White peafowls are Indian Blue Peafowls (Pavo cristatus) with a rare genetic mutation called leucism. Via Wikipedia: “Leucistic peafowl can produce pigment but not deposit the pigment to their feathers, resulting in their blue-grey eye colour and the complete lack of colouration in their plumage.
There are three known species of peafowl, and leucism is known to occur in only one of them, the Indian species. Indian peafowl are the most common and recognizable. Male Indian peacocks exhibit the characteristic bright-blue and green fanning feathers with which we associate peafowl. Female peahens
are less flamboyant but maintain the emerald-green neck. It is believed that leucism affects only Indian peafowl because this is the species most commonly kept in captivity, and white peafowl are often
specially bred to be so.
White peafowl are not so white straight out of the womb. They’re actually born yellow and turn white as they mature. Peachicks, as the young ones are called, are born in clutches of three to six. When they’re not leucistic, they have light-brown coloring similar to a game bird’s. A peachick could easily be confused with a young pheasant.
Leucistic peafowl will begin to turn white around the time peacocks would get their colors, after one to three years. Leucism is a recessive condition, which means it can be carried but hidden beneath the dominant gene that results in pigmentation and patterning. For a white peafowl to occur, it must receive the recessive gene from each parent.
If the parents both display traditional coloration, the odds of their offspring being leucistic are one in four. If both display leucistic coloration, it’s certain that the condition would be passed down.
Our White Peafowl are beautiful, friendly and love to show off!