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

[DylansMom]

We sell everything we can, feathers, eggs, chicks, and older birds. We are able to break even on feed, bedding and medications doing this, however if we figure in pen building and maintenance or emergency vet visits we are losing money. This is more about the love of the birds than it is about making money. So many people think "Peacocks = Easy Money" unfortunately that is just not the case. Hatching them is also not easy, much harder than chickens from what I understand, although I personally haven't hatched enough chickens to verify that. We spend about $75 a week on feed and bedding/meds for our flock of big blue piggies. Of course that is almost 40 birds.

 

[Garden Peas]

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

OZ? Or maybe Kansas???

Don't know anything about building costs in OZ

Maybe there's a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow

 

[AnimalsRmyLife]

Quote:
And a Leprechaun too!!

 

[KsKingBee]

OZ? Or maybe Kansas???

Don't know anything about building costs in OZ

Maybe there's a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow

Every time I dig a hole for a post I look down in there for it, still looking...

 

[MeepBeep]

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

Yep, It's going to cost me well into the 4 digits to net my flight pen come spring, and that is with cheap netting, if I went with good stuff that cost would be 5 digits... I really wish I could just let them free range but with a 5 lane highway next to the farm and a gated retirement community across that street that is not going to happen...

And has been said, they are BIG birds and are costly to feed, so that has to be considered, once the number of birds climb... I luck out on this as I have an arrangement with a few local grocery stores and I get a ton of day old produce to help deffer the cost but even then my birds tear through the food...

All in all people make it work but they have to know that peas are not chickens...

**Also consider what is a very hot topic all over this forum right now, and that is heating... I know full well that not every pea owner provides heated shelters for their peas, and they do quite well... But IMO it's really something you have to think hard about, for me having lost peas in the past to the cold and seen peas lose feet and toes to frostbite, the only option for me it to provide them a heated shelter for the piece of mind... But, with that comes cost, my coop is 1200sqft and I heat it to between 35°-40° I can only estimate cost as it really depends upon the outside weather but this year so far it looks like it's going to cost me $75 - $100 a month in propane to provide that heated shelter... For me most of that heating cost is washed out with winter egg sales from the chickens (craigslist supply dwindles during winter so easier sales) that enjoy the heated shelter as well but it's still money..

 

[lovetopaint]

@sasglm: Thank you! I actually already have an enclosure. It is part of a barn, actually--the enclosure is 22 x 11. I was hoping that this would be big enough for at least one pair, possibly two females and a male at some point later on? Then I will be building a run at some point BEFORE I buy my peas. I've already lost a few birds due to free ranging, sadly. And one to my dog as well. During the winter when it snows, we always let our birds have the barn to themselves during daylight hours. (No doors are open in the winter.) Do peas like snow? I have heard that they do get frostbite, so....It'd probably be the sort of thing where we let the peas in our barn for a day and then the chickens out for a day until they get to know each other.
How often do they have to be de-wormed? Is this the sort of thing that you can buy easily, and does it range around $10-$20?
Do peafowl need specific feed? I've heard that they need a high-protein diet, so does gamebird feed work? I give our ladies a handful of sunflower seeds every day, and yogurt from time to time--I'd do the same with peas, of course

@zazouse: I'd prefer not to say where exactly I live, sorry! But north. It's north
We have one neighbor that is kind of close to where we'd be keeping the peas. But they have a VERY loud macaw which we can easily hear, in fact they work with earmuffs on because of that, they just LOVE to 'hen-sit' when we're gone, and seem to just love animals. They also have some loud donkeys.
Older babies, okay! Thanks! At what age is best to move them outdoors? I'm assuming not six weeks like chickens?
So if I want to make ANY money back at all, I should let the peas incubate eggs and raise chicks themselves, then sell them? I bet that I end up building more pens instead, but...anything for such beautiful birds!
Do the males care at all about chicks from his mate? Would he pose a danger to them? Does it simply vary from bird to bird?
How many times a year to you worm them? Is it delivered via water, food, injection, etc?
Thank you so much, everyone here is just so helpful and sweet!!
I don't actually--I just use it for usernames online. Did *you* paint that?! Wow!!!

