How much do your Peas eat?

[WestKnollAmy]

As I have been going over and caring for the peafowl I inherited I have come to realize they just do not eat much at all! The man that was caring for them, after the sad passing of their previous owner, told me they did not eat much and he would fill their feeders up every week. I soon saw a lot of mice going in the pens as I visited more and more. So now I am not giving them as much and going several times a week. However, they just are not eating much at all.
I have tried picking clover and dandelion leaves for them but they ignore that. The temps are in the 20's or 30's at night so I thought they would consume more. I think a pair is barely eating a cup a day!

Am I not feeding the correct kind of food? It is what they have always fed them, a 16% layer mash.

 

[MinxFox]

Sometimes I feel like the small wild birds, like cardinals, are eating more food that I put out than the peafowl. Because I have 12 peafowl in one pen I put food all over the pen so that one doesn't hog all the food (Alto my adult peacock will do that). I feed them different kinds of feed along with greens. I give them a lot of sunflowers, and they don't eat all their sunflowers so a lot of times their food dishes will still be almost all the way full the next day I come to feed them. Their pen is covered in un-eaten sunflower seeds, and many of them have sprouted. When I feed them they will eat a bit then go back to standing around and preening. Then they eat some more food later and repeate that process.

If you are picking dandelion and clovers for them and they ignore that, that sounds like they are definately getting enough to eat unless if they don't like that. My peafowl love dandelion leaves and really really love big clovers. I picked a bunch of big clovers for them today and they gobbled them up. Peep doesn't eat much when I am around because he just wants attention. He follows me around the pen and pecks at me begging to be petted.

I feed mine every day, but they always have leftover food. When we go on a trip I give them lots of food and when we come back they are fine.

 

[Trefoil]

As I have been going over and caring for the peafowl I inherited I have come to realize they just do not eat much at all! The man that was caring for them, after the sad passing of their previous owner, told me they did not eat much and he would fill their feeders up every week. I soon saw a lot of mice going in the pens as I visited more and more. So now I am not giving them as much and going several times a week. However, they just are not eating much at all.
I have tried picking clover and dandelion leaves for them but they ignore that. The temps are in the 20's or 30's at night so I thought they would consume more. I think a pair is barely eating a cup a day!

Am I not feeding the correct kind of food? It is what they have always fed them, a 16% layer mash.

I don't know if it would change the amount they eat, but game bird food would be better for them. With treats of course.
I also add apple cider vinegar to their water ( a couple of tablespoons/gallon).

 

[MinxFox]

I tried feeding my peafowl game bird feed before, it looks like this right?
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h49/ClutchHutch/Dutch and His Crew/DCP_2841.jpg

My peas hardly ate anything out of the mix. They would waste most of the feed only picking out some stuff, but hardly much. Do you just have to feed it to them for a while so that they learn to love it? I also have some other kind of feed mix...It has cracked corn and some other stuff. This guy at the feed store said his birds loved it, but mine don't touch it at all. Sometimes I feel like my birds are far too picky. The only thing they really really gobble up is greens, wild bugs I catch, dried mealworms, and ultrakibble. I know some people are against ultrakibble, and I just wanted to try it out, and they love it so much I decided to give some to them as a treat every day. Their favorite thing is dried mealworms though. The peachicks will run up to me and stare at the bag of meal worms and make squeeking noises at me until I throw out some for them.

Edited to add...Some of the breeders I got my peafowl from told me what they feed theirs, and I would try the same exact feed and mine would NOT eat it!! I guess once they are mine they assume they get to be picky...

 

[Trefoil]

Minx- no, the gamebird that I feed is a crumble made by Kent. I haven't had any problems with them eating it at all and if I wet it down they LOVE it. The gamebird starter medicated is 28% protein, the unmedicated starter is 27%, and I believe that the regular gamebird is 22%, but i'm not sure about that. I've only had peas a couple of years and wouldn't have suggested it except I just took a pea to the vet and she confirmed that they should be getting this. I'm depending on her knowing what's she's talking about and she doesn't sell it, so I hope she might. I feed the 27% because they free range and help themselves to the wheat and layer while they are out.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Like MinxFox said, that is what I thought was sold around here as Gamebird food. I call it a 5 grain scratch though. It says Gamebird on the bag but I am sure there is other Gamebird food in other feed stores I could try. Maybe?
Mostly I feed a layer mash and mix chick starter with it. I agree that birds need more and have always mixed layer and starter mash together plus the 5 grain scratch. However, like MinxFox said, the peas would not touch the whole grains.

 

[zazouse]

This is the game bird feed i use to use now i just feed them scrambled eggs and Pennington fruit n nut and they totally free ranged so they get lots of stuff from the ponds, pastures and in the woods.
http://www.lumber2.com/Startena-Game-Bird-Feed-p/pm0001381.htm

Peas do not eat alot like chickens cause they do not lay all year long and just do not have the need, just like water my peas do not drink alot of water like my chickens, i would say my chickens drink 6 times more water that the peas same with my guinea fowl.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

You are right, Zazouse! These birds do not drink much water.
I go over and check on them a few times a week and just dump and refill the water tubs. He had 2 or 3 containers in each pen because he only went about once a week or so to check on them. I don't think the widow even cares enough to check on the peas but I do it quite often.

I really like the thoughts of Purina Gamebird Chow but can just imagine the cost of a bag! It would be nice to see the outcome of production in these birds though, by feeding it. I may see about mixing in a bag and getting them changed over for breeding season, at least.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Oh, boy! The fun of calling my local feed store. One, I must say, I do NOT usually visit.
Anyhow, I called and knowing that they carry Purina, asked if they had any Gamebird Chow in from them or could they get me some. The answer from the owner was that Purina doesn't make a Gamebird food. I informed him that yes, they did as I went to their website and saw it and it is 30% protein. He said I was mistaken and I must have looked at it wrong because only starter comes as a 27% and not a 30% and that is what I must be wanting. I just got tired of trying to explain it to him and hung up. In 20 years I have been amazed at how he has stayed in business!

So I called a decent feed store that is about 30 miles from me and asked them and they were most helpful, had it in stock as a crumble and it is less than $20 a bag.

I believe I will mix it with what i am feeding them now and see if I can get them to eat it. I would like to give them good nutrition for best train growth and fertilization.

Thank you, Zaz!

 

[zazouse]

You are right, Zazouse! These birds do not drink much water.
I go over and check on them a few times a week and just dump and refill the water tubs. He had 2 or 3 containers in each pen because he only went about once a week or so to check on them. I don't think the widow even cares enough to check on the peas but I do it quite often.

I really like the thoughts of Purina Gamebird Chow but can just imagine the cost of a bag! It would be nice to see the outcome of production in these birds though, by feeding it. I may see about mixing in a bag and getting them changed over for breeding season, at least.

I paid 24 fdollars 3 years ago no telling what what it cost now!