New peafowl!

[shelleyd2008]

Well luckily these were on her truck, she never did take them into the auction house. When I got them they went directly onto my truck, so no exposure to the ground either. So much for quarantining, I've put them in with my turkeys

Hopefully I won't regret that, didn't even think about a quarantine.

Granted, there were other birds there, but where these guys were at was outside and there were no other birds 'close'. Hopefully they will do okay.

My turkey tom is not liking his new roommates, he's been fluffed up all day (displaying). At least there doesn't seem to be any picking, they just aren't sure what to expect. It didn't help that the little hen came out flying, which made the tom and one of the turkey hens try to fly...didn't know that tom could fly, first time I've ever seen it

 

[deerman]

Shelley , seperate them before mating season, tom can get mean,and could kill the peafowl.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

was about to say the same thing.
I have about 50 of each, and the turkeys get a lot more aggressive in breeding season than any peafowl I have ever had. Would be a big risk there. Fine this time of year, But I would have them a new pen by Feb or so to be safe with them, especially them being young birds

 

[shelleyd2008]

Yeah, I'll get a new pen for them, I just needed 'somewhere' to put them and didn't think it was a good idea to put them with the hormonal marans!

Most everything else is in small pens or free ranging, the turkeys and marans are about the only ones penned up with enough space. I didn't plan on getting peas, they are usually way more than I'm willing (or able) to spend on any one thing, so this was kind of spur of the moment. I've wanted them for quite a while, but I never have the cash when I find any reasonable.

One thing I was told by someone is that even if they are young when you get them, they might still 'leave' if you let them free range? I know the older ones can do that, but I thought the young ones usually stick around?? I don't know if I'll let them free range or not, probably not but who knows?

Another thing, do they have to be in pairs or can you have a trio? I'm not clear if they pair up or if people just keep them in pairs for diversity.

 

[deerman]

Yep better with turkey ,than chicken. One peacock can easy take care of 4 peahens, I even have some that will take care of 6 hens.

2 Yr old peacocks will breed ,i place at least 2 hens with 2 yr olds

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Good to know, too bad I probably won't ever see her again

Wish I would have gotten her number, she seemed like a really nice lady

She seemed to know a lot about peas too, by trial and error unfortunately though.

Darn, I knew I should have got more than one pair!

Oh well, maybe I'll get lucky and find some affordable ones again while I still have some extra money

 

[deerman]

Oh you got 11/2 yrs before you need another hen.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
True, but won't adult peas run off if they aren't kept in a pen? Will young ones, that have been raised here, run off?

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Quote:
True, but won't adult peas run off if they aren't kept in a pen? Will young ones, that have been raised here, run off?

no... also long as you stay away from the greens they wont. What you have to do, at any age, is pen them for a few months for them to get use to "this" being home. After that, they are pretty good about staying. Now if there are other folks with peas in your area, I wouldnt do it at all, they are prone to leaving to go to the calls.
I have a blue white eye now that showed up this past spring, have no idea where he came from. But once all the spring screaming started, he came a running...

 

[shelleyd2008]

The nearest person that I know of with peas is probably 5 miles away, I don't think that they could hear them?