I want to get peafowl, but I have a few questions first...

[lovetopaint]

Hello everyone!
Like I said, I want to get India Blue peafowl sometime in the next year-ish. I have done research and will be doing tons more over the winter. The thing is that first I have a few questions, before I invest time into this whole world of peas. I'm hoping that someone might be willing to give me a little bit of advice?

Okay. First off: Peafowl aren't exactly cheap, even IB's. I noticed that they can be, like, $35 apiece for one that was born only two months ago?! And they take almost 2-3 years to mature, correct? So I want to start off with an adult pair, maybe a male and two females or something. So that's a decent investment by my standards. I'd like to at least make back most of the money I spent on them, if that is even possible. Could I sell their fertile eggs? I'd prefer not to go through the whole incubation process myself, so ideally I wouldn't have to hatch them. But is that the easiest way to make money? Hatch and then sell? Or just sell the eggs as soon as possible?

Are peafowl louder than Sun Conures and/or Guinea Fowl? I've heard peas from a distance before--but never up close. I'm assuming that they can be even louder if they want to be?

THANK YOU so much for even reading this! Everyone here is so wonderful!

(Ahh, creepy dancing chicken...)

 

[sasglm]

Being new to the Peafowl community I thought I'd chime in, First are you going to keep them all in a pen or free range? the pen will cost you some time and money also, the free range may cost you time and a few birds also.
I see young or very young pea's for sale on craigslist for money you mention, but adult are definitely more up front cost.
then of course what ever feed your going to use, and de-worming medicine.

If you have the space and the time you might be able to make a go of it, but I'd look at it as a more long range investment 3-5yrs.

 

[zazouse]

Where are you located? Might be someone here close by to help you with your purchase
How big a pen do you have for them ?
Do you live in a neighborhood or have any close neighbors?

i have guineas and have had conures in the past and while peafowl can be loud it is not a constant screaming like conures and guineas.
Peacocks are the loudest during the mating season
They take 2 to 3 years to mature.
IMO babies are best to start with but if you have little experience with birds in general older babies are best.

As far as making money back if they are penned you most likely never have that happen ,My birds are totally free ranged so my feed bill is null compared to penned birds.
i sell eggs and chicks and young trios and i do good with that but can't say i have ever came out ahead on them, i keep to many for the next year to sale.

Peafowl are not like any other bird i have ever owned they are more delicate and require a good worming schedule to keep them healthy as well as a good eye to notice when they are feeling off, you have to catch their illnesses fast as they can die on you in the blink of an eye

Do lots of reading here the information will prove to be very valuable in the future and we are always here to help each other at any time day or night

 

[zazouse]

PS do you really love to paint?
I do

 

[Birdrain92]

My peafowl are in pens and I was able to get 175 feathers of sale quality from just one male. You could let the hen hatch some eggs herself and then sell them for $10 each or more. I sell my feathers $1 a piece so I could easily pay them off. I also sell the neck and train coverts $0.50 each but nobody has been buying a lot sadly. If you have a pen already and trying to buy peafowl then you might want to get them during the fall while the male is still growing his train that way you don't damage the feathers unless you are just putting them in a truck bed with a camper shell or trailer then you're fine.

 

[Garden Peas]

Have you by any chance looked into the cost of building pen(s) to safely house your birds? Peas need a lot of room; if you are thinking an adult male and two hens, you are probably going to need 200 sq ft of pen space at a minimum, and ideally more. It should be high enough for the male to perch without dragging his 5 ft long train on the ground, and there also needs to be some shelter for the birds, depending upon where you live and how cold and windy it gets in the winter.

So you are looking at a significant expense for housing unless you happen to already have a barn or a large flight pen. Not to mention the time and effort in construction.

Not sure I would recommend going into this thinking of it as a business that will recoup your investment... There are easier, less risky ways to make money. I'd plan on keeping them and getting to understand them for a few years before even contemplating the business side of it. Peas are a long-term project and it takes time to really understand their needs.

Edited to add: if you buy cheap birds on craig's list, make sure they are healthy -- some people sell sick birds, either because they don't know any better, or because they want to get rid of them. You could easily end up with a vet bill in the hundreds of dollars, and/or dead birds.

 

[Birdrain92]

I know that to build my pen for my oldest peafowl was $177 but we built on to that of a preexisting barn just made a spot to contain the peafowl so expect $200 or more.

 

[Garden Peas]

For a person to start from scratch, using new wood, wire and netting, building an appropriately-sized pen and bird shelter could easily run into 4 digits. It depends on where they live and what existing structures are available, and if there are any materials available that can be repurposed. New building materials are expensive!

Prices of a lot of things continue to go up... I went to the store this morning and saw bacon for upwards of $7 per pound

When did THAT happen?

 

[dheltzel]

I spent $120 for our flocks of peas (only a few months old), but over $400 for their aviary and shelter. And I know how to build economically, it would have cost a lot more to have someone else build it. With every bird I have, the costs of housing and maintenance dwarfs the cost of the stock. Another reason to not "cheap out" when buying your birds.

If someone asked me about the cost of keeping peafowl, I would say to start with $200 a bird for the first year and $100 per year thereafter. This is not a cheap hobby, and I don't think many people are getting rich with peas.

 

[KsKingBee]

'Somewhere over the rainbow', hmmm, sounds like the land of OZ to me.