Colorado

[coop410silkies]

@Iomene: these Silkies do fine in the snow and mud, it seems, although they do get messy. There are several Dogloos under a large open hoop structure that gives them a reasonable dry area in bad weather. They sleep and lay eggs in the one set up on a table under the hoop, and they go up a rather short steep ramp to get to it. I used to have a portable dog pen set up around the hoop, but I took it down when their chicks started getting stuck in it. So they are totally free-ranging now and seem much happier and suited for it. They don't mind snow if it's not over their heads, and they go everywhere to forage.

The big roo in the back is a Light Sussex cockerel, one of MANY I hatched last Easter. A few of them sleep and hang out with the Silkies. My dog is especially fond of these birds - she keeps letting her favorite in the house - and they of her, in an amorous sort of way. Can't sing too much praise for this breed. They are more wonderful than they look.

 

[Mkp1983]

@uzi Hope do you like having peacocks and hens? My fiance wants to get a few. We live on 60 acers of wooded land. I know they fly so i would be worried about them getting out and and hunted by the wildlife. I've also heard they are quite loud. Which is fine with me. I just wouldn't want to get any if i can't house them correctly and keep them safe.

 

[uzisuzuki]

@uzi Hope do you like having peacocks and hens? My fiance wants to get a few. We live on 60 acers of wooded land. I know they fly so i would be worried about them getting out and and hunted by the wildlife. I've also heard they are quite loud. Which is fine with me. I just wouldn't want to get any if i can't house them correctly and keep them safe.

Well, I've only had them for about 6 months so far and since I came about them by chance (the peacock adopted me), I don't really know that much about them. What I've learned so far from the reading I've been able to do and just having them is that they are extremely quiet most of the time. The peacock was probably in my chicken's yard all day before I noticed that he was there. They are seriously stealthy when they want to be and that's why mine got named after characters from the show Strike Back (it was about a special forces unit).

The only time they get loud is during their breeding season and that's when the males start making that wailing woman sound - the one that sounds like someone crying "help me". If I'm remembering correctly, the breeding season lasts from late spring through to the fall. After that, they make a trill sound followed by a clown car honk when they're upset or angry with something. They aren't of breeding age until about 2-3 years old, so I should have at least one more year before my peacock starts up.

I really love having them around. They are great intruder alert system when something/one shows up in their territory that shouldn't be there. The peacock would chase the hawks we had hanging around away from the chickens and rabbits. They do this little dance where they dart around each other and the various things around the yard. They are very fast, they do fly really well, and they're extremely curious and nosy and will go walkabout to check things out. I think unless you raise them from hatchlings, they're never going to be "pets". Mine acknowledge that I feed and shelter them, but handling them is out of the question.

From what I've read, they are at risk of predation just like chickens despite their size and if they're free range they can just take off and never come back. Overall, the only thing that I've found to be the biggest hang up for me is trying to get them a permanent shelter. I wasn't planning of having peafowl, so I'm only set up for chickens right now. This works now because they're not fully grown yet.

I think your property sounds great for peafowl! They love to get as high as they can and a wooded area would provide a lot of stimulation for them. Unlike chickens, keeping males together isn't really an issue until breeding season and then (again, this is just what I've read) they need enough space to call their own to display their train and try to attract a mate (the female can turn him down if she isn't impressed by him). If they're too crowded during that period, the male lowest on their version of a pecking order can go off on walkabout. He may come back at the end of the breeding season or not. I think that might have been what happened with mine - he showed up in our yard in the middle of their breeding season. If they find a place they decide they like (has good feed, shelter), they seem to stick around. Besides trying to find a place to build my peas a shed for their sleeping roosts and nests, I'm also having to decide if I want to let them free range or build a flight pen. They just require a lot of space. And bananas. They LOVE bananas. Oh, and the birds themselves can be expensive. That's the other thing to consider - they're expensive to start with.

 

[coop410silkies]

@Mkp1983: good questions re: peafowl. I used to walk by open space range where peafowl roamed and made a lot of noise. I always thought they had long flown the coop and were wild. Can you even DOMESTICATE them, Uzi?

@Uzi: yes, the diversity among chickens is amazing, isn't it? Your birds sound like a circus, not a flock! I should talk. At least you have a dog and a pony to go along. (I am lacking the pony, but there ARE some thoroughbreds next door that my pooch likes to run with.). I have a little disabled Silkie roo that I keep indoors who raised and nurtured a little sick baby chick last summer. At the time, I said, "those two are going to be inseparable for life." Well, the little baby is all grown up now, a little l'enfant terrible: he TERRORIZES his totally helpless life-saver, and he is going OUT as soon as the weather gets a little warmer. I'll find a little hen to take his place. Maybe he would like to set some eggs?

