Peacocks for flock protection

[Hen'nbiddies]

We are thinking about getting some peacock chicks to raise along with the chicken chicks. We have a neighbor that have a pair and they have had no trouble with predators since they got them.
Any comments?

 

[wendy]

Are you talking about in the pen and coop? Or free ranging?

In the pen and coop we have never had a problem. But freeranging we have had a fox try to get two chickens and the peacock "screamed" The chickens only lost some feathers. But were not killed. I will add that this was when the peacock was younger too. And we now make it a habit to never let them free range without being able to be outside with them now. We have not only see foxes but other animals here.


Hope this helped

 

[Hen'nbiddies]

They will have a coop and an enclosed free range area, about a 60ft diameter circle, that will be covered by netting. I don't know if I need a separate housing arrangement for the peacock or if they will roost with the chickens in the coop. Does your peacock roost with the chickens? How large is your coop?

 

[wendy]

Peacocks like to roost up high. We could never get ours to roost anywhere but on top of the coop! My dh bought a book just on peacocks and they warned of this. Our pen is 20 x 25 rectangle shape. The fencing is 5 foot high I believe. If we had netting over the top of everything he could not roost on top of the coop I guess. But we don't have that. I don't know the exact measurements of our coop. It is a decent size. The peacock will get in there when it rains or if we have high winds form hurricaines.

Edited to add: Sometimes our peacock flies out of the run to pick up bugs, etc. or he will fly up and sit on our gate to the run. I wish he would let us pet him. But that is a big NO! I have talked to a man that raises them and he said they love boiled eggs and will come to you. Well not ours :-(