Peacocks are male peafowl, it’s peahens that lay eggs. Blue Indian Peahen eggs are much larger than chicken eggs, they’re around 3 inches long and 2 inches wide. Keep in mind this varies from bird to bird and also depends on the type of peafowl.
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Are Peafowl Eggs Bigger Than Chicken Eggs?
It’s hard to describe the size of an egg without showing you. I’ll include a video below, so you can see for yourself how big peafowl eggs are, but I can help you visualize this better.
The best I can do to describe them is to compare a peafowl egg with a chicken egg - because we all know roughly how big a chicken egg is.
First of all, I have to point out that you’ll have to take all the sizes and weights in this article as an approximation.
I’ve done my best to find the average in all cases, but egg sizes can vary a lot from the species, breed, and some other factors.
With that in mind, the average size of a regular large chicken and peafowl eggs are:
Length (Inches / mm) | Width (Inches / mm) | |
---|---|---|
Chicken Egg | 2.5 / 63.5 | 1.5 / 38 |
Indian Peafowl Egg | 3 / 76 | 2 / 50 |
Here is a video showing you some peafowl eggs being measured. You’ll see there is a big difference between Indian Blue and White peafowl eggs. These Blue peafowl eggs are also a little smaller than average in my experience:
Related - Do peahens lay eggs without peacocks? (Explained)
How Much Do Peafowl Eggs Weigh?
This is where you really notice the difference between peafowl and chicken eggs as peafowl eggs weigh a lot more.
The average Indian Blue Peafowl egg is around 90-100 grams or 3.2-3.5 oz.
The United States Department of Agriculture classifies a large chicken egg as weighing between 56.7-6338 grams or 2-2.25 oz.
Even jumbo chicken eggs which are the largest size according to USDA are around 71.9 grams, which doesn’t come close to weighing as much as a peahen egg.
To explain this another way that I think we can all relate to, one peafowl egg is usually equivalent to 2-3 large chicken eggs in the frying pan.
Can You Eat Peafowl Eggs?
Yes, you can eat peafowl eggs. There is really no difference between eating a peahen egg and a chicken egg - other than the size, of course.
I’ve read accounts from a lot of people stating that peahen eggs taste richer, more gamey, and generally more flavorsome.
In my experience, it's really hard to tell the difference. I think what most people fail to mention is that the taste of the egg largely depends on the diet of the bird.
So, to compare the two you would have to compare eggs laid by both hens and peahens fed on a good diet rich in natural proteins and a quality feed.
If you want to see what I mean but can't get your hands on peafowl eggs, just compare the difference between an egg laid by a free-ranging backyard chicken and a supermarket egg from a caged hen.
Another thing to point out is that if you don’t have your own peafowl or you’re not lucky enough to know someone who is raising some, it’s often difficult (and expensive) to get hold of peafowl eggs.
How Long Does It Take for Peacock Eggs To Hatch?
The incubation period for peahen eggs is between 28 and 30 days.
If you're planning on hatching eggs yourself, I’ll point out that you do have to make sure they are fertilized.
This sounds obvious, but honestly, it's something that a lot of first-timers overlook. You’ll need a peacock (male) with some peahens, and you’ll need to pay attention to breeding seasons.
Related - Learn more about baby peachicks here.
What Do Peafowl Eggs Look Like?
If you’re keeping a flock of mixed birds and concerned about getting your peafowl eggs confused with your other eggs, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Peafowl eggs are typically easy to identify compared with eggs from geese, ducks, and chickens.
First of all, they’re probably going to be the largest eggs, unless you have a larger bird, of course.
Secondly, they’re a buff white color and often have a tint. It’s a different white than white-egg laying chickens lay, and it’s not a creme color you might be used to.
If you’re really concerned just be hyper-vigilant about finding the first peahen egg. Once you’ve seen one, you’ll see what I mean and have no difficulty spotting them in the future.
In Summary
I think I covered everything you could need to know about peafowl eggs in this article. They are much larger and easier to identify than chicken eggs, so you don't need to be concerned about getting them mixed up.
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Image credits - Image by lotus digitals from Pixabay