California - Northern

[caychris]

Ok stupid questions here
1 Why do people raise pea fowl?
2 Do people eat guinea fowl/eggs?

I understand chickens, ducks, turkeys, quail, geese and pheasants but not sure about the above 2 what is the attraction other than the looks or show value.

 

[casportpony]

Quote:
He really did a lot of work with her. They can be pretty tame as chicks, but even the one I raised by hand and took everywhere with me is not that quiet!

-Kathy

 

[chrissyr]

With the Pita Pintas, you only have to wait three months or so and then they will be mostly black and less of a target.

It is a personal choice about letting the chickens be predator bait.

Megan sells the Pita Pinta eggs for a hundred bucks a dozen. They are on the Endangered list but recovering. They are very special hawk food for sure.

Is it true black birds are less of a target? I read once where one of the top AM breeders felt that way about black chickens. Didn't know if it was true or not

 

[casportpony]

Quote: I think darker birds are less of a target. Seems like more of my yellow chicks get taken by falcons.

-Kathy

 

[chrissyr]

That's great news!

-Kathy

I think iT must have been cocci related. Last night I didn't dump out their water. Figured I'd change it in the AM with new corid.
Then There was the slightest poop on the rear this morning. But I just witnessed it poop and it looks really good. I saw diarrhea in there before and was guessing it was this chick.
But what confused me is the brooder was a clean plastic bin. Sterilized from the previous hatch. If it was cocci, I just don't know how it got there.
I had been sprinkling grit like chickee said but I added more than I was before and mixed some in the food too.
These 4 chicks are really tame now. And cute as a button!

 

[caychris]

Is it true black birds are less of a target? I read once where one of the top AM breeders felt that way about black chickens. Didn't know if it was true or not

I would think that black birds are harder for nocturnal predators to find by sight however most nocturnal predators hunt by smell and sound just as well as sight. Otherwise for hawks it would primarily be contrast and movement. They have very sharp eyes. There may be something to having learned that "white is food" in general. Where other color patterns are more an unknown and as predators rarely want to waste energy....

 

[chrissyr]

I think darker birds are less of a target. Seems like more of my yellow chicks get taken by falcons.

-Kathy

Interesting.
Have any of you seen a hawk go after a big rooster? Like Marans? Curious if they'd mess with them or not

 

[debs_flock]

And here is that same young man at the judging table. His entry was the first ever pea to be entered at the fair.

Post #80
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...uld-never-be-used-on-peafowl/70#post_13871076

-Kathy

Wow, that was quite a showmanship class, peahen & dove (never seen either of those used before) and a duck (just saw one used at State Fair and that was a first after 25 years for me). My son used to be commented on for using a HUGE RIR cock. Normally it's all bantams.

Ok stupid questions here
1 Why do people raise pea fowl?
2 Do people eat guinea fowl/eggs?

I understand chickens, ducks, turkeys, quail, geese and pheasants but not sure about the above 2 what is the attraction other than the looks or show value.

Peafowl, you raise them because you like them. Of course any eggs are edible and I have a VERY old cookbook that lists roasted peafowl. Not sure I would eat either though, just because.

Guineas, yes, they eat their eggs and the birds. You can buy guineas to eat from a butcher, although they'd probably have to order them for you.

 

[chrissyr]

I think darker birds are less of a target. Seems like more of my yellow chicks get taken by falcons.

-Kathy

You know years ago I did have a leghorn taken in the flock. The hawk went in the coop, the jumped up to the nest box. There were a couple of other girls in there trapped , but just the leghorn was attacked. Never thought of it before

 

[debs_flock]

Quote:
I've had a hawk take out a half grown turkey, it was quite large already.................so was the hawk.