Feeding Peafowl

[DAS]

Ultrakibble is a complete diet in every bite. I'm completely baffled how that is somehow repeatedly trounced over.
Everything the bird actually requires in its diet is realised with a teaspoon of kibble. Everything else (whole grain) is a healthy filler for satiation.
It costs close to 40% less to feed your birds in this method. It's a sustainable solution for those resolved to end the cycle of disease and infection.

Wild birds raised as domestics are very often carriers to infectious disease. This happens all too often with the sale of peafowl and gamebirds. The well meaning traditionalist inadvertently creates a disease vector ( generally in the enclosures and within the airs sacs) that is then passed on to the new steward's facilities.

The disease vector is poultry smut something I've been obliged to repeat I don't know how many times. Poultry smut (once again) is the combination of the powdery residue of pellets/mashes/crumbles -their fines;the disintegrated particulate matter of those same feedstuffs that have mixed into the substrate of the enclosure and poultry yard- especially during months when birds are somewhat crowded together- young and old alike- the substrate within the enclosure becomes sour with decaying feedstuffs- this in turn mixes with fecal material -now the bacteria is really growing- then there's the perpetual issue of feather dander. It's constantly being shed by every single bird in your collection. That mixes into the same tasty bacteria laden dirt and this becomes airborne as the birds dig and scratch and take dustbaths in it.
The dusty bacteria laden contaminated feed feather dander poultry smut eventually covers every surface of your facilities.
Every tiny lacing of netting, every wall, every perch- and naturally the birds are covered in it. They preen it repeatedly through their feathers where they inhale the finest particulates as they groom their plumage and skin.



To be absolutely unambiguously transparent,I haven't dewormed or medicated a single bird on one of my facilities in over a decade. I know plenty that have been obliged to even those under my consultation. I utilise different protocols, preventative measures and optimal nutrition. You can't separate nutrition from health. Enough said.

edited by staff

But in a previous post you made this statement. So you have me confused. Sometimes I've failed to take worming as seriously as I should - I'll forget all about it and every once in a while and a bird will falter. That's about the time the horse wormer paste is made ready. The birds go into a large dogcrate -

 

[9Catsz]

I've never come across wild peafowl becoming infected with Blackhead, Mycoplasma, Sinusitus, Gapeworm, or Coccidia. I've never known them to die of Roundworm, or develop Bumblefoot ( staph). I've not known them to suffer from kidney failure. I've not heard of nor have I seen wild females developing cysts in the stigma, magnum infundibulum and/or ulcers in the uterus. Similarly, I've not observed males failing to develop normal spermatzoa nor known of what seem to be perfectly healthy males dropping dead- unlike necropises of captive mortalities I've never observed malignant tumors in the caudal vena cava and/or systematic infections of one or both the adrenal glands of those seemingly perfectly healthy adult male peafowl that just dropped dead.

I find it hard to believe that wild birds have virtually NO ailments, as you're stating above.

In captivity we work on keeping every chick alive whereas in the wild maybe 1 bird out of every clutch would make it to adulthood. Perhaps Mother Nature has already weeded out the ones who were predisposed to developing any of the problems you've listed above leaving only the healthiest/strongest chicks. Or, perhaps dead birds are being predated upon by scavengers before any human gets to do a necropsy.

I hike the woods a LOT and I've only seen 1 intact dead animal. The rest have been either completely eaten or almost completely eaten. The one fresh death was a great blue heron w/o a mark on its body. The next day I hiked back there to get a pic and it was completely gone. No sign of it whatsoever.

 

[Resolution]

Point taken.
I have not wormed or used a single antibiotic on any of my properties since the mid nineties.
Nevertheless, our hatcheries just went through an antiparasite treatment this spring after several (chicken) hens showed symptoms of syngamus gape worm. In a similar situation, a cousin of mine was having problems with young juvenile peakeats I gave him. A trip to the vet revealed they were suffering from coccidia and roundworm. He was keeping them with chickens in a hen house our great grannie built in the 20's. The thought to worm never occurred to me as it's just not something I've personally had to deal with -in my own personal collections. I imagine that there are plenty of people keeping birds that have never needed to worm or medicate them- especially those of us focused on holistic and preventative remedies. I do experience health issues with my livestock-and each is treated accordingly. A camel or a llama needs to be wormed to prevent parasites carried by deer to migrate into their brains and kill them. Poultry and wild landfowl- peafowl- I find that holistic remedies are just as effective if not more so than toxic ones. And more to the point, my birds are maintained in such a manner that most health issues discussed on this forum simply don't exist. It's taken me years to end the cycle of disease and infection- and that's why I speak from the bully pulpit on the subject.

 

[Resolution]

I find it hard to believe that wild birds have virtually NO ailments, as you're stating above.

In captivity we work on keeping every chick alive whereas in the wild maybe 1 bird out of every clutch would make it to adulthood. Perhaps Mother Nature has already weeded out the ones who were predisposed to developing any of the problems you've listed above leaving only the healthiest/strongest chicks. Or, perhaps dead birds are being predated upon by scavengers before any human gets to do a necropsy.