Well, I think you got rooster challenges to take your mind away from your work challenges. I surely wish I could help. I think you are going to have to develop an attitude where everything is "water off a duck's back." Welcome help and take credit for it all. Get notorious. Wear and own the slander, then ask "anything else?" Trust yourself. It's easier than feuding roosters, and you won't have to mortgage the house.

 

[uzisuzuki]

@Mkp1983: good questions re: peafowl. I used to walk by open space range where peafowl roamed and made a lot of noise. I always thought they had long flown the coop and were wild. Can you even DOMESTICATE them, Uzi?

@Uzi: yes, the diversity among chickens is amazing, isn't it? Your birds sound like a circus, not a flock! I should talk. At least you have a dog and a pony to go along. (I am lacking the pony, but there ARE some thoroughbreds next door that my pooch likes to run with.). I have a little disabled Silkie roo that I keep indoors who raised and nurtured a little sick baby chick last summer. At the time, I said, "those two are going to be inseparable for life." Well, the little baby is all grown up now, a little l'enfant terrible: he TERRORIZES his totally helpless life-saver, and he is going OUT as soon as the weather gets a little warmer. I'll find a little hen to take his place. Maybe he would like to set some eggs?

Well, I think you got rooster challenges to take your mind away from your work challenges. I surely wish I could help. I think you are going to have to develop an attitude where everything is "water off a duck's back." Welcome help and take credit for it all. Get notorious. Wear and own the slander, then ask "anything else?" Trust yourself. It's easier than feuding roosters, and you won't have to mortgage the house.

Again, this is just from what I've read not experienced: they aren't ever really "domesticated" like a dog, cat, etc. I think there's a kid in the peafowl section of these boards who has trained his peas to perch on his forearms, but from what I understand it's easier to get them to act domesticated if you raise them by hand from chicks. They kind of sound like pigs to me. Those mini pigs that people keep as pets, they have to be handled all the time by people almost as soon as they come out so they aren't always squealing and fighting when handled later on. I'm not going to hold my breath on the three peas I have now ever letting me lay hands on them without repercussions (which already happened a couple months ago - my face still hurts from that encounter). Like I said, they know I bring food and they tolerate me for that, but they aren't eating out of my hands or getting up close and personal with me like the chickens. If I'm lucky enough to get some fertilized eggs from them in 2 years, I'll try my luck at hatching and seeing if that actually makes a difference.

 

[Mkp1983]

Thank Uzi I'll have my fiancé do some serious research! They will be his project and his pets lol I'll stick with chickens, dogs, and some day soon goats

 

[uzisuzuki]

Thank Uzi I'll have my fiancé do some serious research! They will be his project and his pets lol I'll stick with chickens, dogs, and some day soon goats

No worries! I've had a hard time finding good information about caring for them and just the birds in general, so if I can pass along what little knowledge I've gathered I'm more than happy to do so.

 

[coop410silkies]

Again, this is just from what I've read not experienced: they aren't ever really "domesticated" like a dog, cat, etc. I think there's a kid in the peafowl section of these boards who has trained his peas to perch on his forearms, but from what I understand it's easier to get them to act domesticated if you raise them by hand from chicks. They kind of sound like pigs to me. Those mini pigs that people keep as pets, they have to be handled all the time by people almost as soon as they come out so they aren't always squealing and fighting when handled later on. I'm not going to hold my breath on the three peas I have now ever letting me lay hands on them without repercussions (which already happened a couple months ago - my face still hurts from that encounter). Like I said, they know I bring food and they tolerate me for that, but they aren't eating out of my hands or getting up close and personal with me like the chickens. If I'm lucky enough to get some fertilized eggs from them in 2 years, I'll try my luck at hatching and seeing if that actually makes a difference.

Hmmm, very interesting. Yes, Memnoch and Mercury do seem the quintessential chicken model(s).

 

[21hens-incharge]

Yes the SS hens here are on a diet lol. They are very pretty and get more spots every time they molt. Poptart is by far more spotted then Madam Zee.
They are one of the few breeds that tend to wind up overweight. Poor gals are weighing in at almost 8 and a half pounds right now. I wanted to know just how heavy they were so we stepped on the scale together. I am afraid they are not the only ones needing a diet.
I like the breed since they are calm and friendly. The coloring is really pretty especially in the bright sun.

Peacocks are loud for certain. Their call can sound like a woman screaming for help. One of my old neighbors had peacocks and while inside my house with the windows shut I could hear what sounded like a woman screaming for help. LOL it was just the peacocks.

Guinea are loud too with a much different sound. Also a super neat bird.

You all have such nice looking birds! Lots to be proud of in those pretty flocks.

 

[Latestarter]

Thank Uzi I'll have my fiancé do some serious research! They will be his project and his pets lol I'll stick with chickens, dogs, and some day soon goats

Greetings and welcome! If you're thinking goats, you might want to check over on the sister site Backyardherds. Awesome site with lots of great info and super helpful folks.