# Anyone know about Peacocks?



## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

We just got a couple peacocks but know nothing about them other than dh has wanted them for a long time. It is 2 males since the person that gave them to him had too many males birds for females they had. I do plan on trying to find a couple females. But for now I wanted to know what you feed them? They were feeding a game bird conditioner I think they said.

Also how hardy are they & what do they need for the winter. We are in Northern michigan & it gets pretty cold & lots of snow.

We have them penned right now & they said to keep them penned for a couple months before free ranging them especially without any females.
Not sure I'll find females before spring but I'll see.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Do a little research on free ranging. Any I had escape never returned. I've also had strange peacocks show up. Your local feed store should sell game bird pellets.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

All I know about peacocks is that they are noisy and they will roam over a large territory. They don't seem to get attached to their home or people.

Basically, they are giant rainbow pheasants, so probably a pheasant/ game bird food would be what works best.


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

Thanks, I'll check at the feed store tomorrow to see what they have available But the game bird pellets should be easy to find.

The lady that gave us the peacocks free ranges hers, has had them since early spring she said & hers free range. She has 20 acres & they were staying pretty close to the house & barn.
We have 40 acres so that's quite a bit of space. I don't plan on turning them loose now, not until probably after winter if I have to keep them penned for a couple months & we'll be in the middle of winter by then anyways.
She said if you have females the males won't stray too far from them.

I was also wondering how winter hardy they were?


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Once you "free range" them, you may never see them again.

My neighbor had some and one was named "Traveller" since he seldom stayed at her home


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

I've had other folks tell us that before but dh is determined he's going to eventually be able to free range them & the lady we got them free ranges hers without a problem so I don't think I'll change his mind. It's going to be awhile before that happens anyways but we'll see what spring brings. I'll have to update later.


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## MaddieLynn (Nov 23, 2011)

I did some research on them a while back and I *think* I remember that they don't do well in cold and need a warm barn. 

Google is your friend!


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

They may stay if you keep empenned for a long time first then i'd only let 1 at a time out till they get used to the area , they will roost in the highest tree in one of the highest limbs they can fly like phesants ,they are less likly to stay if thete are dogs its better if they are younger they like whole grain if you can find pigeon grain .but mine ate chicken scratch when I had only 1 male he hung aroundwith the chickens flying up on the roof and roosting in a big tree I have no neabors for a mile when I had a pair they would not go into a barn or coop and though they did'nt fly off cyoutes ate em .they make a loud screaming call late in the evening and in the morning sometimes I think if they were raised around other poultry and livestock and people they are more likly to stay where they are if they are older not used to being with others the more likely they are to fly off .you could trim the feather off of there wings to ground them till they get accustomed to a new home


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

As far as being cold hardy it snows and gets into single digets on occachion here in virginia and they handled it but in minisota cold they like turkeys andchickens would need protection


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

So as long as they have shelter from the wind & snow that's enough? I don't want to have to use a heat lamp.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

if they are juviniles they will most likely stay put once let out, if they are adult males that have already had a territory then they most likely will NOT stay, when i started out i bought two first year males and they stayed put no problem, didnt have them cooped up but a couple days, they adapted really well and made our farm their territory, i bought three hens and sense my males were not mature and a friend that lived a mile down the road had mature adult males all the females left for her house, one female that ended up being on the bottom of the pecking order in that flock did come back, she stayed with my two young males and when they matured she hatched and raised several broods for me, twice i tried to bring in adult males once was an adult white and then an adult BlackShoulder, they both had to be penned up for the whole breeding season untill everyone went into molt and the hens were raising their broods, other wise the existing males would drive them off, 

another word of warning, peafowl LOVE their reflection and males will fight their reflection in any shiny object, and can do damage to cars, trucks, and sliding glass doors, they also walk all over cars and trucks parked in their normal loafing area and will scratch them up, 

as far as feed, any whole grain, poultry feed, game bird feed, cat food, dog food, etc, they are not picky eaters, just be sure the protien is high enough,


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

also the India blue types are cold hardy, the Java Greens are not so much, my India Blues roosted up in the trees all year, even in ice and snow storms in KS, only came down into shelter durring the day to eat in the garage or barn,


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

MaddieLynn said:


> I did some research on them a while back and I *think* I remember that they don't do well in cold and need a warm barn.
> 
> Google is your friend!


I just googled care for peafowl & it said they were pretty hardy, nothing really about shelter. It did say a roost of a 2 X 4 is better than a round perch so they can set on their feet to keep from getting frostbite.

I read at least 4 different sites & although some of the info was basically the same some was different contradicting another for example one said...

To keep them penned for a few days before turning them loose & that peafowl don't wander far from home & if they do they come home.

So confusing.

But with the help of you folks here & what I've read I think we'll be OK, I think anyways. I might be back with more questions.
There pen & shelter is set up pretty good but I may cover 1 more side of the pen & make more of a loft instead of just perches.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

When I had peafowl they could take any weather that the turkeys could, so cold is no problem with the India Blues and their mutations. I never free ranged mine but if you are going to do that, I'd make sure I had some hens around as well. I've heard too many stories about males "traveling".


