Two Peachicks

After trying, waiting, and sitting eggs all summer long for a decade, my peahen has finally produced two fledgling peachicks.

On the 7th of January, my pet, Mrs. Pops, laid 3 eggs in the dry, dead grass on the western slope of our property. The afternoon sun hit it hard. She was parched and almost starved. Only leaving the nest with a squawk and a stretch for a couple of minutes once each afternoon. Not only did she survive eagles, foxes, and goannas, but electrical storms, a heatwave, and hail stones battering her body.

Hatch day was last Sunday, but she refused to leave the nest as the 3rd egg didn’t break.

At lunchtime on Monday, I took her some high-protein natural Greek yogurt and some budgie seed to feed the chicks chirping away beneath her belly. Very protective, she just wouldn’t move, almost pecking me when I swapped out the superheated water bowl for cooler stuff. The temperature climbed to 37 degrees C before she revealed her twins.

Scurrying to the garage, she hid in the cool under the car for an hour.

I scattered seeds where they were. Hoping to sustain all 3 of them.

Finally, Pea 1, Pea 2, and Mrs. Pops went on an adventure in the backyard.