Peacocks....hard to keep in???

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We have a chance to get a peacock and his lady friend. Right now we have all our chickens, ducks, guineas, and turkeys together. They have the run of about two fenced in acres(4 ft. high). Every one gets along so well. Can I put the peacocks in too? Will they fly out? Can I clip their wings? I would keep them in a pen until they are established but would like to have them out with everybody else. Does anyone have any experience with letting them run in the barn yard? If so, please let me know, I don't want to make a mistake. Thanks, Becky in West Virginia

-- Becky (crostarws@aol.com), February 01, 2002

Answers

The first peacock we got escaped the first day and ended up roosting 40' up in an oak tree for the night. I got up four in the morning to get to the tree before daylight to be ready when the peacock came down. I managed to catch him but it wasn't easy.

I've heard that they'll imprint on a place and stay in the area. So far I haven't been willing to test that. I'm curious to read what other have to say.

-- Darren (df1@infi.net), February 01, 2002.


I had peafowl for a few years and kept them with my other poultry. They will fly and they will fly high. But my peafowl always stayed around the house. They didn't fly away from the grounds just up - on top of the house, on top of the barn, in the tall trees. There droppings are larger than chickens and is like glue. They didn't go in to roost either with the chickens. They wanted to stay out in the trees or beside my bedroom window. Given that the cock would start screaming at 3 in the morning, I always chased them into the coop before going to bed. But I got tired of climbing on the roof to chase them down into the coop.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.com), February 01, 2002.

My neighbor in Texas had peafowl. They cohabited with other poultry at his place, but also took a morning constitutional around the neighborhood, trekking across rooftops and through gardens. My chickens were terrified of them. They are beautiful creatures, but may also be challenging. Also difficult learning to sleep through their mating calls. Do you have close neighbors?

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), February 01, 2002.

A peacock appeared at our farm several years ago. No amount of inquiry discovered the owner. He roamed the neighborhood at will, but spent most of his time at our farm, many times fanning his tail in courtship for either the chickens, in their pen, or the turkeys in theirs. One day he brought with him another peacock and a hen. They stayed only a short time, then left. He roosted in trees, but almost everyday I would see him roosting in our barn. He often disappeared for months at a time, only to return for a few more months. As mentioned above, the male does have a loud call, sounds like "Help help help", and will start that call about the same time as roosters start crowing. Unfortunately, he may be perched on your roof when he starts. Even with the problems we enjoyed having him around. Unfortunately, someone built a house with a deck just up the road, and he took to perching on the deck railing. The manure is obnoxious, and along with his screeching, that neighbor decided to put an end to his life (the peacock's). We were very saddened when we heard about it.

-- Dianne Wood - Woodland, WA (woodgoat@pacifier.com), February 01, 2002.

we have had peacocks now for several years and I just love the sound they make when calling !!! Sad to say though but we think either a fox or a dog got and killed our male. He was just beginning to show his tail and so pretty. The female is still with us and she just wanders around the place on her own following the guiena hens or chickens. She loves to eat dry cat food !! I never heard of clipping their wings. Ours roost up in the tree at night or in the barn. She is really no trouble at all. Did treat them like chickens when we got them..under a heat lamp and feed game bird food to them. I would keep them fenced in for a while until you and they get to know each other. Then you could let one out and it would hang around the pen...won't usually run off without the other and eventually let them both have the run of the place. They are wonderful birds and I know you will enjoy having them on your homestead. Easy to care for and give so much enjoyment. Good Luck !!! P.S. In the other comment the neighbors killed the peacock ?? I would have called the Humane Society on them...or better yet I would have adopted it as mine and let them complain to me. What is the matter with people ??!!! (think we all know the answer to that)

-- Helena (windyacs@npacc.net), February 01, 2002.


a local lady we might buy some from told me these things:

1 keep them locked up for a few days so they don't try to go back to the person you got them from (even if they are far away from them!

2 don't even try to keep them in!

Hers live way up ALL YEAR LONG in the top of a pine tree in Wisconsin. She said when it gets super super cold they will go in with the chickens, but this is rare. She said they like to lay eggs out in the woods, and when they do and the mom is sitting on a nest, she finds them and puts the top of a wire dog cage on top of her so the other animals won't kill her (she had one die sitting on a nest before) and takes her food and water ever day.

-- marcee (thathope@mwt.net), February 01, 2002.


We had peafowl for years and just loved them. Our main problems was they liked our area across the road where the trees were better than this side with few trees. We ended up having to put them in huge enclosed pens as they fly right at windshield level. If you let them roam, which is such fun, they'll become your friends. They are such nosey animals and love to follow you around. Their noise, which we learned to like, mostly happens during mating seasonbut if a vehicle pulls into the driveway they announce it immediately. Peahens lay eggs about 7:00 in the evening, here in Iowa at any rate. So each evening we'd lock them in their buildings by 6:30 or so and they'd lay inside. If we'd let them lay and nest outside it seems like something always got she and the eggs just before they hatched. If one gets loose and you can't catch it, wait until it rains and they'll come to ground. I've yet to have a peafowl peck me. Once you catch them and have their wings held solidly they're as gentle as can be. We had ours in, before we got so many, in with chickens, ducks and geese. They all got along fine but peafowl really do need a roost at night to be happy. Unless you have a top on your pens, we did, you probably can't find a fence high enough to keep them in :) They're beautiful birds and easy to care for.

-- Anna in Iowa (countryanna54@hotmail.com), February 01, 2002.

I have a peacock and 4 peahens, which I let have the run of the farm all summer and fall. Mr. P roosted on top of the antenna on the barn, 2 hens roosted in the tops of pine trees and the 2 others on top of the metal barn roof. They got along very well with my guineas, ducks and chickens. As mentioned before the manure is sizable and as they spent alot of time on my porch, it was very messy. They also seem to be attracted to the hoods and roofs of trucks, and their feet can make deep scratches. I enjoyed their calling, although it really does sound like someone is yelling for help! Just after Christmas We fenced in an old horse stall and they are living in that to keep them out of the snow and cold. I was afraid of their feet freezing to the metals. Come spring I am planning on fencing in a run to give them more room. They seem happy where they are.

-- Phyl (Phylronz@aol.com), February 01, 2002.

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