2 peahens just appeared in our backyard...?

[casportpony]

Sorry to be a pest, but we found a PEST over 3ft long in our peahen nest....a SNAKE! It had one of the 4 eggs already swallowed and had its mouth on a second! We 'took care of it'....what can I do to repel snakes?

Our peahen Gordy is sitting the nest again.....!

Sandra

Good Lord, what kind of snake was that?

-Kathy

 

[zazouse]

Sorry to be a pest, but we found a PEST over 3ft long in our peahen nest....a SNAKE! It had one of the 4 eggs already swallowed and had its mouth on a second! We 'took care of it'....what can I do to repel snakes?

Our peahen Gordy is sitting the nest again.....!

Sandra

I had the same thing happen this year, one of my hens come off the nest just a hollering in the AM and i knew something was wrong so did the dogs, this snake had already swallowed one egg





it had to be close to 6 foot long cause i am 5.3 and i held it up as high as i could and still has a few inches of tail on the ground.

 

[gryeyes]

I never wanted peafowl because of their blood-curdling calls. I think they're gorgeous birds, though!

A bit over a week ago, a young male peacock just showed up in my yard. He has made himself at home, eats with the flock, runs with the chickens to greet me, almost but not quite taking treats from my hand when I am doing the Daily Hand-Feeding Treat Event.

He talks to me with little trilling chirps. He has barked a couple of times, but no blood-curdling screams yet. He DID alert to the presence of the neighbor's cat skulking along the back fence, but it wasn't a scream.

I, too, am becoming quite fond of the visitor and hope he really has decided this is his new home. (A friend said, "he'd be an idiot not to! I bet somebody dumped him....") I have named him Kevin, after the "snipe" in the animated movie "uP!"

 

[new 2 pfowl]

I guess I'm just going to sound like a broken record, but...
Did you try to find this guy's owners??

And, in any case, Where Are The Pictures??
And, also,

- you are clearly a BYC elder, but welcome to neighborhood devoted to Peas!

 

[ssmith1]

Yes. We have left information at the local feed store regarding our two guests. They said no one has been looking for/ or reported any missing peahens. I will get a good pic of them tomorrow and post it. Believe me I would love to find the owner. But I feel obligated to care for them especially now that one of them has laid eggs and is sitting! I thank you for your concern and the information you offer. I am all ears and need all the help I can get in this matter.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Oh, sorry ssmith1, I was definitely not trying to hound you there.
I was actually asking gryeyes the same question, which makes me sound like I'm a broken record...

Sorry everyone!
Just worried about sad owners of lost peas everywhere!!

 

[ssmith1]

No worries

 

[gryeyes]

I have inquired at the local country store & feed supply about 6 miles away, the gas mart less than a quarter of a mile away, another country store 4 miles in the OTHER direction without any "hits." At each location, employees and other customers announced, "Oh, peacocks - they're pests. People dump 'em out here all the time."

Locals try to think of folks they know with peafowl, often mentioning somebody who kept peacocks "up behind" my property and they just left them when they sold their property. Who knows where they went.

However, my visiting peacock has clipped wings - which, by the way, haven't kept Kevin from flying at all -so I don't think he was abandoned. Possibly dumped or just let go.... But he is in really nice condition.

Oh, wait, I don't know that much about peafowl yet! He SEEMS to be in good shape.

 

[ssmith1]

How many hours per day should a peahen sit on her eggs?

 

[SunBaked]

Mine sat on her eggs all day and all night, she only got up at feeding time to eat real quick and drink then back on her nest. I set up a water bowl next to her so she can drink without getting up because it gets very hot and dry here.