Considering Peafowl and need info

[Lelilamom]

My husband wants to add peafowl to our growing homestead of chickens and turkeys. I know absolutely NOTHING about these beautiful birds. We live in upstate NY where it's currently about 18 degrees, fox, deer, coyote, fisher and all other manner of predator roam around. Our chickens and turkeys live together, free range together but sleep in separate, unheated, unlit but well protected insulated coops. My husband wants peafowl to live with the chickens because "someone" told him they make better protectors than roosters.

Since I'm not using them for eggs and I can't eat them, they'd be pets. And I get attached to pets. I'm afraid this has disaster written all over it.

Is there a resource I can use/go to for information and to read up on this subject?

Thank you!

 

[KsKingBee]

Yes there is! At the top of the Peafowl forum page where you started this topic, you will see a bar with the word 'stickies'. There you will find topics on the care and genetics of peafowl, that is the best place to start learning about peafowl. Feel free to ask questions, but all the basics are there for you already. Welcome to the Peafowl Forum!

 

[barkerg]

My husband wants to add peafowl to our growing homestead of chickens and turkeys.  I know absolutely NOTHING about these beautiful birds.  We live in upstate NY where it's currently about 18 degrees, fox, deer, coyote, fisher and all other manner of predator roam around.  Our chickens and turkeys live together, free range together but sleep in separate, unheated, unlit but well protected insulated coops.  My husband wants peafowl to live with the chickens because "someone" told him they make better protectors than roosters.

Since I'm not using them for eggs and I can't eat them, they'd be pets.  And I get attached to pets.  I'm afraid this has disaster written all over it.

Is there a resource I can use/go to for information and to read up on this subject?

Thank you!

Welcome to the club,

.

Gerald Barker

 

[Birdrain92]

Welcome to Peafowl BYC! It's all based on circumstances. Free range for most of the day, not too many problems when mixing peafowl and chickens. Penned 24/7 together, you can get diseases that don't show in chickens, but will hurt peafowl badly. If you don't have parasites you don't have much to worry about. Peafowl are a bigger investment because they don't start laying until they're about 2 years old usually. Peacocks don't get their first full train until they're three years old usually. Peafowl and chickens have different nutrient requirements. Peafowl don't need the high calcium, need more protein than laying hens. Free range though, they forage for themselves well enough. Peafowl can fly, love perching up as high as they can. Once you get a system going it tends to be easy. If there's more information you're looking for just ask.

 

[Lelilamom]

Thank you all! I read up from the info section and wow! what a collection of great links. I read a bunch of stuff out to my dear hubby and convinced him that Peafowl were not for us. It's too cold, we don't have the right housing or time. And as they wouldn't be for anything other than pets, I warned him about the attachment factor. That sealed the deal.

As lovely as they are, I am solidly against raising animals that I can't properly care for - and I am convinced peafowl wouldn't survive in our coop, which got down to 15 degrees last night - not to mention we'd have to enlarge it to accommodate such large birds.

Thanks again folks! Now, if we purchase that 114 acre farm with 5 huge, heated barns on it.....

 

[hhn2002]

Thank you all! I read up from the info section and wow! what a collection of great links. I read a bunch of stuff out to my dear hubby and convinced him that Peafowl were not for us. It's too cold, we don't have the right housing or time. And as they wouldn't be for anything other than pets, I warned him about the attachment factor. That sealed the deal.

As lovely as they are, I am solidly against raising animals that I can't properly care for - and I am convinced peafowl wouldn't survive in our coop, which got down to 15 degrees last night - not to mention we'd have to enlarge it to accommodate such large birds.

Thanks again folks! Now, if we purchase that 114 acre farm with 5 huge, heated barns on it.....

Good Choice, definitely not just your typical "Backyard chicken," larger time and money/risk investment and much slower to mature and produce in returns. they do indeed fit and are deserving of the category of exotic, semi-endangered species, but totally cool and beautiful if you like that sort of thing and are willing to give the time and attention. Though certainly something to keep on the radar for the future.

 

[Birdrain92]

Good Choice, definitely not just your typical "Backyard chicken," larger time and money/risk investment and much slower to mature and produce in returns. they do indeed fit and are deserving of the category of exotic, semi-endangered species, but totally cool and beautiful if you like that sort of thing and are willing to give the time and attention. Though certainly something to keep on the radar for the future.

Indian peafowl nor Spalding peafowl are semi endangered. They're thriving just fine. Green peafowl are listed as vulnerable though.

 

[hhn2002]

Indian peafowl nor Spalding peafowl are semi endangered. They're thriving just fine. Green peafowl are listed as vulnerable though.

I was speaking of peafowl in general. I didn't want to get to specific, but still get the point across. I like to speak in abbreviated and efficient manner and not get not bogged down in specifics of non-critical information and that may not matter for the immediate or foreseeable future, I figure if they want to do further in depth research they can and will but thanks for clearing that up for those that can appreciate it. I'm not one for spreading misinformation but, no one with any common sense is going to use only information from some no name random person on an internet forum.

 

[Nancyphillips]

We have about 30 peas and hundreds of assorted chickens quineas ducks & geese. They all go in the barns together at night on their own and they all find their own "space". The biggest problem we've had with peas is teaching them where home is. We have a very large 80+ acre farm but it still took a year or two to get them to stay home. Now the parents, aunts, uncles and cousins all teach the young ones where to stay so we don't have that problem much except teenage boys are much more curious than the females and we've lost a couple boys on the road. We've never lost a female or even had one leave the farm though. If you want to add them to your flock they are FANTASTIC watch dogs and EXTREMELY noisy in the spring and summer. Ours roost in the trees in warmer weather and go in the barn in cold weather. If you have neighbors close by I would not recommend getting them unless you start with one pair in the spring, keep them caged where they can get sunshine and shelter for their first summer. For their first fall keep them in the cage (like a large covered dog kennel) until it gets pretty cold then put them in the barn at night after you have closed it up for the night. Leave the barn closed for a day with all your birds inside so they get to know each other. After that open the barn door just enough to let the birds get in and out, not all the way. The peas will probably stay inside until they make friends and follow them out. It takes 3 years for them to mature. It takes a lot more of your time and attention to get a good flock of peas going. If you don't have a lot of time or a lot of space you might reconsider. Ducks and geese are great choices and easy. Geese are super smart and strong. We have some orphans we've raised in the house and even after several years they still run to us and climb up our legs to give us hugs and kisses. Ducks are cute but they stick to their own and they are much more vulnerable to hawks and other predators. If you have a pond the geese will fly into the pond to escape predators. Feel free to contact me if I can help.