Peachick Dominance

[MinxFox]

Today I was in the peachick pen with Peep and the three white peachicks and I was cutting some branches that I let grow through the pen in the spring and summer then cut them when the leaves fall off in cold weather and I left the peachick's door opening up to the adult peafowl pen on purpose just to give any of the chicks a chance to enter the large pen on their own. The curious white male walked out of the pen and stood there in the large pen 1 and a half feet away from the peachick pen. He stared at a leaf. Then one of Ice's peachicks walked up. Ice's peachicks are less than half as big as the white peachicks. Ice's chick and the white male peachick stared at eachother then all of a sudden Ice's little peachick jump kicked the larger white peachick and then did it a second time and he ran off and then my adult peahen Damsel kicked him and I herded the white peachick back into his pen. I couldn't believe it that a little peachick was able to beat up a big peachick, and the little peachick is a little female and the white is a male...

This made me think about something I read about peafowl: The mom evidently passes her status on to her peachicks. Ice is the dominant peahen and Alto my adult peacock is the only one that out ranks her. I guess that means Ice's chicks will be highly ranked. With Peep and the white peachicks I haven't noticed much established dominance. I have only recently seen a bit of pecking and that was only when Peep got mad that the white peachicks were stealing the leaves I was trying to hand feed Peep and so he pecked at them and chased them off to let them know he wanted the food but other then that they all get along really well and the white peachicks are all related and they are really close. They love each other and sleep very close together at night. Ice's peachicks have started to pick on each other. The largest one reminds me of Ice. She holds herself up very high and is dominant over her two sisters. Her best friend is second in charge and she is the one that kicked the white peacock, then Ice's white peachick is the lowest in the peachick pecking order. Today her sisters were running her off when she got too close to them. They never did hang out with her much.

I just thought it was strange to see all the shows of rank in the little ones and not in the bigger peachicks. I guess it is because the smaller ones were hen raised.

I really need to name all of my peachicks. I think they are at a good age to know a good name for them.

 

[zazouse]

How cool .

Must be from the mom cause when i turned my babies loose with the big peas they never once went at each other.
Could also be that Peep had entered their safe zone/territory and was seen as a threat.

My birds are territorial and if something enters into what they perceive their space they will investigate ,stalk it and if they feel it is a treat and they can handle it they will give chase, i have seen them chase crows, deer, cats, squirrels, hawks but i have also had them fly home from when something scared them.
I love learning from them.

 

[zazouse]

Meant to say my peas have formed pea pods the young pieds and one split white stay together all the time, Mr nosey the 3 white hens,the cameo hen and the other 2 split white hens stay together, Mr Perty and lady Di were always together and now he mopes around looking for her"so Sad" then he will join back up with the older peas,

Sometimes they all sit together and bask in the sun.
Oh and Master P has always been the boss pea to Mr Perty even though he is way younger but i think it was cause he was here first.

 

[MinxFox]

It is very interesting seeing who hangs out with who. Although the three white peachicks sleep together and Peep hangs out with one of the white males, at night Peep almost never sleeps on the same perch as the whites even if it is cold out. He prefers to sleep on a separate perch. I know what you mean. Alto and Pip were like soul mates. I got Alto and Pip around the same time and they bonded and were inseparable. Alto always had to follow Pip around the pen and she was his favorite to display to. After the raccoons killed her he acted kind of mad. He picked on Ice and Damsel and wouldn't display to any of the remaining peahens for a while. Now he shows off but you can tell he has nothing special with the peahens like what he had with Pip. It is so sad I knew they were going to make a great pair. I am sure Mr Perty will get to feeling a little better and maybe he can find a peahen to hang out with. I am wondering if any of the peahens Ice is raising would be a nice girlfriend for Alto.

I like watching the peafowl sunbathe. It is funny to watch them fall asleep lying there with their wings and feet all stretched out.

 

[zazouse]

Poor Alto,
I think it takes a long time for them to get over their mate, this is Mr Perty's second loss here he use to hang out with GiGi but she was kinda mean to him, Lady Di was always with him and he followed her around where ever she went.

I have plenty of girls here for Mr.Perty to choose from, of course i think the hen chooses the peacock she wants to be with in a flock setting like i have here.

This girl had always like Mr perty but he was usually with Lady and she was over Pippa in the pecking order and lady stayed between them, so mabe they will get together.

Sunbathing is a wonderful site, makes me feel like they feel safe enough to do it even out in the fields, i love my dogs

 

[MinxFox]

Sweet photos! I hope when I decide to free range some peafowl again they won't act all spooky. When I free ranged a pair their day mainly consisted of hiding in the bushes most of the time. I had been hopping to have a grand site of seeing the peacock strutting out in the open but he normally just displayed a few feet from the bushes. Maybe dogs would help make them feel safer.

 

[clinton9]

Wrong, the dogs only make peafowls to feel uncomforted. Peafowls are very wary of dogs.
Dogs do eat birds, but only if owner forget to feed the dogs for few days.

 

[zazouse]

Clinton my peas lay with my dogs but they have been raised with them, they are afraid of strange dogs.

 

[trailchick]

I also have a couple of dogs, & I have 6 free range peas that frequent my porch.
The dogs ignore the peas & the peas ignore the dogs. The peas have an area
of about 5 acres that they visit daily, part of it is open pasture, some elm trees
that cover an acre or so, and the area around the chickens & their coop.
The group of peas that are penned are also where the chicken coop is,
so they do notice who is penned, & hang with them daily.

The mom evidently passes her status on to her peachicks.

This is true with wild horses. The colts in a wild herd will inherit the status of the mother,
& other species that are a social group, imo. Wild horses have a pecking order like the
avian species. The family unit will stay together for some time.
Parrots in the wild will also have a similar social structure with their families,
and they tend to stay together until the youngsters reach maturity & longer, which
may take years too.

Back to peas, they do adapt to their environment & the animals that share it. I know my cur dogs
accept the animals that live in their home area, but when I take them to another area, say Arkansas,
at my sister's place, they may chase her cats & chickens, when they accept mine & do not chase them.
My peas know immediately when there is a strange dog that is around they cannot trust,
so they will disappear, as do my cats. I think that knowledge to determine danger,
comes with the opportunity to free range.​