How Many Days Is Peafowl Incubation? Temperature, Humidity and Peachick Care

The peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is one of the most prized ornamental birds with its magnificent plumage, and its incubation demands patience. It runs more than a week longer than the chicken, its peachicks are as delicate as game bird young, and because of their value every egg counts. This guide covers peafowl incubation duration, temperature and humidity settings, the hatch period and peachick care.

How Many Days Is Peafowl Incubation?

Peafowl eggs hatch in about 28 days (normal range days 27-30) — markedly longer than the chicken (21 days) and on par with turkey and duck (28 days). A peahen can incubate naturally, but with valuable eggs artificial incubation is common for higher, controlled yield.

Parameter	Value
Incubation period	28 days (27-30)
Temperature (forced-air)	37.4-37.6 °C
Humidity (phase 1)	50-55%
Lockdown day	Day 25
Hatch humidity	65-70%
Turning	5× a day (odd number)
Candling	Days 10, 18 and 25

For a species summary see our peafowl species page.

Temperature and Humidity

In a forced-air machine keep the temperature steady at 37.4-37.6 °C and verify the display with a separate, calibrated thermometer. Target 50-55% relative humidity in the first phase, raising it to 65-70% for the hatch. With valuable peafowl eggs, tracking the air cell's growth while candling rather than chasing a single humidity number is the most reliable way — details in our incubation humidity guide.

Turning and Candling

Turn the eggs 5 times a day (an odd number); if you have no automatic turner, mark them with a pencil and turn by hand. Candle on days 10, 18 and 25. Delaying the first candling to day 10 lets the embryo become visible. Cull infertile eggs and dead embryos at these checks — especially with valuable eggs, early culling prevents a spoiling egg from contaminating the others. What to look for is covered day by day in our candling guide.

Lockdown and Hatch

On day 25 stop turning (lockdown), raise the humidity to 65-70% and keep the machine closed as much as possible. Hatch is expected on days 27-30. A long wait after the pip is normal; rushing to rescue a valuable chick usually backfires — how the hatch progresses and when to assist is in our hatch day guide.

Peachick Care

Peachicks, like game bird young, are skittish and sensitive to cold and damp; the first weeks are the most critical:

• High protein: Give a turkey/game bird starter with 28-30% protein; standard chicken chick feed is inadequate for peachicks.
• Heat: 35 °C the first week, dropping ~3 °C each week. Peachicks are more sensitive to chilling than chicken chicks.
• Dry bedding and a shallow drinker: Wet, cold flooring and deep water are leading causes of peachick death; keep bedding dry and add pebbles to the drinker.
• A covered, calm pen: Peachicks fly early and panic when startled; cover the pen top and set it up somewhere quiet.

The general setup is like our brooder guide; the difference with peafowl is the protein-rich feed, sensitivity to cold and the covered, calm environment.

The Most Common Mistakes

• Feeding chicken chick starter (too little protein; peachicks develop poorly).
• Chasing humidity as a single number and never checking the air cell.
• Raising peachicks on wet/cold bedding and with a deep drinker (a leading cause of death).
• Leaving the brooder top open (peachicks escape).
• Intervening early and wrongly at hatch to rescue a valuable chick.

Track the 28-day peafowl calendar and the turning, candling and hatch days with the KuluçkaTakip app: pick the species, enter the start date, and let the app calculate the critical days for you.