Thinking of getting peafowl any advice?

[jwlpoultry]

I am considering getting some peafowl and was wondering what they need specifically. I have chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese just dont know how difference there is between all of them.

 

[Birdrain92]

I am considering getting some peafowl and was wondering what they need specifically. I have chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese just dont know how difference there is between all of them.

Welcome to the peafowl section! Out of all of those species you've raised peafowl would be closest to turkeys. For us to help you the best might want to ask specific questions that we way we can address those directly. That way we don't have to give you an essay.

 

[barkerg]

Thanks!!

I cut and pasted this from a thread I had written in earlier. It mainly pertains to green peafowl.

Start. If your planning to free range, I would suggest maybe lower % spauldings as they tend to hang around better. If your planning to coop them, the higher % birds will be fine as long as you provide cover and shelter from the elements. Unfortunately, even the higher % greens will still have the same issues as the pure greens, they are not as tolerant to the weather and might hang around for a bit when free ranged but, when the season starts, you take a much higher risk of losing your best males as they tend to have a much larger range and wander away. The higher % you get, the more squirrelly they will be and if they get stressed like being overcrowded they are known to pluck feathers on themselves as well as the others which becomes contagious in the pen and is a very hard habit to break in greens. My rule of thumb (depends on the birds personality) is to provide more space for the higher % birds and keep the rooster to hen ratio 1to1 no more than 1to2 as the hens will fight over the male which can and will hurt fertility rates. The green roosters will need to be separated when they are mature and a blind in between the the pens is a must as they are much more aggressive and will destroy the pen as well as themselves due to fighting. End.

I suggest that you start with the india blue species. As for playing well with others, that will depend on your setup. If you free range, it should not be an issue and they should get along, except for guineas if you got them. Guineas are "fowl" gang members and they will gang up during the season and make sure they ruin every train on the yard, a man thing I suppose. If you plan on the coop, I would suggest not with ducks or geese as clean water is a must with peafowl. Peas will look perfect one day and then bam they are sick the next and go downhill fast. As for feed, turkey crumbles are perfect, I feed 28% during the season and taper off to 20% with increased whole grains in winter. Pretty much the same as turkeys and india blues are much heartier to raise and for sure more forgiving over greens. Lastly, peas live a long time when compared to other yard birds so be prepared. Hope this helps.

Gerald Barker

 

[jwlpoultry]

 
I am considering getting some peafowl and was wondering what they need specifically. I have chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese just dont know how difference there is between all of them.

Welcome to the peafowl section! Out of all of those species you've raised peafowl would be closest to turkeys. For us to help you the best might want to ask specific questions that we way we can address those directly. That way we don't have to give you an essay.

Is there a difference in what they eat, Do they need to be housed seperately, will they roam far from home,

 

[Birdrain92]

Is there a difference in what they eat, Do they need to be housed seperately, will they roam far from home,

Sometimes they will roam off the property in search of others or if they need something else. Other times they don't. Zaz has a large flock or free range peafowl. Mine are penned so I don't have personal experience with them roaming much. They need to have at least 20% protein is what I've learned and do. Others have said that they raise their peafowl on an 18% protein and their peafowl are just as stunning. As peachicks though and during breeding season I highly recommend of feeding them at least 20%. I think that you should house them differently. That's mainly as a precaution to try and prevent fights and illnesses. You could I'm sure, I've seen people having different species free ranging together with peafowl and no problems.

 

[jwlpoultry]

How well can they fly?

 

[Birdrain92]

How well can they fly?

Very well.

 

[jwlpoultry]

If I was to keep hem penned up how large would it need to be?

 

[Birdrain92]

If I was to keep hem penned up how large would it need to be?

My pen has an inside coop of 10'x15'x8'. The run is 12'x12'x8'. There's grass in the smaller pen, just buried in snow. The other pen in the back is 12'x16'x8'. The inside I can't remember the dimensions off the top of my head but I believe their are identical or similar to the inside coop that my Indian Blues are in.

 

[jwlpoultry]

Thanks for all the info.