Does anyone out there have an opinion on letting Peacock and his hen out??

[BigWeenMachine]

Lol, I guess it is greener over there. I caught them inside the coop a couple days ago, which they never go in anymore cos they're afraid I'll lock them in there over night like I used to. The whole day they had stuck around the yard and hadn't bothered my neighbor once. My wife said to give them some positive reinforcement so I put out some fruit salad left over from Easter and filled up their scratch grain bowl. I came back outside not ten minutes later, only to find my neighbor chasing them back across the road from her house. I swear they are screwing with me, lol.

 

[barkerg]

Lol, I guess it is greener over there.  I caught them inside the coop a couple days ago, which they never go in anymore cos they're afraid I'll lock them in there over night like I used to.  The whole day they had stuck around the yard and hadn't bothered my neighbor once.  My wife said to give them some positive reinforcement so I put out some fruit salad left over from Easter and filled up their scratch grain bowl.  I came back outside not ten minutes later, only to find my neighbor chasing them back across the road from her house.  I swear they are screwing with me, lol.

By chance, do your neighbors have dogs or cats? Peas love dry dog or cat food and will likely bypass scratch all day for good dry pet foods. She may also be throwing scraps out for her birds. If she does have dogs/cats you might be able to compromise and ask her to feed them at night. Thats what my neighbors do and its effective, to a point, peas are very stubborn as you know. Other than that you might have to come up with something else.

Gerald Barker

 

[Frenchman Creek]

Well, I spoke with our neighbor, their house is 300yrds through the woods and a creek,, we can not see each others house, even in winter with no leaves. She said they saw one on Easter Sunday, the day after the 2 left us. It sounded like the slightly older one with the 3ft train of feathers. She said it was up in a tree and flew down and scared their dog, walked around a little then headed off down toward the creek. It rained pretty hard Sunday night here so I doubt I'll be able to look for any tracks in the mud.
I've been outside ever evening with my peacock calls on my phone blasting over my Bluetooth speakers, not quite as load as a pea's call but enough that if they were close I would think I'd hear something back. Last night the Owls were replying to me.

Are there any other ways to try to find them, I drive around the roads several times a day but I haven't seen a bird yet. I'm looking up in trees and in fields and the front of the few houses.
I guess Pea's don't have a good homing sense like pigeons? He's in an unfamiliar area to him and I'm not sure how he'd find his was back if he wanted too.

thanks

Wishing you the best with your peas but as it gets longer that they have been gone the less likely they will come back. With the high volume of coyotes in your area the outlook is not good. We have predominately coy-wolves in my area and I know for sure they eventually got one of my males that had been chased into the woods by other dominant ones. I also lost a dominant male several years ago when he flew off in search of a mate. As peas are addictive I would think you may eventually get more and if that happens you should have a plan on how to free range them if you decide to try that again. What I have found that works best for me is having hens and never letting them out. I have found that allowing hens to free range and sit on eggs and be tied down with chicks is handing her a death sentence. Also if hens walk off no one will call as they just look too much like wild birds. I have found that what works for me is hens penned and males free ranged after winter and then the boys stay around. Wishing you well with this. FC

 

[sasglm]

Thanks for the reply FC.
I think every day may hopes drop a little.
Here's a pic of the woods behind our house a the difficulty of trying to look for them.

 

[sasglm]

By chance, do your neighbors have dogs or cats? Peas love dry dog or cat food and will likely bypass scratch all day for good dry pet foods. She may also be throwing scraps out for her birds. If she does have dogs/cats you might be able to compromise and ask her to feed them at night. Thats what my neighbors do and its effective, to a point, peas are very stubborn as you know. Other than that you might have to come up with something else.

Gerald Barker

We have a few dogs, no roamers, and no outside cats either... all our neighborhood knows we're looking for them so I wouldn't think anyone is adopting them.
No chicken coups with in 1000yrd either.

 

[BigWeenMachine]

Hmmmm, I hadn't thought of that. My neighbor does feed some stray cats so maybe that's why they keep going over there.

 

[postalpoultry]

Hey Hey Barkerg! Geez I haven't been able to get on here in forever but wanted to let you know, I FINALLY got up the nerve to let the Peas out. 1ST day left the door open - they would not go near it. 2ND day male came out first but never got far from the door and they would run back in if anything freaked them out (which as you know happens alot LOL) by the 3RD day they are coming out and even exploring some, he goes further than her. on that 3rd night when I went to put them up I learned ALOT!!
They can't see ANYTHING at night!! PLEASE be careful if you leave your Peas out at night!! I literally got a ladder dragged it across the yard put it next to the chicken house he was roosting on , climbed up and picked him up before he even knew I was there!!! Meanwhile the lady was on the ground. I have a VERY curious Jersey calf who spotted her and went over for a closer look, when the calf sniffed the pea hen she flew straight up 6 ft in shock (never saw or heard calf coming right at her) when the pea flew it scared the poor calf to death she actually went heels over head down the creek bank, I thought I was going to have to lay down I was laughing so hard! But I felt awful cause they were both terrified. Now even after that horrible scare I walked up to my (NOT tame at all) pea hen and picked her up... I had no idea they are completely sitting ducks for ANYTHING to happen to them at night, so I ALWAYS put them up at night.
Of course now they go willingly LOL
Thanks so much Barkerg for encouraging me to let them out, not JUST because it's fun to interact with them but also shortly after they began to be allowed out they also began to mate when there had been NO interest before!!!

 

[barkerg]

Hey Hey Barkerg! Geez I haven't been able to get on here in forever but wanted to let you know, I FINALLY got up the nerve to let the Peas out. 1ST day left the door open - they would not go near it. 2ND day male came out first but never got far from the door and they would run back in if anything freaked them out (which as you know happens alot LOL) by the 3RD day they are coming out and even exploring some, he goes further than her. on that 3rd night when I went to put them up I learned ALOT!!
They can't see ANYTHING at night!! [COLOR=FF0000]PLEASE be careful if you leave your Peas out at night![/COLOR]! I literally got a ladder dragged it across the yard put it next to the chicken house he was roosting on , climbed up and picked him up before he even knew I was there!!! Meanwhile the lady was on the ground. I have a VERY curious Jersey calf who spotted her and went over for a closer look, when the calf sniffed the pea hen she flew straight up 6 ft in shock (never saw or heard calf coming right at her) when the pea flew it scared the poor calf to death she actually went heels over head down the creek bank, I thought I was going to have to lay down I was laughing so hard! But I felt awful cause they were both terrified. Now even after that horrible scare I walked up to my (NOT tame at all) pea hen and picked her up... I had no idea they are completely sitting ducks for ANYTHING to happen to them at night, so I ALWAYS put them up at night.
Of course now they go willingly LOL
Thanks so much Barkerg for encouraging me to let them out, not JUST because it's fun to interact with them but also shortly after they began to be allowed out they also began to mate when there had been NO interest before!!!

And there you go you have mastered the art of free range. Their night vision is not great at all but, if you speak to them they can usually sense safety over danger. I am so glad it's working out for you and thanks for the updates. BYC is incredible!

Gerald Barker

 

[postalpoultry]

Yes! BYC is incredible! But I surely do thank you for the encouragement! Any thoughts on why after several weeks of being out and about my pea cock has all of the sudden begun chasing and hurting what I call my pre teen chickens?? They all seemed like buds until night before last and he is not just messing around he is hurting them. He is currently in time out!

 

[armyof5]

Hi, I'm new here.

We have 4 peachicks, believed to be around 3 months old. We've had them since mid June. I'd like them to roam free but am concerned if they are too young/small.

Gerald Barker[/quote]