Hi everyone. Felt I should introduce myself and my pea

[KsKingBee]

The first day I mixed a banana into the birds mash they were not that interested in eating. Now when I walk outside with a banana in hand they come a running!

 

[KsKingBee]

This reminds me of a story from my childhood. My cousin who was raised on a farm and only about seven years old came to the big city to visit for a few days during the summer. One night we had pizza, well Tom had never seen a pizza before and when asked how he liked it he said, "Well I can't get to use to it and liking it at the same time".

That has stayed as a family inside joke for all these years.

That relates to the peas too, they will get to liking new things in their own time.

 

[MinxFox]

I'm also curious as to what people use as treats for their peas. Ours has become a bit fussy. Does anyone find their pea getting a real hankering for bugs and insects instead of their seed mix? sometimes he will pick his one or two favorite seeds out of the mix and leave it to go look for bugs. I have a feeling it might be for the fun of hunting something as much as it is about food.
It is common for peafowl (even penned ones) to eat a little of their food then walk off and lay down in the shade or go scratch around leaves for bugs. They often take breaks from eating the food you give them to explore and then they will come back and eat more at their leisure. My birds can be fussy but they LOVE eating black oil sunflower seeds whole. They also enjoy cat food or catfish food as a good treat for protein. Here is a list of treats that mine love: http://www.bamboopeacock.com/Treats_for_Peafowl.html

I've never been able to get him eating much fruit or vegetable matter, but he does like to nip at plants around the garden, some of which i dont think would be good things to eat so Im hoping somebody knows of some good plant based foods peas enjoy that I can try, and any tricks that might make him more susceptible to eating them, he got a bit spoiled when he was young on as many big juicy termites as he could eat so I worry he mightn't be getting a balanced diet.
This is my opinion as some people are very weary about what plants they have around their peafowl, but I have at least 3 or more dangerous plants in my peafowl pen and I trust my bird's instincts to know what they can and cannot eat. Even my peacock that I hand raised who sounds similar to your boy knows what he can and cannot eat. There is a plant in the pen called a Lantana which is poisonous. The berries it produces are the most poisonous part. I have watched my peafowl eat the berries and even some of the leaves from this plant and none have died from doing that. Then come to find out India, the peafowl's native homeland, is covered in Lantana bushes in some areas! I never worry about them eating strange plants. Even as little peachicks they just seem to know what is good to eat and what isn't. Giving your peacock cat food maybe twice a week will be a good way to make sure he is getting his protein.

I think that's about it, although I am thinking of getting a a friend as he is the only pea we have but im cautious as he's never really learnt any flock social skills and can be a bit erratic so I'm not sure how it would go. He's often putting on a display at other birds, even tiny doves on the lawn so I would love to see him get more confident with a girlfriend to impress I think it would go a long way to his emotional development, which I hope it isnt too late (he's got proper colour down his neck and a little on his back but he' hasnt grown a big impressive tail so im assuming he hasnt reached full maturity)
It will be a bit difficult for him at first if you get another peafowl for him. He will have to learn about the pecking order and in time he will learn how to be a peafowl. At first it is normal if he doesn't want anything to do with the new peafowl. I once read a story of someone who had an adult peacock in their garden and felt that he was lonely. They got a peahen for him and he would run away from the peahen when she came near him. Eventually he accepted the peahen and even mated with her. It just takes time. It certainly is not too late for him to learn how to be a peafowl and to accept another peafowl. Your best bet is to find a peafowl his own age. If you get a fully mature peafowl they will pick on him even if it is an older peahen. Then it will be a very rough time for him learning how to be a peafowl because he will get picked on a lot because he doesn't understand dominance. This is what happened to my hand raised peacock. I had him with other young birds a little younger than him and he was used to ruling over them. He had never experienced dominant older peafowl before. When he was finally introduced to the adult pen, the younger peafowl with him all knew that you make way for the adult birds and get out of their way as soon as possible. Peep did not understand this and thus he got kicked, pecked, etc. until he learned to move out of the way. He was never injured though and it was all something I could only watch. Stepping in to make the adults stop picking on him would never change anything. It was just something he had to learn on his own without my help.