Pied

Hatching July through September

Peafowl have been treasured for hundreds of years in part due to their gorgeous feathers. As breeders do with just about any type of poultry, breeders of peafowl are interested in creating new colors and new patterns. One result of such breeders' work is the Pied Peafowl.

The word "pied" refers to a particular pattern mutation in peafowl, rather than a color mutation. While a Purple Peafowl displays a distinct color mutation, a Pied Peafowl will display a distinct pattern mutation. Most color varieties can be pied.

When a peafowl is pied it has splashes of white all over its body. Many breeders are working to develop standard pieds for each color variety of peafowl. Ideally, the pied pattern would become location specific on the bird, but breeders have not yet reached that milestone.

Pied Peafowl do not breed true, so if you purchase a pair of Pieds, you can expect only 25% of their offspring to be Pied. The Pied mutation is quite recent; it began to be seen commonly in the 1990s.

As with all peafowl, Pieds can be trained to free range, and need a large aviary with high perches if they are to be penned. The hens are duller in color and lack the long, spectacular tail feathers of the males. While hens may lay eggs as early as their first year, peafowl do not reach sexual maturity until they are 2-3 years old.