New home acclimation help

[LedgeWoods]

Hi all. I've been reading up on how to get peafowl used to "home" when they will be allowed to free-range. I haven't found answers to my situation though. Here's the backgroung: I've had a young peahen since last October ("Enick"). After a couple weeks of keeping her and her pea friend in an outside covered run during the day and in the coop with the chickens at night, she decided this was her forever home. Even after keeping them in a toasty coop over the winter months, her friend didn't make it through winter. So after some help from the great readers here, I came to the official conclusion that "she" was in fact a "she" and have since been on the lookout for a boyfriend for her. She is a fairly friendly & curious pea - follows us around like a puppy dog and eats out of our hands - doesn't like to be touched though. She free-ranges with the chickens and is often one of the first ones in the coop in the evening. Found her a 10 month old India Blue boyfriend today - "Indy" is his name.

He has never free-ranged in his former home & seems skittish around people. It wasn't long in the coop and Enick was sitting side by side with Indy on the roost. We plan on putting him in an outside enclosure daily then in the coop for the nights for a week or two like we did when we got the original pair. Here are my questions: Because Enick already calls this home and is in the routine of things, will it be easier/faster for Indy to call this home too? Should I be putting Enick in with Indy so they can "bond" or do I let Enick out to free-range to set an example for Indy?? What are the odds of Indy leaving Enick? (I know of no other peacocks for miles.) We have acres of open grass area, a pond, and woods plus 30+ chickens for company

 

[jimmythechicken]

every peacock is differant i would say give him a few months inclosed run before letting him out.also it is not good to have peacocks with chickens.chickens carry diseases that can kill peas may not be a bad idea to make them there own little coop.

 

[C&Rman]

I would keep him penned with her for a month or so.. He would probally stick around since she is the only female!
I think that it would be a good idea to let her free range so he can see that she sticks around. Let her out around 4-5 days straight then keep her penned for the rest of the time that he is penned!

 

[LedgeWoods]

Day 1 went pretty well. I let Enick out to free-range with the chickens as usual and put Indy in his makeshift run for the better part of the day. He paced a lot and didn't seem to eat/drink that we saw anyway. Enick would hang around him for awhile, then go free range, then come back to visit him and cycled through that routine throughout the day. She has befriended him, but he is really skittish around people. Going to be spending some one on one time with him to get him used to our voices and to let him know he's going to be treated like a king.

Should I consider clipping a wing on Indy? or is that just adding more trauma to his situation? AND...is there a minimum roost height that peacocks prefer?

 

[MinxFox]

Why would you wing clip him? If you do that and he free-ranges before the feathers grow back that could be bad if he has to get away from something, and since he is new catching him to do that could just stress him out and make him even more afraid of you. If he acts a bit flighty that is just because he is still a bit freaked out. I got a peahen that was flighty when we first got her and now she doesn't get startled and fly anymore and she loves to take bread out of my hand.

For roost height, the higher the better...I think 6ft tall at the least is good, but higher is always better. Peafowl love to roost up high.

 

[C&Rman]

Yes, they do love to sleep high. MinxFox, you know how you have that beam that helps support your netting then you have a 2x4 going across it. How far off the ground is the 2x4? I am trying something similar

 

[MinxFox]

I think they are like 10ft. high, but the bird house on the pole in the center of the pen is 15ft high.

 

[LedgeWoods]

Today was 4 weeks with Indy being "transported" from coop to outside run. It was a beautiful morning so I decided it was "freedom" day for him. I opened the door to the coop like usual and the chickens went on their merry way immediately. Enick waited for her morning treat in the coop - after scarfing that down, she came out the door. A couple minutes later Indy peeked out as if to say "hey - did you forget me?"

then stood in the doorway for a few minutes assessing the situation. Enick and many of the chickens had all entered Indy's outdoor pen eating his leftovers. Indy flew up to sit on top of the pen for a minute, then headed a little higher to a branch of a spruce tree nearby...not so gracefully slipping down a few branches until he could grab on better. Meanwhile, Enick and the chickens had made their way up to the wild bird feeder just off our deck. Within a few minutes Indy was there too - never straying too far away from his girlfriend Enick. I felt at ease that Indy now knows where home is. He's been more relaxed and showed signs or acknowledging our voices.We had work/school today so most of the day they were left out on their own to explore. Got home after dark tonight - went to close up the coop and Indy and Enick were both among the chickens roosting in the coop

Yay! Thank you all for the advice - that's what I like about this site

 

[MinxFox]

Great! I think it really helps that they have the chickens as an example for how to free-range and to go in the pen for the night. Enjoy them it is always fun having peafowl free-ranging and their personalities change when they are free-range. They seem to become more confident and less weary to eat out of your hand.