New owners of 5 day old peachick

[ladygodiva]

hello, first time here. my grandson was giving 2-5 day old peacocks or peachcks as we have found out, laughs.

so we need lots of help.

1. are peachicks raised like baby chicks(as he has 10 chicks that are 10 weeks old and 3 chicks that are 6 weeks old and he is doing good with them so far, both pair of chicks were bout same age as peachicks when we got them)

2. do peachicks eat bout same as baby chicks(i sure do hope so, laughs)

3. can peachicks stay in pen for a while(have a 3 ft by 3 ft pen up off ground) is it suitable for the baby peachicks?

any help would be greatly appriecated

lil peachick farmer(grandson)
leesa.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Hello ladygodiva,
Your grandson is very lucky!

You will find that, at the top of the peacock discussion threads, it says:
"Sticky" Threads for the "Peafowl" forum:

• Peafowl - "Sticky" topics index

These are separate pages full of information about basic care and feeding that will probably answer many of your questions.
If they don't, the experts here are sure to help you out!

 

[Kedreeva]

New 2 pfowl is right to point you in the direction of the sticky index. As for your specific questions-

1) Yes and no. Yes, they CAN be kept with chickens if that is what you are asking, but it's not advisable as chickens can carry or pick up things that can kill your peas. However, if you are asking can they eat the same food and use the same sort of waterer and live in the same sort of pen- pretty much yes. If you are feeding your chicks medicated starter, then your peas can eat that same food. They would also, I'm sure, appreciate snacks like plain greek yogurt, unsalted plain oatmeal, or hard boiled egg yolks. They use slightly more protein than chickens when young (not a lot, but some), and definitely more protein when older. You can indeed feed them regular chicken layer chow, and they'll survive, but you won't get as vibrant of colors, or as sturdy feathers on them if you exclude the additional protein. As for housing, if at all possible the peas should be kept off the floor and away from bugs until around 3 months; they are very susceptible to worms and cocci at a young age.

2) The short answer is yes the long answer is above- don't feed your peachicks unmedicated starter, they are more fragile than chicken chicks.

3) Yes that pen should be fine for a while. However, you may find that they are extremely fun to have out to play with, are very social, and will imprint upon you better and be friendlier the more time you spend with them at a very young age (unlike chickens, that will pretty much hang out no matter the age you get them because they have been so domesticated, peafowl are still wild game birds and can be very flighty if not handled and socialized- not always, but usually). Yours are right now young enough to make good friends with.

 

[ladygodiva]

it saddens me to tell you al this, but i lost my lil peafowls sunday.

am unsure what killed them, but i feel they were not eating, as it seem to me when i would sit there and watch them, they were constantly trying to get through the wire cage to where my big chickens were.

so i think 5 day old peas were to young for me to start with.


leesa
south GA.

 

[Kedreeva]

Sorry to hear this

 

[NateinFL]

That's sad . They are nothing like raising chickens, can't just put them in a cage with food, water, and heat. Hope you get a new opportunity at keeping them!

 

[zazouse]

They were most likely hatched by the hen and were allowed to stay with her
i found that with guineas if i leave them with their mom even a few days i have trouble getting them to eat unless i have some in the brooder eating already.
I figured the reason is that they are showed what to eat by momma and when you take her out of the picture they just do not know what to eat without momma to show them.
I am not sure it's the same with peas but my instinct tells me it is.