The first pair of gray peacocks (Polyplectron bicalcaratum) were received from the USA in 1970 by the Hungarian main breeder Sándor Tóth. Species of the pheasant are described as a gentle and devout bird, but few people keep it. However, interest in it has increased in recent years, but the main breeder does not recommend it to novice breeders.
These birds of domestic stock, as an interest in ornithology and zoology, were first introduced in the September 5, 1986 issue of Szabad Föld with these words: “Recently, a very beautiful-looking winged animal, the gray peacock, entered our country. Its body mass is greater than that of a pheasant. Its feathers are especially beautiful. With its tail feathers, although it is a bird, it can roost in the same way as a peacock. The color of its feathers and color spots are almost identical to that of a peacock’s feathers.”
The gray pheasant is also called the mirror peacock or the peacock.
The main color of the rooster’s feathers is dark blue to brown, in addition, all feathers are carved in silvery white. The chin, throat and cheeks are grayish-white. Head feathers, consisting of gray hair-like feathers, can be attached to the bobcat. The mantle, wing cover, inner arm bands, and tail feathers are decorated with many varied sizes of eye spots ranging from metallic green to blue-violet, as are peacock eyes.
The hen is slightly smaller than the rooster, and has a shorter beak and tail. The order of his drawing is the same, only everything is paler in the case of the hen, and the eye spots are smaller.
Breeding gray peacock riders brought many trials, but sometimes it also failed Sandor Toth Who loves these birds? It is always a huge pride and a huge job to successfully hatch, raise and maintain a new species. Before buying your first breeding pair, research the breed thoroughly.
Since he wanted to provide his birds with food similar to his main food found in the wild, part of the feed consisted of mealworms that he had raised himself.
This is in great demand by birds and they eat it with pleasure, because it contains a lot of animal protein.
Sándor Tóth always keeps a pair, and immediately adds the reason for this: “The peacock pheasant is monogamous, so they can be kept in pairs. If a bird dies for some reason, it can be bred with another bird. When keeping it, pay attention to the temperature, and it can Withstand cold up to -5 ° C, in case of low temperatures, they should be provided with a heated room. They are very peaceful animals, get along well with other inhabitants of the cage, but can be aggressive towards their own kind. In addition to two peacocks in the cage, we can Easily put other types of birds, which are also calm in nature.
“During the mating season, the bridal dance lasts for several minutes,” says the master breeder, and this is when the magnificent plumage of a peacock rooster appears, when the feathers of its wing and tail spread during the roar, which makes the peacock’s metallic eyes shine.
At the beginning of courtship, the rooster brings a “gift” of feed to the hen.
Then the wedding dance begins – and here Sándor Tóth notes that the saying also applies to the pheasant peacock: “The peacock gave his meat for his feathers” – referring to the fact that the peacock has very little meat.
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It is one of the most beautiful and rare specimens of pheasants. It is still found in the wild in the Indies, across Burma to Tonkin, and south to northern Thailand and Hainan Island in southern China. It lives in its habitat in mountainous and hilly areas, and its food consists of insects, larvae, plant seeds, fruits and shoots of plants. The nesting period for individuals of sexual maturity of 2-3 years falls on the month of May, when the hen lays only one pair of eggs per year. Very few of them survive in Europe, and only a few copies are preserved in Hungary. |
During the courtship period, they would shout a lot, making their voices heard due to the territorial ownership. The breeder draws attention to the fact that his voice is as ugly as the appearance of a bird. “That’s why it’s so important to have good neighbors if you keep a peacock,” says Sándor Tóth from his experience.
If it no longer freezes at night, we can expect to lay eggs. Her nest consists of 2 creamy white eggs. If the eggs are taken away, they will lay eggs again after the second week, and this can be repeated three or four times, until molting. During this period, you need a lot of mineral supplements.
Chicks hatch in 21 days. It is very important that peacocks provide pheasants with enough hiding opportunities, because they are very shy.
Proper cover gives a sense of security, so we create better egg conditions for the care of chicks. For the first few days, the chicks feed on the egg in their beak before they can catch it from the ground.
| Sándor Tóth originally graduated as a gardener, but his association with animals is a family heirloom. His father kept pets and farm animals, one of his five brothers became a famous animal trainer in the United States, and his animals were regularly used by Hollywood in many movie shows. The main breeder has been raising ornamental animals for 50 years now, and he believes that this passion is also his innate hobby, vocation and profession. |
Sándor Tóth has been raising birds for 50 years, which has given him many experiences and continues to do so. He considers the successful rearing of chicks to be his greatest achievement. According to his experience, it is more appropriate to place chicks of pheasants next to chicks of a species of birds that are two days older, such as golden pheasants or pygmy pheasants. In this way, the chicks of the peacock pheasant learn how to pick up food from the chicks that are a few days older. Accustoming the chicks to the brooding nurse will be more effective if the chicks are placed in the nest in the evening – Sándor Tóth reveals the proven method. In this case, the nursing hen will not be nervous and will easily accept foreign chicks.
Few people keep the peacock, but there is interest in it.
So much so that this year the main breeder was not able to serve the interests he received with his breeding pairs. However, even if we were encouraged to keep peacock pheasants from tomorrow, the main breeder would not sell the bag cat and tell us that peacock pheasants are not recommended for novice breeders. He participated in many exhibitions with his birds, but there is no standard for the gray peacock, because it is not a hybrid, but a domestic breed, and in this case we judge only by appearance. 5 subspecies known in the world.
Why did the breeder start working with this species? The answer is very simple for him: because he has always been concerned with rarity. Sándor Tóth preserves and makes many bird specialties to this day, but one of his favorites is the truly distinctive gray peacock.
