Advice on Free Range Peafowl

[DylansMom]

Are you saying your Romeo wandered counties?!

Absolutely not my Romeo.

My Peas are all penned during the breeding season. Once word gets around that you raise Peafowl, you get a call whenever anyone's peacock shows up where it's not supposed to be. These calls I get every year are not for my birds, they are just wandering males that show up in people's back yards, this particular fellow is a yearling black shoulder, the property owner sent me pics of him. Pretty boy, and if I can get him, he will be moving on to an animal shelter that needs a companion for one of it's resident peacocks. Another male is the last thing I need.

 

[JoeCole]

Little Red Shed.

My sister lives in New Port Richey Florida and in her neighborhood there lives 6 peafowls who have been in the same area for the past 10 years; the peas make their daily rounds to anyone who will feed them. No one knows if they even belong to someone.

I live in the Florida Panhandle and my peas are quite happy free roaming and at night roost in a large pecan tree; so far they haven't run away, but they did wander away only to return before dusk.

My adult peacock roost in the tree right across from the kitchen window and will holler at me every time I walk by the window; I'm not sure why he does that, but I talk back to him and he'll holler back a few more time. What a goof ball he is.

They do have personality, good luck with yours.

 

[LittleRedShed]

Absolutely not my Romeo.   My Peas are all penned during the breeding season. Once word gets around that you raise Peafowl, you get a call whenever anyone's peacock shows up where it's not supposed to be. These calls I get every year are not for my birds, they are just wandering males that show up in people's back yards, this particular fellow is a yearling black shoulder, the property owner sent me pics of him. Pretty boy, and if I can get him, he will be moving on to an animal shelter that needs a companion for one of it's resident peacocks. Another male is the last thing I need.

What is breeding season? Should I get a female? How big is your pen?

 

[DylansMom]

What is breeding season? Should I get a female? How big is your pen?

For us here in PA the breeding season generally starts around the end of March. The boys have grown in their big train feathers, and their testosterone level starts to increase as the days get longer. They start to fan their train and shake it and display to impress the hens. During this time they pretty much want to either mate with hens or fight with other males. This will last until they shed those big long tail feathers again. Whether you get a hen or not is your prerogative, just understand that if you do you need to protect her in some way during the mating season. You could pen her, or you could follow her when she starts to lay and collect the eggs so she never has a clutch to go broody on(this can be challenging because they can hide their eggs well). When they go broody and set on the eggs they become easy pickings for Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, owls, dogs and pretty much any other predator. If you do not get a hen he may stick around and be fine or he may eventually leave in search of a mate. This is instinct and mother nature's way of ensuring the species continues, it is hard to fight nature. We have several pens and are currently redoing our outside runs, they will be 20x30' when completed, with a 12x12 pen in the barn attached. Keep in mind we have 32 Peacocks.

 

[LittleRedShed]

For us here in PA the breeding season generally starts around the end of March. The boys have grown in their big train feathers, and their testosterone level starts to increase as the days get longer. They start to fan their train and shake it and display to impress the hens. During this time they pretty much want to either mate with hens or fight with other males. This will last until they shed those big long tail feathers again. Whether you get a hen or not is your prerogative, just understand that if you do you need to protect her in some way during the mating season. You could pen her, or you could follow her when she starts to lay and collect the eggs so she never has a clutch to go broody on(this can be challenging because they can hide their eggs well). When they go broody and set on the eggs they become easy pickings for Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, owls, dogs and pretty much any other predator. If you do not get a hen he may stick around and be fine or he may eventually leave in search of a mate. This is instinct and mother nature's way of ensuring the species continues, it is hard to fight nature. We have several pens and are currently redoing our outside runs, they will be 20x30' when completed, with a 12x12 pen in the barn attached. Keep in mind we have 32 Peacocks.

Wow! Your place is amazing! He shakes his feathers at my chickens. Will they keep him close? I always wanted a peacock. But I do to want to ruin relations with neighbors. They're all nice people but I don't want Oscar leaving our property. I'll do what it takes (within reason) to keep him in our property.

 

[zazouse]

For us here in PA the breeding season generally starts around the end of March. The boys have grown in their big train feathers, and their testosterone level starts to increase as the days get longer. They start to fan their train and shake it and display to impress the hens. During this time they pretty much want to either mate with hens or fight with other males. This will last until they shed those big long tail feathers again. Whether you get a hen or not is your prerogative, just understand that if you do you need to protect her in some way during the mating season. You could pen her, or you could follow her when she starts to lay and collect the eggs so she never has a clutch to go broody on(this can be challenging because they can hide their eggs well). When they go broody and set on the eggs they become easy pickings for Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, owls, dogs and pretty much any other predator. If you do not get a hen he may stick around and be fine or he may eventually leave in search of a mate. This is instinct and mother nature's way of ensuring the species continues, it is hard to fight nature. We have several pens and are currently redoing our outside runs, they will be 20x30' when completed, with a 12x12 pen in the barn attached. Keep in mind we have 32 Peacocks.

For us here in PA the breeding season generally starts around the end of March. The boys have grown in their big train feathers, and their testosterone level starts to increase as the days get longer. They start to fan their train and shake it and display to impress the hens. During this time they pretty much want to either mate with hens or fight with other males. This will last until they shed those big long tail feathers again. Whether you get a hen or not is your prerogative, just understand that if you do you need to protect her in some way during the mating season. You could pen her, or you could follow her when she starts to lay and collect the eggs so she never has a clutch to go broody on(this can be challenging because they can hide their eggs well). When they go broody and set on the eggs they become easy pickings for Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, owls, dogs and pretty much any other predator. If you do not get a hen he may stick around and be fine or he may eventually leave in search of a mate. This is instinct and mother nature's way of ensuring the species continues, it is hard to fight nature. We have several pens and are currently redoing our outside runs, they will be 20x30' when completed, with a 12x12 pen in the barn attached. Keep in mind we have 32 Peacocks.

