Advice on Free Range Peafowl

[zazouse]

Hello everyone. New question for a friend - she has a pair but is considering gettingn another peacock. Would that peacock need a peahen or would it be fine?

getting a peahen won't help anything if they are all penned together when hormones start raging IMO. mine free range and my males spare all season long and that involves alot of chasing , when things get rough they can get away from the winner and we usually have bloody legs to heal.

 

[zazouse]

This goes on all breeding season

 

[JoeCole]

There is news update on my other peahen and her 3 young ins.

This is my first experience with free ranging peas, and I wanted to see if they would reproduce successfully in the wild. This particular peahen nested inside the protected fence area, the other pea did not and lost both her nest. Three (3) of the four eggs hatched, the chicks looked weak for the first couple of days, but by day 3 they were vibrant and energetic.

A week went by, and one of the chicks went missing, so that night I scooped the other two chicks up from their momma and kept them in a nice warm garage inside a small animal carrier; the next day I caught the mother and placed her in a pen with her chicks. Unfortunately, one of the 2 chicks was so weakened that is could barely walk and died hours later; the other chick survived and learned where the food hopper was and how to eat.

The one thing I learned out of this, is that pea chicks are slow learner, not as energetic as chicken chicks, and if there is another free range hatching, I will relocate them on day one. Peas are too valuable a bird to just let nature take it's coarse; they need a little help from us to prevent loosing them all as I almost did.

When I separated the mother from her chicks that night and returned the chicks to their momma the next day, I had a feeling that the stress of separation may have had something to do with the death of the one chick, because it looked ok when I caught it, but the next morning I could tell it was going to die.

I know that as a kid, we found some baby mocking bird and placed them in a shoe box; they refused to eat and kept crying for their momma, and the following day they were dead. It was hard to watch the pea chicks crying all night in the garage, and momma was freaking out, pacing back and forth, looking for her babies in the dark night.

If you have a story or experience that is similar, or if you have other advice, I'd sure like to hear from you.....thanks....JC

 

[JoeCole]

ZAZ

Awesome pictures; the reason I got rid of my black shouldered peacock was that he wouldn't let the older peacock mate; he'd always interrupt the process, but the final straw was his vicious nature toward the chickens. He was out to kill them and their young, it was his mission to seek and destroy; so I got rid of him because of that. The other peas attack here and there, but never to kill.

 

[zazouse]

There is news update on my other peahen and her 3 young ins.

This is my first experience with free ranging peas, and I wanted to see if they would reproduce successfully in the wild. This particular peahen nested inside the protected fence area, the other pea did not and lost both her nest. Three (3) of the four eggs hatched, the chicks looked weak for the first couple of days, but by day 3 they were vibrant and energetic.

A week went by, and one of the chicks went missing, so that night I scooped the other two chicks up from their momma and kept them in a nice warm garage inside a small animal carrier; the next day I caught the mother and placed her in a pen with her chicks. Unfortunately, one of the 2 chicks was so weakened that is could barely walk and died hours later; the other chick survived and learned where the food hopper was and how to eat.

The one thing I learned out of this, is that pea chicks are slow learner, not as energetic as chicken chicks, and if there is another free range hatching, I will relocate them on day one. Peas are too valuable a bird to just let nature take it's coarse; they need a little help from us to prevent loosing them all as I almost did.

When I separated the mother from her chicks that night and returned the chicks to their momma the next day, I had a feeling that the stress of separation may have had something to do with the death of the one chick, because it looked ok when I caught it, but the next morning I could tell it was going to die.

I know that as a kid, we found some baby mocking bird and placed them in a shoe box; they refused to eat and kept crying for their momma, and the following day they were dead. It was hard to watch the pea chicks crying all night in the garage, and momma was freaking out, pacing back and forth, looking for her babies in the dark night.

If you have a story or experience that is similar, or if you have other advice, I'd sure like to hear from you.....thanks....JC

I just put momma and babies in a pen together when they can't keep up and let them out in a week then put them back in the pen at night, the moms have always gone back in the pen untill the babies finely make it up in the trees with her.

 

[zazouse]

ZAZ

Awesome pictures; the reason I got rid of my black shouldered peacock was that he wouldn't let the older peacock mate; he'd always interrupt the process, but the final straw was his vicious nature toward the chickens. He was out to kill them and their young, it was his mission to seek and destroy; so I got rid of him because of that. The other peas attack here and there, but never to kill.

Yea around here it only take a chicken one time to bow up to any pea here and the entire flock will stalk the poor chicken, thank god they can hide good till the peas get over theirselves

 

[msmolly]

I wish I could obtain one free of charge! Or even a trade possibly? I found one through craigslist. But the trade they're looking for are fancy breed chickens and things I do not have etc. So I'll keep checking and looking around.

Hi LttleRed Shed,
As it turns out, I have a freind with two peahens, 1 year old- very tame-they came from my pair of IBs. Her neighbors are making her get rid of them(they free range). She has taken great care of them, they are real pets and shes heart broken. She would like to keep them together. She is located in Chagrin Fall, Oh and has to find a home for them NOW- or the police are going to have to site her. Here is her info [email protected] or phone is 772-486-2775.

