‘The cutest thing in the world': Baby peacock hatches from unusual egg found on B.C. playground

CTV News

8 hours ago

Adam finds out what happened after the discovery of an unusual egg inspired a series of kind people.
VICTORIA, B.C. — When one of Julia Sitonin's daycare kids ran up to her to show what they'd discovered laying in their outdoor play area, the early childhood educator never expected to be presented with an unhatched egg.
'One of my kids is anaphylaxis to eggs,' Julia says. 'So, I freaked out a little bit.'
While Julia was walking the egg away from the children, she noticed that it was larger and heavier that a typical chicken egg.
'It was huge,' Julia says.
The egg may have been unusual, but it was normal for Coral Clay, the administrative assistant in the front office, to step-up and help.
'We made a little nest for it,' Coral smiles, before showing a picture of the egg resting on a cushion in a basket.
Coral also grabbed a heater to keep it warm, added a stuffie to keep it company, and called a few animal rescue organizations that might keep it safe. She was told they couldn't help.
'So, it was just leaving nature to do its thing,' Coral says. 'Which made us very sad.'
But then Julia though of her friend who worked at the Roost Bistro, which is connected to a working farm. She texted Isaiah Cardiliccia for help, and he agreed to care for the egg overnight before taking it to work the next day.
'It was pretty bizarre,' Isaiah says. 'But I knew Tara would be interested in it.'
Tara McMullen is Isaiah's boss and a frequent rescuer of animals.
She suspected the egg had been abandoned because the mother knew something was wrong with it.
'I told them, don't hold your breath for this,' Tara says. 'This is not going to happen.'
Still, Tara placed the egg in an incubator and looked after it for a few weeks before it started moving.
'You can hear the chirp from the inside before it breaks through,' Tara smiles.
When it did finally hatch, it wasn't a chicken that popped out. It was a baby peacock.
'It was absolutely perfect,' Tara smiles. 'It's just the cutest little thing in the world.'
They named him Chickpea and Tara's spent the past few days caring for him around the clock.
'It doesn't matter if it's a baby peacock, a baby kitten, a baby dog, or a baby baby,' Tara says. 'They're a lot of work!'
Which is why Tara is so grateful that a local veterinarian — with a chicken — has agreed to adopt Chickpea, so the hen can raise the peacock as one of her own.
'I absolutely know (Chickpea) will have the best life ever,' Tara says.
While they say it takes a village to raise a child well, when it comes to an abandoned peacock egg, it take a collective of kind people to raise a Chickpea so well.
'It doesn't matter if it's a flea, a dog, or a person. Be kind,' Tara smiles before taking Chickpea to visit with Julia and Coral. 'Be a good person. Spread the love. Everyone wins.'