Help!! What to feed a baby peacock??

[the Old Rebel]

Hi All!
I have a week-old baby peacock. He has been eating gamebird chick starter, but doesn't seem to like it much. What else can I safely feed him??? I am afraid of giving him the wrong thing.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hope you all have a GREAT DAY!!

the Old Rebel

 

[jjthink]

Awwww - he/she must be very cute -- how did you come to have a week old baby peacock?
JJ

 

[the Old Rebel]

Well, my peahen laid 5 eggs, but would NOT sit on them. I have since found out that they lay a couple of decoy nests before they actually go broody. So the first 5 eggs were getting old, so I stuck them under a broody muscovy duck who had five duck eggs already cooking.

Little did I know that a mama duck can recognize a baby duck. She can also recognize when something is NOT a baby duck. She killed the first baby peacock (we didn't realize it had hatched), and she was in the process of killing this one when I rescued it.

In the meantime, my peahen laid 5 more eggs and promptly went to setting 'em. So her babies are due this Thursday. My little one was hatched last Monday, so he'll be 10 days old when these come along. I doubt she will take him. I sure don't want her to kill him. I LOVE him sooooooooo much already!!!

I couldn't put him under her when he hatched, because I was afraid that would make her abandon her other eggs. So here we are. He is a real trip!! His name is Prince Christopher Peabody. I've learned so much about them already.

I learned that a baby peacock doesn't automatically know what to eat. The mother peacock shows them. I'm not too good in the bug world. Hence my feeding dilemma. I don't want to give him something that will kill him or make him sick.

I'll try to post a picture on here in the next day or two.

Thanks for your response and your interest.

Hope you have a GREAT DAY!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I wonder if they can have meal worms?
I am thinking of starting a little colony of them for the chickens and to try and bring back my bluebirds to the yard.

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We feed ours 28% medicated sporting bird starter from southern states.

Steve in NC

 

[cowman910]

i give mine regular chick food with hard boiled egg yolk mixed in i also put red food dye in it until they learn where their food is.

 

[Tailfeathers]

First let me say I wish you all the best with your success on raising your little peafowl.

I lost four peachicks a couple of months ago when I got the bright idea to take them away from their mother thinking they would be safer in a brooder than with her. It's a long story but the short of it is they all died because they would not eat or drink on their own.

So obviously I am not an expert to be giving advice but will pass on some observations of what I've found with the second batch of five peachicks I have now. I have let them stay with their mother and their about three or four weeks old I think.

They love mealworms and will scarf them down in no time. I would think fresh grass clippings would be good. And they eat the Gamebird Flight Developer/Conditioner that I put out for them.

I hope that is of some help.

God Bless,

 

[peacock charlie]

Hey to all...

I have been doing this for awhile now and it is not as sensitive as everyone is
making it out to be... I will be shooting all my film footage to u tube soon and will let
u know...

Example... Last season I got 17 eggs from my girls/PEACOCKS and hatched in
my homemade styro incubator all 17.. My temps went from 90 degrees all the way up to
101 at times. Humidity 50% up to 63% at first stage... After the first stage of incubation
(18 days for chicks 21 days for peafowl) I moved eggs into plastic case that I purchased at Target
that u would use for books etc... and this is my hatchery because I can get humidity up 90% but
again my ranges go from 89 to 98 degrees and 79 to 88% humidity... The chicks r strong healthy
and the eggs r clear and beautiful when chicks r born... I just hatch one lonesome peacock just
last night and she is beautiful... It was the dummy egg I found so far...

Anyway the reason for writing to u all/ by the way is my first time so bare with me, is to say that
I feed my new born peafowl hard boiled eggs for the first two weeks but also place peafowl starter on bottom
of their lets say holding box this way when ever they peck which is hard for them in the very beginning
they always have food... They love the hard boiled eggs and the higher protein is great and needed for the young
peafowl... I place colored marbles throughout bottom of holding box and in their water. This makes them peck at
the marbles and in return they r teaching themselves to eat and drink... Its a riot... I have gotten so much flack from
lets say the pros for this but hey, it works and I have beautiful birds throughout my place... So, u tell me...

Now... I am no way a professional by no means but I am a success... I can tell u in detail if u want to know
how I actually made incubator and what I do...etc... ok...

Have fun, hope this helps.. PS. all my birds r doing great.. We have chickens,roosters,turkeys etc... u'll c soon...

 

[NateinFL]

The guy at PetsMart asked me what fish I had when I was buying more fish for my tank. His condescendingly told me, "YOU CAN"T PUT GOLDFISH IN WITH TETRAS". Really? Well guess what, I have kept goldfish and tetras together my whole life.

If it works for you, that's great. There's always someone wanting to push their philosophies on you...

 

[AugeredIn]

It really is amazing the discussions we get into on the most mundane things!