Curious About Peafowl

[Bluebonnet]

Hello,

I am considering Peacock ownership in the future and I have a couple of questions as Google searches have failed me thus far.

I would like to purchase a completely white peacock. What is the name of this variety? Does it occur in nature or is it like white tigers, where it is caused by inbreeding? I would like a healthy bird but I do not want to support inbreeding and the pet store trade among other bad things. If that is the case, then a white peacock is out of the question for me.

Is it ok to keep just one peacock? Do they do well as solitary birds or are they social types? How to they fair near other types of birds? Namely prairie chickens and regular type chickens? I know birds have several diseases and pests that can spread between each other and I want to be sure I can take steps to avoid any trouble.

Is it possible to neuter a peacock or likewise to a peahen? Are their eggs edible? Do they have depression issues if their eggs are taken from them? I do not know what to expect.

I want to keep a peacock as a pet but I also do not wish for it to be lonely, sick or otherwise unhappy. They are showy, noisy, flighty and most times temperamental birds and before I even get anywhere near to the purchasing stage I want to be sure I have everything set up and well prepared to care for this creature.

The reason I mention the eggs and such is because if I have to keep peahens for company and social issues I want to be sure that I can either have the birds 'fixed' or be prepared to do something with the resulting eggs. Also, I plan on keeping this peacock(s?) for a pet and as such, when this bird becomes old, I might wish to be able to breed him so I can keep his offspring too. Thus, neutering should be a last resort and if there are methods otherwise that could be put into consideration, I would welcome them.

How can I spot a healthy peacock, true to the breed and what should I be looking for in a reputable seller?

Are there any other questions that I haven't asked that I should be asking?

Any and all advice is welcomed and appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Hello Katherine,

, and in particular, Pea-Land!

A great place to start for basic information is the "stickies" (see below).
Also, the search function here works quite well and is a great way to find answers to some of the many questions you seem to have.
Of course, everyone here is also happy to answer questions!
But browsing some of the information available here is likely to really helpful for you, too.

"Sticky" Threads for the "Peafowl" forum:

• Peafowl - "Sticky" topics index

 

[Bluebonnet]

Hello Katherine,

, and in particular, Pea-Land!

A great place to start for basic information is the "stickies" (see below).
Also, the search function here works quite well and is a great way to find answers to some of the many questions you seem to have.
Of course, everyone here is also happy to answer questions!
But browsing some of the information available here is likely to really helpful for you, too.

"Sticky" Threads for the "Peafowl" forum:

• Peafowl - "Sticky" topics index

Thank you for that helpful link.

What is this about 'imprinting' a peacock to you? What does that mean? Is it bad?

 

[new 2 pfowl]

I don't have personal experience with this, but if you hatch a peachick and raise it yourself, it bonds with you = imprinting (this is true of many creatures!).
If you look at posts by our wonderful peaperson MinxFox about her sweet boy Peep, you can read about her experiences with imprinting.

 

[Bluebonnet]

I don't have personal experience with this, but if you hatch a peachick and raise it yourself, it bonds with you = imprinting (this is true of many creatures!).
If you look at posts by our wonderful peaperson MinxFox about her sweet boy Peep, you can read about her experiences with imprinting.

I most certainly will take a look. That sounds like what I am going for since I would like the peacock as a companion animal. While I understand that these birds are likely to never be truly 'lap birds', so to speak, I would very much like the bird to be as familiar and accustomed to me as possible.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

I'm taking the liberty of posting one of MinxFox's pictures of her friendly boy Peep...


And also one of Casportpony's photos...you might be mistaken about them not being "lap birds"!

 

[MinxFox]

Hello!


White peafowl are not albinos, and don't worry they are not created from inbreeding (thank goodness). I have three whites myself. White peafowl have blue eyes and they can be hard to sex when they are young. I am not sure about fixing peafowl but you could always keep two white male peacocks. We have a friend that only kept free-range peacocks until a peahen showed up. Peafowl only call in the spring and summer.

