at the same time, the components should not make the flight heavier. Usually pigeons during the rutting season are fed with legumes, wheat, millet and oats.
The molting period in peacock pigeons is a complex biochemical process, and not just a change of feathers. It occurs at the end of summer - beginning of autumn and requires the addition of protein components to the diet. Otherwise, the quality of the plumage deteriorates significantly, the immunity of the bird decreases, and the change of feathers will stretch until winter.
Peacock pigeon feeding rules
Tips for good feeding from experienced pigeon breeders:
- feed should be given in an amount that the bird eats it completely, without residue;
- if you need to understand whether a pigeon is eating enough, you can touch its goiter - it should be full of food, but not full;
- usually pigeons are fed in summer 3 times a day in small doses, in winter - twice;
- when food appears, peacocks doves fly up, opening their wings - this indicates that they are not overfed;
- every day, without fail, all drinkers, feeders, bathing troughs are cleaned of feed and washed.
It should be remembered that peacock pigeons are birds with weak muscles and a digestive system. The feed rate should be no more than 45%.
How to care for peacock pigeons
The main care of peacock pigeons at home is daily cleaning of the enclosure: it is necessary to remove the droppings, clean the feeders from food debris, and thoroughly wash the drinkers. A complete disinfection of the enclosure is usually carried out once a year before mating. To do this, the birds are removed from the enclosure during cleaning, the walls and floor are treated with a cleaning agent with the addition of chlorine. After cleaning, you need to ventilate the room.
Aviary and dovecote requirement
It is better to keep peacock pigeons in a spacious enclosure, fenced with a net, with a sufficient number of perches, free access to water, and a bathing tank. When arranging a room for birds, you need to proceed from the number of individuals: a couple of pigeons should have at least 1 sq. m. It is desirable that the aviary was collapsible. This will allow for quick and timely cleaning and disinfection.
The place for installing the aviary is chosen in the open air. You can install it in a barn, especially in winter. But peacocks doves feel much better under the open sky and the sun. In unfavorable weather conditions, the aviary is covered with slate or other material. For the winter, peacocks are relocated to warmer conditions. A spacious shed may well come up. You can use plywood or thin board to build cages in a barn.
The main requirements for keeping peacocks relate to humidity in the aviary and temperature conditions. In winter, the temperature should not be lower than +10 degrees, in the warm season, not higher than +25 degrees. In the autumn-winter period, infrared lamps should be installed. They warm up the room well, and do not dry out the air. In addition, the warm red color has a positive effect on the nervous system of birds. As for the humidity level, then its indicator should not be higher than 70%. Otherwise, pigeons begin to actively develop fungal diseases.
Conclusion
Peacock pigeons are unique, beautiful birds with an interesting history. This is one of the very first breeds of pigeons tamed by man. It is this breed that shares the most important moments in people's lives: they participate in wedding ceremonies and are a wonderful personification of the world.