 

[LittleRedShed]

Free ranging my peacock has so far been a fun experience. Other than finding poop all over my back deck LOL.

 

[msmolly]

There is news update on my other peahen and her 3 young ins.

This is my first experience with free ranging peas, and I wanted to see if they would reproduce successfully in the wild. This particular peahen nested inside the protected fence area, the other pea did not and lost both her nest. Three (3) of the four eggs hatched, the chicks looked weak for the first couple of days, but by day 3 they were vibrant and energetic.

A week went by, and one of the chicks went missing, so that night I scooped the other two chicks up from their momma and kept them in a nice warm garage inside a small animal carrier; the next day I caught the mother and placed her in a pen with her chicks. Unfortunately, one of the 2 chicks was so weakened that is could barely walk and died hours later; the other chick survived and learned where the food hopper was and how to eat.

The one thing I learned out of this, is that pea chicks are slow learner, not as energetic as chicken chicks, and if there is another free range hatching, I will relocate them on day one. Peas are too valuable a bird to just let nature take it's coarse; they need a little help from us to prevent loosing them all as I almost did.

When I separated the mother from her chicks that night and returned the chicks to their momma the next day, I had a feeling that the stress of separation may have had something to do with the death of the one chick, because it looked ok when I caught it, but the next morning I could tell it was going to die.

I know that as a kid, we found some baby mocking bird and placed them in a shoe box; they refused to eat and kept crying for their momma, and the following day they were dead. It was hard to watch the pea chicks crying all night in the garage, and momma was freaking out, pacing back and forth, looking for her babies in the dark night.

If you have a story or experience that is similar, or if you have other advice, I'd sure like to hear from you.....thanks....JC

I know you posted this back in July- but just saw it now. Hope every thing turned out. I will add that 3 times my hens hatched chicks outside the pen- we had 100 % hatch rate. but I think the smell of the hatched eggs alerted the predators to the nest location. In two cases, I lost a live chick right from under the hen the first night. Went to bed with 6 live healthy chicks under momma, and woke up to 5 under her. Next night- Called a few friends, waited till dark, got the big bass fishing net out- popped it over her, moved her while friends scooped up the chicks and hustled them into the pen- where I had laid a big nest of straw in a sheltered corner. Stretched an expandable baby gate infront of her to keep nosy chickens out- and give her a "little" sense of privacy. She loved it! By day 3, I opened the baby gate and she would take the chicks out cruising around the property- but always brought them back to the pen nest at night. During the day if she took the chicks in the pen to feed, I would close the baby gate around her the family so I could put down chick mash for the peeps- and the chickens wouldnt gobble it up. Adding a little water to the chick feed and making sure they get it- even with experienced pea-mommas is important. The next year that hen chose to nest in the pen, right where I had moved her the previous year. My other hen, almost same thing. We moved her the night after her eggs hatched as a predator had taken a peep. She also managed the move fine, but since she was a hen who had been hatched from an incubator herself, had no mothering instincts- and needed A LOT of supervision. On the other hand- this year, my hen nested out side the pen, was attacked on the nest, while the eggs where still young. She was fine, but long story short- when I tried to move her and the eggs- in the day time- she did not like it and abandoned the nest. Dont know if it was the day time issue or the fact that there had been a raccoon hiding undetected in the pen earlier in the year- above the area where I placed her eggs(same nesting area as previous years) did she sense the earlier presence?
Lucy is nesting outside the pen as I write this, but in a good protected location

, so if or when the eggs hatch, I will once again move her and the chicks in the cover of night- to the pen, and hope it all goes well.
My limited experience has showed me that a hen who was hatched in an incubator herself, will need LOTS of help with the chicks. No mothering instincts at all. PJ's chicks would not have survived if we had not constantly been intervening. All day we would be running out to give food and water to the peeps any time the momma walked by with them. She would snatch up food for herself and keep on going, not letting the chicks get a chance for food, water or rest. I don't think she understood why those little things kept following her. She would jump up on walls and cruise into the woods- while the chicks were at the bottom of the wall smashing themselves silly, trying to get up. It was exhausting keeping constant vigile- but other than a hawk getting one, the rest survived. My hen (Lucy) who was hatched by her peahen mother is a great mother herself. Knows just what to do, and truly "teaches" her chicks"- its very sweet to watch. She's never been as tame as my incubator hen was, but she's the one who let us move her the first time, and continued to keep her chicks in the pen after that. While not as trusting of humans- her good mothering instincts seem to appreciate the whole, "safer place for her chicks" theme. Well, for what its worth, that's what I have to offer on free rang chicks.

 

[sasglm]

We are starting down that road also, he is getting used to us some and has settled into his new pen. He doesn't pace as much as he did the first few days. He's spending most of his days sitting in a corner looking and preening. I go out 3-4 times a day and whistle a few bars to get him used to that sound and food. He loves the wheat bread and cornbread. His low clucking still occurs once in a while but not as much. He stays 2ft away while I'm tossing food to him but will come a little closer when I get toward the last bits and I throw then a little closer to me.
We are still keeping him in the garage at night just so we know he's safe until we get his pen more secure from nighttime critters.
A couple of nuthatches flew down to eat some of the cracked corn he threw about and he looked interested but not frightened, he didn't even get up from his sitting position.