Peafowl are interesting and rewarding birds to raise. The males, which are called peacocks, are the ones that put on the magnificent, colorful tail displays.
While female peafowl, which are called peahens, are brown/beige in color, a lot blander, and do not have colorful tail displays.
What peahens do, however, is lay eggs - and sit on their eggs to incubate them until they hatch little peachicks.
There is often some confusion around peafowl and peacocks, however, so it’s not uncommon to see all peafowl referred to as ‘peacocks’.
In this article, I’ll explain how long peahen egg hatching time is and everything else you need to know about incubating peahen eggs.
Table of Contents
Peacock Egg Hatching Time
The peacock egg hatching time is 28-29 days. This is how long it takes for a peahen to incubate an egg, or for peafowl eggs to be hatched in an incubator.
For those not familiar with what incubation means, incubation is the period of time an egg is kept at the optimal temperature and humidity for the embryo to develop and ultimately hatch as a chick.
In simple terms, it’s the time a fertilized egg takes to hatch.
The incubation time is different for every bird. Generally speaking, it’s related to the size of the egg.
This makes perfect sense, the larger the egg the longer it takes for the embryo to develop and grow to hatching size.
For example, pigeons have small eggs, around just 3-4cm in length. The incubation period - or hatching time - for a pigeon is just 17-19 days.
Chicken eggs, which are much larger than pigeons but smaller than peafowl, have an incubation period or hatching time of 21 days.
Peafowl eggs are pretty big. They’re typically around 7-8cm in length, and 5cm wide. So, it’s little surprise they take as long as 28-29 days to hatch.
Related - Can you eat peafowl eggs?
Humidity Level for Hatching Peacock Eggs
Humidity level plays an important role in successfully incubating peacock eggs and is by far easiest to regulate using an incubator.
Reading the guidelines on a peahen egg incubator, it states that a humidity level of 60% should be maintained.
This can be measured with a wet bulb thermometer and conversion chart if you’re familiar with these items.
Peacock Egg Hatching Temperature
If you look at the instructions or recommended incubation time for an incubator designed for peafowl eggs, it states that the temperature needs to be 99-100 degrees F.
Incubating peafowl eggs isn’t something I recommend trying to do without using an incubator.
You have to regulate the temperature throughout the entire incubation period to successfully hatch healthy chicks.
It’s just another reminder of how wonderful nature really is. The fact that mother peahens are able to regulate the correct temperature to hatch their eggs in all weather conditions.
Related - A look at what baby peafowl (peachicks) eat.
Where to Buy Peafowl Hatching Eggs?
If you’re interested in hatching and raising peafowl, it’s a great hobby and a very rewarding experience.
The best place I can recommend where to buy peafowl hatching eggs, an incubator and all of the other items you’ll need to get started is at Cackle Hatchery.
Cackle Hatchery has one of the largest ranges of poultry-related items online, and they’re quick to ship stuff out all over the country.
It’s where I buy all of my stuff from, so I’m happy to recommend them. You can also reach out to their team if you have any questions about hatching peachicks and I’m sure they’ll help.
Click here to see the latest prices and availability of peafowl hatching eggs at Cackle Hatchery!
What’s It Like Hatching Peacock Eggs?
If you want to see firsthand what it’s like to incubate and hatch peacock eggs, I recommend watching this short video:
In this video, you can see what it’s like to have some eggs in an incubator. As well as that magical moment when a peachick first hatches from an egg.
For this person, their peachicks started hatching on days 25-26. This is a good 2-3 days earlier than expected, but happens sometimes and is nothing to worry about.
You can see what it looks like when the peachicks are transferred to a brooder, and how they change over the coming days as they develop.
Peacocks look nothing like peahens and peacocks when they’re young, that’s for sure. It takes some months before they start to develop those distinctive tail feathers.
Related - Did you know that chickens can sit on and hatch peafowl eggs?
In Summary
A peacock egg hatching time is 28-29 days. This is called the incubation period and is how long it takes for peafowl eggs to hatch after the incubation period starts.
Sometimes it will take a day or two less or longer, but this is the average time period.
If you’re incubating eggs at home make sure you use the correct type of incubator and follow the instructions carefully.
It’s a delicate process hatching eggs, but it’s not difficult when you maintain the optimal temperature and humidity level.
Resources
Image credits - Photo by Pat Whelen on Unsplash
