Loss of the Peacock Tail Feathers

When?
The male Peacock loses it tail feathers here in the U.S. from mid June in
into August and Sept.
In the southern and central States the feathers will start falling out in
June and July. Some times as early as late May.
The Northern States are later July and Aug. maybe even early Sept. The
feathers can fall out within one to two days or longer. Not all males will
lose their feathers at the same time. Here in Eastern Oklahoma, our males
start in late May or mid June. If a male is losing a lot of feathers and I
can catch him on the roost I pull the feathers out. The reason is that the feathers will not get dirty. They pull them out themselves anyway.

Why do they fall out?
In the late winter or early spring the male peacock's testes swell up and
start sperm production for breeding season. Our breeding season starts from
March to July. Some hens are just slower getting started laying than others.
Then, within a week or two before or after the longest day of the year the
testes shrink up and stop sperm production.
At this time the tail feathers start to fall out and the males become non
fertile.
THE REASON FOR THIS IS SO NO CHICKS WILL BE HATCHED OUT THAT WILL NOT BE OLD ENOUGH TO TAKE OF THEMSELVES DURING THE WINTER. MOTHER NATURE IS TAKING CARE OF NATURES' CREATURES.

If you stop and think, this happens with a lot of wild birds and animals.
The tail we call The TRAIN -like a bride's train- starts to grow back very fast.
Blood flows through the feathers as they grow. Here in Eastern Oklahoma the
trains are fully grown out by the New Year.

The circle or eye in the feather is called an ocellus. The longest feathers
with an V on the end are guard feathers. The males' correct name is COCKS,
and as the guard feathers touch a fence or building the cocks will move away SO THE EYE FEATHERS WILL NOT GET DAMAGED. There is another feather called the sword or sabre feather it is on the side to the train. It is long and tapered and some will have ocelli.
The feathers that on the head are the crest feathers.

We hope this will be of help to folks that get excited when their peacock
feathers start to fall out.

Enjoy your Peafowl.
Mike & Jody
@ ROCK-N-CEDAR

e-mail: cedarnrock@aol.com

Phone 918-427-3510

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Mike and Jody

e-mail: cedarnrock@aol.com

Phone 918-427-3510

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