Free Range Peacock

[LaylaB]

Never free range a bird that you're not prepared to lose.

Very good advice. It wasn’t exactly intentional. He came to me after a hurricane. I never attempted to cage him. He liked it and he stayed. After 10 years of hearing him cry all of mating season I got some chicks in hopes he would have a girlfriend. The 3 chicks of 6 that survived all turned out to be hens. I just never felt good about caging them. They’ve done so well about staying on my property until the last few nestings. And she’s the only one that strays. They nest twice a year for 4 weeks. She’s very good at hiding her nests and extremely difficult to find. She doesn’t come off the nest often and usually returns within about 15 minutes. I guess I am defensive about my birds because I’ve become attached. I mean it’s not like she’s chasing his animals or being a nuisance (in my opinion). *sigh* I realize I am wrong for allowing her to roam. I wish there was something I could do to make her nest here without confining her. But alas, that’s the only way to assure she doesn’t leave. It’s hard to predict when they want to nest. I suppose I will make a plan to cage her some way before next spring. If she is allowed to come home.

 

[LaylaB]

Is she being fed and watered by the neighbor?

Yes. I believe so.

 

[KsKingBee]

Never free range a bird that you're not prepared to lose.

Exactly. It is the price you pay for the enjoyment of seeing them live the type of life they deserve.

 

[KsKingBee]

We pen all of our free range hens during the breeding season and then let them out with the chicks to free range until next spring. Understand that we do not have small dirt floor cages, we have large grassy environments for all of our birds.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Exactly. It is the price you pay for the enjoyment of seeing them live the type of life they deserve.

That's a very nice way of putting it.
I used to have a Peahen that showed up on our farm so after a few years I got her a mate. They got along very well. He went into distress with their yearling chicks when she sat on eggs and they couldn't find her. They all got plowed over on the highway by our neighbor.
Then she got her entire clutch of eggs killed as they were hatching, then she went out trying to find her mate and ended up hit on the road as well.
I didn't want Peafowl again unless I had a flight pen, so it just happened that my husband ended up making me one out of a 100 foot long 3 sided building that we had here on our property. I don't have any birds I'd feel fine losing and if I did I'd try to sell them first.
I loved having them in the yard, coming over to the kitchen window to see if I'd have any treats to toss them. It wasn't worth it though when I had to retrieve their lifeless dead bodies off of the highway in front of my house...

 

[KsKingBee]

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by 'purebred birds?

 

[KsKingBee]

That's a very nice way of putting it.
I used to have a Peahen that showed up on our farm so after a few years I got her a mate. They got along very well. He went into distress with their yearling chicks when she sat on eggs and they couldn't find her. They all got plowed over on the highway by our neighbor.
Then she got her entire clutch of eggs killed as they were hatching, then she went out trying to find her mate and ended up hit on the road as well.
I didn't want Peafowl again unless I had a flight pen, so it just happened that my husband ended up making me one out of a 100 foot long 3 sided building that we had here on our property. I don't have any birds I'd feel fine losing and if I did I'd try to sell them first.
I loved having them in the yard, coming over to the kitchen window to see if I'd have any treats to toss them. It wasn't worth it though when I had to retrieve their lifeless dead bodies off of the highway in front of my house...

That is sad. We all have different circumstances, we are blessed to live where we do and can free range as many as we want and have no fear of losing any of them unless it is to our LGD pup that hasn't learned they are not squeaky toys to lick the feathers off of and eat. As long as they have a momma they are safe from him and the cats.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

That is sad. We all have different circumstances, we are blessed to live where we do and can free range as many as we want and have no fear of losing any of them unless it is to our LGD pup that hasn't learned they are not squeaky toys to lick the feathers off of and eat. As long as they have a momma they are safe from him and the cats.

My Peafowl now seem to love their pen though, even if I leave the door open they don't even try to get out.
I just know that when I'm not looking they are swinging on their swing set and swimming in their kiddie pool.

 

[old biddy]

I had my peafowl free range for years. They were used to coming in and out of their pen for snacks or to get out of the rain and onto their covered roosts, but at night they slept in the trees (or on top of my cabin...ugh). When it became breeding season I closed them up in their pen and when the hen started laying I closed her up in late afternoon inside their peafowl house so she would lay the eggs inside where she and chicks would be safe from predators. It worked out very well.

Unfortunately, we started having serious predator problems that were wiping out my free range chickens during the day (pack of dogs, coyotes, fox, bobcat, etc.) and we ended up having to build 2 large aviaries, one for chickens and one for peafowl, fenced in and covered in 2" bird netting with an enclosed peafowl house...so they are not free range anymore. If I can get a handle on the predators (especially the dogs) I will go back to free ranging, but for now it has to be everyone inside their aviary and locked up tight at night.

 

[-Kiwi-]

Maybe you can approach the neighbor with some eggs or garden veggies and give those to him and say something like, "hey, is my peahen on your property again?" and assuming he says yes, say something like "oh I'm so sorry, I can take her back home for you. It wont happen again." Keep it friendly, and I hope you get your hen back!