I hike the woods a LOT and I've only seen 1 intact dead animal. The rest have been either completely eaten or almost completely eaten. The one fresh death was a great blue heron w/o a mark on its body. The next day I hiked back there to get a pic and it was completely gone. No sign of it whatsoever.

I wouldn't say that they suffer from NO ailments- just not the ones incurred in intensive farming protocols adopted by many breeders. I listed the specific health problems I've been most aware of through necropsies of captive birds in Europe, N.America and Japan. As you can readily see, the greatest percentage of ailments are of the reproductive kind and plague females.
The more common ailments- they exist in captive birds - some more so than others. They are mostly environmental and/or nutritional issues.
Also, a good search of literature on wild peafowl will confirm that there is very low mortality of chicks. Peafowl are very protective parents and have very good instincts as to where to nest and rear their chicks. The highest mortality occurs later in life and is due to predation not disease.
Dead and dying peafowl are collected by wildlife officers in their native ranges and taken to government facilities for necropsy. This is of no small importance in parts of the world where potential pandemics have been born. Wild peafowl die or parasite infestation and injuries- but really they get sick from polluted drinking water, poisoned grain or poor nutrition on the edges of human environments ( often after human development has destroyed peafowl habitat) and die of secondary infections and parasite infestation that are not at all common in wild birds that inhabit healthy ecosystems.

Predators take their toll - and this is the natural selection that molded the wild progenitors of the birds in your aviaries. The birds in your aviaries have been being artificially selected to thrive on relatively poor nutrition and disease resistance. This is the process of domestication.

 

[Martha C]

Thank you many times over for your information. I became an unintentional peahen owner when she appeared on our rear door step ~ 2 months ago. Having absolutely no idea how to care for her I've search for info. Immediately went to the Tractor Supply Store to get anything possible to feed her. Now will attempt to locate the MAZURI feed. My philosophy is that she came to me via free ranging and I have no intention of changing her choice in life. I do have a concern about her psychological state. It appears that her attraction to our property is an unused French doorway where she sits all day long to "attend to" her reflection. I never see her leave this spot except to walk a few feet to the food I provide and then to walk ~15' away to go to roost at night. In next month my husband and I are leaving on a two week vacation. Don't know what to leave for her as food that won't spoil while gone. Will try to put a food "hopper" under a roof top (such as a card table) in hopes she won't be too freaked to go to the hopper to feed. Thank you again for all of your insight.
Martha

 

[Yoda]

Point taken.
I have not wormed or used a single antibiotic on any of my properties since the mid nineties.
Nevertheless, our hatcheries just went through an antiparasite treatment this spring after several (chicken) hens showed symptoms of syngamus gape worm. In a similar situation, a cousin of mine was having problems with young juvenile peakeats I gave him. A trip to the vet revealed they were suffering from coccidia and roundworm. He was keeping them with chickens in a hen house our great grannie built in the 20's. The thought to worm never occurred to me as it's just not something I've personally had to deal with -in my own personal collections. I imagine that there are plenty of people keeping birds that have never needed to worm or medicate them- especially those of us focused on holistic and preventative remedies. I do experience health issues with my livestock-and each is treated accordingly. A camel or a llama needs to be wormed to prevent parasites carried by deer to migrate into their brains and kill them. Poultry and wild landfowl- peafowl- I find that holistic remedies are just as effective if not more so than toxic ones. And more to the point, my birds are maintained in such a manner that most health issues discussed on this forum simply don't exist. It's taken me years to end the cycle of disease and infection- and that's why I speak from the bully pulpit on the subject.

How did you end something that cannot be ended? Wild animals carry diseases. None of your birds ever got a cyst on it's face? worms? Coccidia (it is in the ground)? Nothing at all? I find that hard to believe that your animals are disease/parasite free and your birds free range? You must have delveloped a cure all feed that even the zoos don't know about. I think like you stated above the weaker birds fall pray to the predators that is why you have no diseases. You will not get me to believe that your property and only yours is free from everything. How do you worm free ranging birds who are out in the woods like yours? Not everyone has the land you show pictures of so we cannot free range the birds.

 

[harpviolin]

I am considering using the Ultrakibble as a supplement (especially in the winter since I don't want to use just corn) but was wondering if you use the Ultrakibble Supplement or the Ultrakibble for chicks. My Peafowl will not even go close to the forage cake.

Thanks!!!!

 

[harpviolin]

I am considering using the Ultrakibble as a supplement (especially in the winter since I don't want to use just corn) but was wondering if you use the Ultrakibble Supplement or the Ultrakibble for chicks. My Peafowl will not even go close to the forage cake.

Thanks!!!!

 

[casportpony]

I am considering using the Ultrakibble as a supplement (especially in the winter since I don't want to use just corn) but was wondering if you use the Ultrakibble Supplement or the Ultrakibble for chicks. My Peafowl will not even go close to the forage cake.

Thanks!!!!

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