@Birdrain92: Selling feathers? Wow! Craigslist would come in handy here, I assume. Thanks for the tip!

@Garden Peas: I already have a pen, as mentioned in this post here Of course I'll need to build the run, but I do know how much that will cost.
Yep, I'll be building plenty of roosts/perches for them. And of course wider ones for winter to save their toes!!
Okay, I'll make sure
And I will be searching for repurposed materials for the run. I might be using pallet slats or scrap wood and some sort of really tough fencing.

@dheltzel: Thanks for the advice! Well, it's cheaper than horses at least....

@KsKingBee: Who knows!

@DylansMom: I would not be able to keep 40 peas sadly--2-3 is enough. Well, famous last words, but...

@Garden Peas (again) : Oh no, building costs here are bad because all the leprechauns are playing tricks on my ladies and they can't get anything done!

@MeepBeep: Cold weather....Seeing as the barn roof is insulated, it isn't too drafty, and we've never lost a bird due to cold weather here, we'd probably just provide a couple cheap heat lamps. Nothing more than a few cents a day for electricity.

THANK YOU all again!

 

[DylansMom]

@sasglm: Thank you! I actually already have an enclosure. It is part of a barn, actually--the enclosure is 22 x 11. I was hoping that this would be big enough for at least one pair, possibly two females and a male at some point later on? Then I will be building a run at some point BEFORE I buy my peas. I've already lost a few birds due to free ranging, sadly. And one to my dog as well. During the winter when it snows, we always let our birds have the barn to themselves during daylight hours. (No doors are open in the winter.) Do peas like snow? I have heard that they do get frostbite, so....It'd probably be the sort of thing where we let the peas in our barn for a day and then the chickens out for a day until they get to know each other.
How often do they have to be de-wormed? Is this the sort of thing that you can buy easily, and does it range around $10-$20?
Do peafowl need specific feed? I've heard that they need a high-protein diet, so does gamebird feed work? I give our ladies a handful of sunflower seeds every day, and yogurt from time to time--I'd do the same with peas, of course

@zazouse: I'd prefer not to say where exactly I live, sorry! But north. It's north
We have one neighbor that is kind of close to where we'd be keeping the peas. But they have a VERY loud macaw which we can easily hear, in fact they work with earmuffs on because of that, they just LOVE to 'hen-sit' when we're gone, and seem to just love animals. They also have some loud donkeys.
Older babies, okay! Thanks! At what age is best to move them outdoors? I'm assuming not six weeks like chickens?
So if I want to make ANY money back at all, I should let the peas incubate eggs and raise chicks themselves, then sell them? I bet that I end up building more pens instead, but...anything for such beautiful birds!
Do the males care at all about chicks from his mate? Would he pose a danger to them? Does it simply vary from bird to bird?
How many times a year to you worm them? Is it delivered via water, food, injection, etc?
Thank you so much, everyone here is just so helpful and sweet!!
I don't actually--I just use it for usernames online. Did *you* paint that?! Wow!!!

@Birdrain92: Selling feathers? Wow! Craigslist would come in handy here, I assume. Thanks for the tip!

@Garden Peas: I already have a pen, as mentioned in this post here Of course I'll need to build the run, but I do know how much that will cost.
Yep, I'll be building plenty of roosts/perches for them. And of course wider ones for winter to save their toes!!
Okay, I'll make sure
And I will be searching for repurposed materials for the run. I might be using pallet slats or scrap wood and some sort of really tough fencing.

@dheltzel: Thanks for the advice! Well, it's cheaper than horses at least....

@KsKingBee: Who knows!

@DylansMom: I would not be able to keep 40 peas sadly--2-3 is enough. Well, famous last words, but...

@Garden Peas (again) : Oh no, building costs here are bad because all the leprechauns are playing tricks on my ladies and they can't get anything done!