My imprinted peacock Peep is two and so far he doesn't call as much as the other peacocks. I think that is because he is more used to all sorts of noises. We kept him in a playpen in the living room so he heard the TV and talking and all sorts of things. My boyfriend Aaron is raising an imprinted peachick named Taco. From what I have found the best way to imprint the peachick is to hatch it in an incubator alone without other chicks. As it starts hatching, if you can talk to it. When it hatches spend lots of time with it. I had to spend at least an hour with Peep because his feet were curled so I helped him uncurl his toes so I was holding him a lot after he hatched. The more time you spend with the peachick the better. Taking it outside for an hour a day can be good too. They love to eat grass and weeds. Imprinted peachicks will cry for you and pace the pen wanting to get to you. Even Peep, who is fully grown, paces the pen when he sees me drive up to feed the peafowl. When Peep was small I would put him in a padded lunchbox with a strap and put him wrapped up in a little towel and put him inside the lunchbox (I would close it but not zip it up) and he would fall asleep in there while I walked around and did stuff. This is how I got him to be quiet! When they get older thought they do not cry so much for you. Peep lets me pet him and I can still very easily pick him up, but you have to be careful of his claws because when you pick up peafowl they like to kick a bit at first. The only negative thing I have found with imprinting a peacock is that he considers me as a mate and so sometimes he makes a matting call and runs up to me trying to grab my foot. This is not an aggressive thing, but he is trying to mate with my foot...This is an easy thing to stop though. You can do two things...One is do what the peahens do and run or jog a few feet and he will not pursue you or you can do the human thing and push him away. I normally lean down and push him back which is easy to do. Now some people say they have had tame peacocks that turned aggressive when they got older. I have not seen this with Peep. There was one time he was spooked and flew up into my face, but he was not being aggressive. The funny thing is I have been in the pen leaning down to empty a dish and a bird could pick at Peep and he will fly onto my back to get away from them. Most of the time when I come to feed the peafowl Peep wants more petting then he wants food. I can hold out food and he would rather peck gently at my fingers, which is him asking to be pet. Anyways here is Peep: Oh okay new 2 peafowl posted this photo...I will show two photos!


This was my Aunt's Birthday party I took Peep to. He walked around and greeted everyone, and he also walked up and pecked that blue guitar. Peep even jumped up into my Aunt's lap. What a party!



This is Taco, the newest imprinted bird.


Here is my website for more peafowl info: www.bamboopeacock.com

 

[Bluebonnet]

That was an excellent post!

How very sweet! I am glad to find I was wrong about them not always being 'stand offish' birds. Do you know if they do well solo or if they enjoy the company of other birds? Is it safe to keep two males together? I thought they were 'dominant' males that would fight to the death other males who enter their space.

 

[MinxFox]

I have bought birds that were stand offish or very flighty, but with treats and time they can all become tame. Not tame enough to pet or hold, but tame enough that they will walk up to you for treats and eat out of your hand.

All of my peafowl take treats from my hand.

I think it is best to have at least two peafowl, because even though Peep loves people so much, he still hangs out with other peafowl a little, although I think he would rather be with people. I am not totally sure about just having males, but I somewhat think if there are no peahens there isn't a reason for them to fight. Some other people should probably comment about if two males is okay or not since I have always had peacocks and peahens. You could always separate the peacocks during the breeding season which is the time males fight.

 

[Bluebonnet]

If I raise the peacock from just an egg or day old chick then that should increase the odds of him 'imprinting' on me and thus being more friendly right?

I have all the time in the world. I'm looking for a companion animal in this peacock and as such I plan on devoting hours each day to its needs and otherwise spoiling it rotten any way that I can.

Can living space make a difference in behavior? Would a large pen make a difference or potentially several pens with divisions where the birds could see and hear each other but not actually get together? I will have land to 'free range' them on but the truth is that Texas is FILLED with all sorts of critters that could potentially kill a peacock. Not to mention those invasive ants which I am sure could ruin any peahen eggs. I know those red ants are predators of Prairie Chicken eggs to the point where the Houston Zoo has put into place an action to get rid of them on hundreds of acres of prairie land. I need to look into ways I can take precautions about that.