Any Peafowl Hints ?

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I have just made arrangements to purchase a pair of breeding age peafowl. Does anyone have any suggestions or helpful hints on keeping/ raising peafowl ? I already raise a variety of poultry so I'm not a complete novice. Thanks in advance for any help, suggestions, hints.

-- Virginia Neill (mneill@tecwrite.com), April 22, 2000

Answers

I have 3 peacocks myself. I hear that they do best with a high- protein cat-food as part of their diet. There are several peacock websites, just look on any search engine.

-- Shannon (Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary) (gratacres@aol.com), April 22, 2000.

Hi-- when I grew up on the farm my Dad had at least two of most any thing ya can name. I have to tell ya a funny story. My folks farmstead was just outside the city limits, & on the hill was a funeral home. The man who worked at the funeral told us, that one night he was working late & he kept hearing someone yelling, "help-- help", he said, he looked all over, went back inside & then again heard someone yelling, "help--help", finally he found Dad's peacocks sitting on the hearse--& of coarse they do sound like they are yelling,"help"! So keep them out of the funeral home garage at night late when they are working! ha!

-- Sonda Bruce (sgbruce@birch.net), April 22, 2000.

I have peafowl and they can be the strangest critters. Yes, they can sound like they are yelling help. They can also sound like a cat with a loud MEOW! They have so many different sounds. So some advice:

1. If you don't want them waking you up at your bedroom window screaming at 3:00 in the morning, make sure they are kept in at night. Peafowl will not automatically go inside to roost like chickens will. They will choose the tallest roost outside, whether that is a tree or your house roof. During the summer mine run free and so I basically have to herd them in each dusk just before they begin to look for a place to roost. I am getting mighty tired of that, so will start containing them some time soon.

2. They can be flighty and scare easily when you are herding them, so take it easy, stand back and give them a chance to decide to move on. I use a big stick to help them make that decision. I don't poke or hit them, I just cut off their direction with it when they decide to go in a direction I don't want them to go.

3. They are extremely good flyers and walkers. Mine do stick around the yard, but I have had them go out on the road or into the neighbor's yard. I bought mine as chicks, and kept them contained for a couple months before allowing them to roam. I think that is why they learned to stay close to the house.

4. Peafowl mature at 3-5 years, so don't expect colorful feathers or babies until then.

5. When the peahen is ready to raise a family, and you keep the fowl contained, then make sure she has a large nesting area where she can be alone and can get in and out of the space from at least two opposite sides.

6. Peafowl are attracted to white. Whether to eat it or sit on it or whatever. I have a white car and their poop is hard to clean off. Make sure their is no white debris in their pasture area or pen.

7. Now for the breeding. My peahen successfully raised her first brood last year at three years of age. But not once did I ever see the hen and cock mate. I saw him do his dance and display often enough. I asked another breeder about this and he said they don't do it when anyone's around! He also said that the hen will usually lay eggs after 5pm. I don't know how true either of this is. But I was sure surprised when my hen showed me 4 little healthy chicks.

8. Make sure you have a place big enough to accomodate these large birds. That cock's tail takes up a lot of room, if you want him to keep it looking gorgeous.

That is about all I can think of right now. By far, the most trying thing about peacocks is their incessant screaming.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), April 23, 2000.


A friend of ours owes his life to peacocks, his house caught fire one night and there screaming woke him up and he got out just in time.

-- kathy h (saddlebronc@msn.com), April 23, 2000.

---R: When you say make sure you have a place big enuf are you talking indoors or out doors? Are they aggresive? Is there such a thing as a quieter variety? How do they get along with other birds like chickens, ducks, geese, and guinneas?

The long range plan around here is once our gardens are established we hope to develop enough of a local clientelle so the customers will come to us rather than doing the farmers market thing. To assist us in that goal will be a small fenced in farmyard populated with a few chickens, a couple of goats, some ducks and geese and hopefully a pair of peafowl. With the exception of the goats which we already have and got as mature animals, the critters will be raised here and acquired as babies so we can gentle them and make them tame and friendly. Not quite a petting zoo but something akin to it so moms will bring their kids out for the experience. We'll also be establishing some worm beds, to sell as fishing bait and for visitors kids to buy to feed the fish in the pond. Its a fun thing to do. Would peafowl work in such an environment?

-- john leake (natlivent@pcpros.net), April 23, 2000.



The rule of thumb for peafowl is that they are not to be raised with other poultry. However, I do it and I know of others who do it. Chickens are supposed to transmit disease to peafowl, but I haven't had any problems yet.

I have Blue Indias. Yes, they can be aggresive. Someone on another post said their neighbor's peacock killed some of their poultry. My peacock hasn't done that quite yet, but has come close. I have them with my chickens, ducks, geese, and guineas. Last year when the peahen was setting on her nest, she wouldn't have anything to do with the cock. He got lonely and started raping the chicken hens. One he almost killed. I found her later that day and isolated her. She lived, but she stays clear of the peacock. That was when I considered turning the cock into a roast dinner. If it weren't for those feathers, he would be dead.

I have never had them be aggresive towards people. They usually fly clear of people if they can get away from them. Lots of friends come to see my menagerie and the peacock is always fun to watch. Since he is loose, he stays away from people.

When I say a place big enough I mean the coop or pen if he is to be contained. They should be able to have a roost high enough to keep his tail off the ground and a pen big enough for him to strut with h

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), April 24, 2000.


You asked about a quieter variety. I only am familiar with the Blue Indias. There are more types. Around here I have seen the white ones and the cross between the whites and the Blues. I have read that some people have their peacocks "devocalized", which means they do some type of surgery to take away their ability to make sounds. That sounds cruel to me. I don't recommend it. Their screaming can be annoying, but it is also fascinating, especially to people who have never had the opportunity to experience peafowl "in person".

I don't see any reason why peafowl can not be an attraction to your farm for visitors. Except that many may want to chase and pull feathers. I know of a farmer who provides unusual livestock to a tourist attraction. The animals are kept in stalls/cages in an old barn and people walk through to look at them. He can't keep peacocks there anymore because people rip the feathers out of the poor thing. Just make sure the cock can get away from any h

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), April 24, 2000.


You asked about a quieter variety. I don't know of any. But I am only familiar with the Blue Indias. Around here I have seen the Whites and the Blues and the crosses between whites and blues.

I have heard of people removing the cocks ability to vocalize. That sounds cruel. Their noises can be annoying, but they are also fascinating, especially to people who are experiencing the animal for the first time "in person".

I see no reason why peafowl can not be an attraction to your farm for visitors. They are an attraction. Just make sure that the fowl can get away from any one who takes a notion to pull some feathers for souvenirs.

I know of one farmer who provides unusual livestock to a tourist attraction. The animals are kept in stall/cages in an old barn. He can no longer keep peacocks there because too many people were ripping feathers out of the

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), April 24, 2000.


Sorry about the double message. My computer would not show that the first had been sent

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), April 24, 2000.

I have had peafowl for 4 years, started with year old pair of Blue India's, they were three years old when the male first had the long tail. Last year the forth year the hen hatched 6 chicks, and raised three. I bought a white male, and two hens last year, but none of his hens eggs hatched, I don't think the hens were old enough. Every year since I have had the peacocks, the males have lost their tails in July or Aug. new feathers start to grow in Dec. or Jan. Both males and females molt, like cickens. I find that they are easy keepers, but,like green feed year around. In winter, I give them some lettuce, cabbage, etc. to pick at with Turkey Matiance feed.

-- C. Ronna Jordan (ronna@systemresc.com), April 24, 2000.


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