Hatching Peafowl as Pets?

[Erka97]

Hi, so I posted this on one of the "sticky" informational threads but I've seen people on there instructing others to make their own threads as that is not often checked.
I am not exactly likely to get peafowl in the near future, I currently have many chickens and three emu eggs incubating so more crazy birds might not be wise, however it's been discussed in my family off and on for the past few years. I would like to know; do peafowl make good pets when hatched from eggs? Do they like being petted or just hanging around people?
I had geese last year, they flew around and wandered the property while I wasn't around, and they hated being petted, but they'd follow me if I was within sight and come if I called to them. They'd even fly after the car if they saw me get in it. Are they similar to geese in any way?
I've tried looking for this but mostly I get care information, genetics information -Very interesting-, and perhaps a little information on human interactions with peafowl bought as adults or perhaps chicks, which is not entirely useful since if I get any I definitely plan on hatching them as I prefer it because hatching and mothering various creatures is fun and usually produces friendlier pet birds for me.

 

[Midnightman14]

Peafowl are alot like wild turkeys if you have ever raised them. They can be friendly if raised by people or by hand taming as adults. If you do go the egg route do not buy online or from someone you'd need to have them shipped to you. Peafowl eggs do not handle shipping very well and generally the hatch rate is only 20-30% under ideal conditions. The chicks are also fairly delicate so it's good to buy them when they are 6-8 weeks old. They will still be impressionable enough to tame down but strong enough to have escaped the worst of the vulnerable portion of their lives. Taming is a toss up though unfortunately, I don't try to be to buddy buddy with my birds so they still retain some of their natural caution of people. That being said some birds tame down right away and some take longer or even never do. My IB male I've had for 8 years and he's still somewhat wary. By contrast my Violeta and Midnight males are very tame and I've only had them for 2 years and 8 months respectively.

 

[Erka97]

I've only raised domesticated turkeys unfortunately, the kind that are usually raised for meat and grow very fat, they were friendly enough but couldn't move well due to their size -my grandfather was unaware of what kind they were when he got them for me.. That was long ago.
I'm good with challenging chicks to raise, all my favorites have been the weak little babies I've struggled to keep alive at the start, and there are a few people in my area [PA] that have some. What sort of issues do the chicks usually have? I've raised various species of wild birds, mostly robins and starlings and pigeons, and some of those are pretty intensive to get started too.

 

[Midnightman14]

Coccidiosis is the major killer for young peas. Many breeders keep them on wire for the first several months of their lives.

 

[Erka97]

Would a bird cage work? It has a wire sort of bottom. My cockatiel lives in there, but he really likes baby chicks of all kinds. Could they be kept with him as babies?

 

[Erka97]

Though, since it's caused by micro-organisms I suppose just keeping them inside and clean until they're big enough might work? Internet says that's caused by eating infected feces or tissue of another animal..