For us here in PA the breeding season generally starts around the end of March. The boys have grown in their big train feathers, and their testosterone level starts to increase as the days get longer. They start to fan their train and shake it and display to impress the hens. During this time they pretty much want to either mate with hens or fight with other males. This will last until they shed those big long tail feathers again. Whether you get a hen or not is your prerogative, just understand that if you do you need to protect her in some way during the mating season. You could pen her, or you could follow her when she starts to lay and collect the eggs so she never has a clutch to go broody on(this can be challenging because they can hide their eggs well). When they go broody and set on the eggs they become easy pickings for Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, owls, dogs and pretty much any other predator. If you do not get a hen he may stick around and be fine or he may eventually leave in search of a mate. This is instinct and mother nature's way of ensuring the species continues, it is hard to fight nature. We have several pens and are currently redoing our outside runs, they will be 20x30' when completed, with a 12x12 pen in the barn attached. Keep in mind we have 32 Peacocks.

For us here in PA the breeding season generally starts around the end of March. The boys have grown in their big train feathers, and their testosterone level starts to increase as the days get longer. They start to fan their train and shake it and display to impress the hens. During this time they pretty much want to either mate with hens or fight with other males. This will last until they shed those big long tail feathers again. Whether you get a hen or not is your prerogative, just understand that if you do you need to protect her in some way during the mating season. You could pen her, or you could follow her when she starts to lay and collect the eggs so she never has a clutch to go broody on(this can be challenging because they can hide their eggs well). When they go broody and set on the eggs they become easy pickings for Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, owls, dogs and pretty much any other predator. If you do not get a hen he may stick around and be fine or he may eventually leave in search of a mate. This is instinct and mother nature's way of ensuring the species continues, it is hard to fight nature. We have several pens and are currently redoing our outside runs, they will be 20x30' when completed, with a 12x12 pen in the barn attached. Keep in mind we have 32 Peacocks.

If i ever had to pen my birds this would be the way to go, very roomy, i love this and you guys are fast , seems like yesterday you asked about it being turned into a pea palace

 

[DylansMom]

If i ever had to pen my birds this would be the way to go, very roomy, i love this and you guys are fast , seems like yesterday you asked about it being turned into a pea palace

Thanks Zaz, that means a lot coming from you.

Although I wouldn't exactly say fast, I've been whining at DH for years about this. It takes a lot to get him kick started, but once you do he does move pretty fast( cause he wants to get it done and get back to fishing and riding his 4 wheeler).

 

[DylansMom]

Wow! Your place is amazing! He shakes his feathers at my chickens. Will they keep him close? I always wanted a peacock. But I do to want to ruin relations with neighbors. They're all nice people but I don't want Oscar leaving our property. I'll do what it takes (within reason) to keep him in our property.

Thanks, but my barn is more amazing than the rest of the place, we have only 5 acres. When we moved here there were about 30 empty acres behind us and on the weekends we saw more horse traffic on our road than car traffic, now there are 2 houses behind us and we haven't seen a horse for probably 3 years. That's progress for ya...... sigh! Your best bet would be to just take it one day at a time and keep a close eye on him. The chickens will keep him interested for awhile at least, he will probably even try mating with them eventually. I have heard of people who have had a lone male with their other poultry for years and he seemed content and stayed put, unfortunately more often I hear of ones who are just up & gone one day. No sign of foul play so the assumption is they left to look for a mate. He will be very loud and vocal during the breeding season and my boys yell all night long this time of year, how close are your neighbors and how do they feel about noise?

 

[LittleRedShed]

 Thanks, but my barn is more amazing than the rest of the place, we have only 5 acres. When we moved here there were about 30 empty acres behind us and on the weekends we saw more horse traffic on our road than car traffic, now there are 2 houses behind us and we haven't seen a horse for probably 3 years. That's progress for ya...... sigh! Your best bet would be to just take it one day at a time and keep a close eye on him. The chickens will keep him interested for awhile at least, he will probably even try mating with them eventually. I have heard of people who have had a lone male with their other poultry for years and he seemed content and stayed put, unfortunately more often I hear of ones who are just up & gone one day. No sign of foul play so the assumption is they left to look for a mate. He will be very loud and vocal during the breeding season and my boys yell all night long this time of year, how close are your neighbors and how do they feel about noise?

We are also on 5 acres. As far as noise goes, I don't think it will be a problem. I mean, for being in the country we have quite a bit of traffic on our road and between the scooters/motorcycles/loud truck exhausts, does it really matter? Lol. If it becomes a problem I guess we will deal with it then. But we have our pen down low on our valley by the creek. We have mature pines so it helps with a sound break. I'm not one to start problems with neighbors. So if I had to give up my peacock, I have a friend who would love to have him and she is only 3 miles down the road - and I could see him frequently. They have like 50 or 70 acres I believe. But I'm hoping my neighbors don't notice haha. If he is noisy at night, I know I won't like it! Lol

 

[zazouse]

Thanks Zaz, that means a lot coming from you.

Although I wouldn't exactly say fast, I've been whining at DH for years about this. It takes a lot to get him kick started, but once you do he does move pretty fast( cause he wants to get it done and get back to fishing and riding his 4 wheeler).

Sounds like my DH