Getting Peafowl

[stirkle]

Hi,

So I am considering getting a pair of peafowl and was just wondering if you can keep them the same way you keep ducks and chickens by feeding them the same food i.e. growers/layers etc.

Or are there any specific requirements I need for keeping peafowl?

 

[missevie]

I feed my ducks, geese, chickens and peacocks the same thing. I make my own mix though. I use wild gamebird feed, medicated chicken feed, chicken scratch, whole kernel corn (only during the coldest weeks and very sparsely so they dont put on to much weight to fast and mess their legs up) and a cup full of diamond dog food and a cup full of cat food. I only use the dog/cat food the same as the corn. I also give them all daily treats of whole wheat bread and greens. Whatever greens are on sale are the ones I get. Mine seem to really like Mustard greens though. During the summer I feed them swiss chard that I grow at home. When they were under 4 months I feed them the yolk of hard boiled eggs that I finely diced up. I probably overdue it and make their meals more fancy than I should, but I am not a big time breeder or anything. This will be my first breeding season, so I have the time to devote it to my small flock

 

[zazouse]

How old are the ones you are getting,?

Different ages have different nutritional needs.

My peas were hatched in late sept and early aug of 2010, i feed them gamebird/showbird by manna pro with manna pro poultry conditioned and southern regional blend by Kaytee.

During the day my peas free range with my other flocks of birds and they eat flock raiser by purina forage for greens and bugs.
We have swiss chard growing for them as it is a winter crop and does not freeze so we give them that in bad weather cause i do not let them out.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

When they are growing we feed a 28% medicated game bird starter for the first 3 months then a 20% start n grow for the next 3 months. Our normal feed for all our birds is an 18% layer and during breeding (we put them in breeding pens) we go to a 20% layer. In cold weather we toss out whole corn in the afternoons and greens from the garden. Ours seem to like the dark leafy greens the best - collards, cabbage etc. Any extra eggs are hardboiled and fed back back to the birds a couple times a week.

When you get them you are going to have to pen them up for awhile until they call your place home. I have read posts of people bringing them home and turning them loose and that's the last they ever see of them.

The other biggest advice is plan at least double of everything, pens, feeders etc. They are addictive...we started with a pair and now have 15.

Steve

 

[stirkle]

Well i was going to buy some adults and breed them next year or even jsut get adults next year when I have a lot of free time, next year being september...