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

Thanks everyone for all the help, advice & tips. I'm not sure what kind these are so I'll have to call & ask if they are India Blue, etc. She did tell me they were each almost 2 years old.
I don't plan on even trying to free range them now until spring with winter coming on, snow, etc. I'm thinking they will be penned up until March maybe & I will make sure we have a couple hens first too before trying that.

The lady that we got them from said the same thing, that if we have females the males will stick around.

I bought Game bird feed today & some cracked corn to mix with it since it's getting cold.
I may add some wild bird seed & a little dry cat food too.

Does anyone every give them food scraps like you do your chickens & ducks?

Dh has been revising our Dog kennel for these peacocks to winter them in. I'll have to take pictures for you when he's done. I'm afraid it's going to look hideous but they will be warm & out of the snow & wind. Then in the spring we will build them something of their own.

I thought about putting them with our chickens for the winter but afraid they would pick on my 2 little Cochin roosters. Don't think they would bother my little hens but didn't know so I think they will stay where they are for now.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

Traveller visits with my chickens all the time and I've never seen him bother them at all.

They pretty much ignore each other.


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

Is there a reason why you can't simply clip their wings so they can't fly off?:shrug:

When I volunteered at Zoo Montana in high school they kept peafowl (and the zoo only keeps animals that do well in cold weather, so yours should be fine, Billings, MT gets cold) and they trimmed any newcomers' wings using this method until they learned to stick around.


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## rxkeith (Apr 13, 2009)

i know of two people with peacocks here in the keweenaw. one of them, a doctor let her birds free range. so they can take some cold. 



keith


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## 1sttimemom (Mar 1, 2005)

We had them when I was a kid but that was in southern CA so cold wasn't an issue. They lived wild in orange groves and my teen brother would sneak up and catch them at night when they were roosting. The grove owners didn't care. He brought them home and we prob had half dozen or so mixed genders. They didn't roam from our place. They ate the crack corn we fed our chickens, that was all we fed in those days! They are noisy but are also beautiful birds. I kinda want to get some but here in CO they are costly to buy. It chaffs me to pay so much for them when we got them free for the taking as kids. LOL


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## Zilli (Apr 1, 2012)

arnie said:


> They may stay if you keep empenned for a long time first then i'd only let 1 at a time out till they get used to the area , they will roost in the highest tree in one of the highest limbs they can fly like phesants ,they are less likly to stay if thete are dogs its better if they are younger they like whole grain if you can find pigeon grain .but mine ate chicken scratch when I had only 1 male he hung aroundwith the chickens flying up on the roof and roosting in a big tree I have no neabors for a mile when I had a pair they would not go into a barn or coop and though they did'nt fly off cyoutes ate em .they make a loud screaming call late in the evening and in the morning sometimes I think if they were raised around other poultry and livestock and people they are more likly to stay where they are if they are older not used to being with others the more likely they are to fly off .you could trim the feather off of there wings to ground them till they get accustomed to a new home


I kept mine penned for quite a while - at least a year, possibly longer - but had to turn them out to free range once they started multiplying.

They stuck around for a while but then started wandering. Long after I thought I had seen (or heard) the last of them, I'd hear of some peafowl sighting several miles up the road.

It also didn't matter if they came to me as young adults (like my first ones), or were hatched on my place, at some point, they ALL wandered. By the time I moved, I didn't have any left - although I ran into a former neighbor of mine several months after I had moved and he said that a couple of young ones had turned up at his place.

Also, the hens have a tendency to go off and "hide" to lay their eggs and to set on them. But they didn't "hide" very well, and most who did that, became coyote food.

Mine were also really aggressive towards the other birds - especially the babies. I saw, on several occasions, the hens especially killing chicks and ducklings - they would take them and slam them into the ground over and over until they were dead.

Somewhere around here, I have pictures my neighbor took of the peacocks fighting with my adult Grey Toulouse. 

That said, if I had a nice big covered pen, I wouldn't mind having them again.


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## Zilli (Apr 1, 2012)

Squeaky McMurdo said:


> Is there a reason why you can't simply clip their wings so they can't fly off?:shrug:
> 
> When I volunteered at Zoo Montana in high school they kept peafowl (and the zoo only keeps animals that do well in cold weather, so yours should be fine, Billings, MT gets cold) and they trimmed any newcomers' wings using this method until they learned to stick around.


I did that with my very first one - an adult hen that someone gave me - and she quickly became a pile of feathers under a tree. 

If you live where predators can be a problem, clipping a wing prevents them from being able to get high enough up to be safe and they pretty much become sitting ducks.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Is there* a reason* why you can't simply clip their wings so they can't fly off?


*Foxes, *****, Dogs, etc*


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## BackfourtyMI. (Sep 3, 2007)

No I wouldn't clip their wings. Nothing that gets free ranged here gets wings clipped.

They are going to stay penned for the winter we decided since we just got the winter & I will look for a couple females before we ever will try to free range them next spring.

Glad to hear they are some what hardy although we still want to make sure they have shelter from the wind, cold, snow, etc.
Thanks again for all the tips & ideas folks. It always helps to hear how others do things & what worked & what didin't.


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## hugh (Apr 22, 2009)

If they are adults you better leave them locked up for quite a few months. I bought a pair and locked them up for 3 months. Let the hen out, worked with her and got her going in the chicken house night, Let him out a week later about day 3 he got spooked and flew over the tree line never to be seen again. She did stay.


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