Legg's Peafowl Farm

By Brad Legg 

Basic Genetics

Many people have asked me about breeding India Peafowl. There are many colors and patterns mutated from this species. The wild type India bird was Blue in color. The Blue is the dominate color with barred wings and is also a dominate pattern. Below is a list of what you can get when breeding different combinations. Percentages results are an average of peachicks born.

1. India Blue to India Blue produces India Blue.
2. India Blue to Black Shoulder produces all India Blue chicks and carries the Black Shoulder pattern. These birds are referred to as split or “Heterozygous”, which means a bird looks one color and pattern but carries another color or pattern.
3. India Blue split Black Shoulder to India Blue split Black Shoulder produces 25% Black Shoulder, 50% India Blue split Black Shoulder and 25% India Blue not carrying the Black Shoulder. Of the India Blue birds no visual differences of one split to Black Shoulder.
4. India Blue split Black Shoulder to Black Shoulder produces 50 % Black Shoulder and 50% India Blue split to Black Shoulder.
5. India Blue to White produces all India Blue split to White. These birds will show white feathers in the flights and/or throat latch.
6. India Blue split White to India Blue split White produces 25% White; 50% India Blue split White and 25% India Blue.
7. India Blue split White to White produces 50% White and 50% India Blue split White.
8. Black Shoulder to White produces all India Blue chicks split Black Shoulder and split White.
9. Cameo Cock to India Blue hen produces India Blue cocks split Cameo and Cameo hens. This is because the Cameo color is sex link recessive. The colors Purple and Peach are also sex link recessive.
10. India Blue cock to Cameo hen produces all India Blue, only the cocks split to Cameo.
11. India Blue cock, split Cameo to Cameo hen produces 50% Cameo cocks, 50% India Blue cocks split Cameo, 50% Cameo hens and 50% India Blue hens.
12. India Blue cock, split Cameo to India Blue hen produce 50% India Blue cocks split to Cameo and 50% India Blue cocks, 50% Cameo hens, 50% India Blue hens.
13. Cameo cock to Black Shoulder hen produce India Blue cocks split Cameo, split Black Shoulder and Cameo hens split Black Shoulder.
14. Cameo cock to Cameo Black Shoulder hen produce all Cameo split Black Shoulder.
15. Cameo split Black Shoulder to Cameo split Black Shoulder produce 25% Cameo Black Shoulder, 50% Cameo split Black Shoulder and 25% Cameo.
16. Cameo cock split Black Shoulder to Cameo Black Shoulder hen produce 50% Cameo Black Shoulder and 50% Cameo split Black Shoulder.
17. Cameo Black Shoulder cock to Black Shoulder hen produce Black Shoulder cocks split Cameo and Cameo Black Shoulder Hens.  In examples 9 through 17, the Purple color or Peach color could be used in place of the Cameo color because all three are sex link recessive.
18. India Blue to Bronze produce all India Blue split Bronze.
19. India Blue split Bronze to India Blue split Bronze produce 25% Bronze, 50% India Blue split Bronze and 25% India Blue.
20. Bronze to India Blue split Bronze produce 50% Bronze and 50% India Blue split Bronze.
21. India Blue Pied to India Blue Pied produce 25% White, 50% India Blue Pied
22. and 25% India Blue Dark Pied. These Dark Pied birds are solid colored with White throat latches and or White flights.
23. India Blue Pied to White produce 50% India Blue Pied and 50% White.
24. India Blue Pied to India Blue Dark Pied produce 50% India Blue Pied and 50% India Blue Dark Pied.
25. White to India Blue Dark Pied produce all India Blue Pied.

I hope this helps explain some of the crosses in breeding peafowl using dominant, recessive and sex link recessive colors and patterns. Thank You!