@MeepBeep: Cold weather....Seeing as the barn roof is insulated, it isn't too drafty, and we've never lost a bird due to cold weather here, we'd probably just provide a couple cheap heat lamps. Nothing more than a few cents a day for electricity.

THANK YOU all again!

Boy you had a lot of replies to write! When you say north you can use us as an equator of sorts. We are in south central PA, 30 mins south of Harrisburg. We have a large barn with our Pea pens built into it. Our blues have always spent winters in the barn with no heat, on 2x4 perches 4" side up, in 20 years we've not had a single frostbitten toe. We do close off access to the runs during winter as a safety precaution. We have Peafowl with green blood as well and they have a smaller barn that is heated to 45, during the winter. If you are north of us you may need heat, although a good sheltering barn seems to work even in Canada, if south of us probably not, especially if you stay away from green and green hybrids.
If you plan on selling feathers you will need to take steps to keep your birds very clean, I do not let mine into the runs during rainy periods, once dragged thru the mud, tail feathers are pretty much unsellable, they are mostly purchased for weddings and crafts so appearance is important. A penned Peahen often will not sit on her eggs, if she does she will lay 6-8 usually then sit on them, that's all for the season. If you incubate you will have the expense of the equipment to consider. For max return I would suggest collecting eggs as laid, and selling them as hatching eggs, the hen will lay a lot more this way, no incubator expense and the chicks are quite delicate and easily lost, so there is a lot of time and often cost in getting them raised to 12 weeks, the recommended age for putting them on the ground. Wormer can be purchased online or at TSC and yes a $20 bottle will go a long way with 2-3 Peas, we worm several times a year and PRN if someone seems thin or off in some way. You'll have 40 before you know it..........they're addictive.

 

[lovetopaint]

I'm farther up north than you are. But I don't think we'd have to many problems.
Do you sell the fertile eggs? How? Could I wrap them very carefully, sell them on Ebay and ship them off? $5 per egg, probably? In batches of 4-6? Or however many she can lay....does a 22 x 11 indoor area, not counting a run sounds okay for 1 male and 2 females? Less or more?
Thanks for all the info!

 

[DylansMom]

I'm farther up north than you are. But I don't think we'd have to many problems.
Do you sell the fertile eggs? How? Could I wrap them very carefully, sell them on Ebay and ship them off? $5 per egg, probably? In batches of 4-6? Or however many she can lay....does a 22 x 11 indoor area, not counting a run sounds okay for 1 male and 2 females? Less or more?
Thanks for all the info!

We do sell fertile eggs, I have listed on ebay, but I prefer Craigslist. We generally sell them for $10-$20 depending on the rarity of the variety. Later in the season fertility can drop off so we lower the price to $5 each. All Peahens can be different, I have one hen will lay 2 rounds of 6-7 eggs each, that's all for the year, others will lay almost continuously if you collect them and at the end of the season they have lain 35 eggs, each year can be different for them as well. Shipping is hard on eggs, there is no denying it, but it can sometimes be done successfully, a lot of very careful packaging is needed. And with ebay you run the risk of neg. feedback because eggs didn't hatch, thru no fault of your own.
As for pen size, each bird should have about 100 sqft. so that size is comfortable for a pair, add a run to it of at least 10x10 and you should be fine with 3 in there. My inner pens are 12x12, outer runs are 20X30.

 

[lovetopaint]

Okay, thank you!
That sounds excellent. Another question (sorry!) : If I buy chicks at, say, 8-12 weeks of age, would it be best to buy an extra male and an extra female? Obviously you can't predict the future, but do most deaths occur *after* 8-12 weeks of age? I know that ANYTHING can happen, but on average how many spares should I get?
Say the run is about 11 x 25. That's approximately 500 sq. feet *total*. If I do get a spare of each, but luck out and I end up with 2 males and 3 females, will that be enough room for them? I'm going by 100 sq. feet per bird. And will the males fight? Would I need x number of females per male, like chickens?
This is a lot of 'what ifs,' I'm sorry!