peacocks in search of love?

[chicknmania]

We have two IB cocks about 1.5 years old., maybe a little less. They have been free ranging with our chickens
on our twenty acres, and we have not had problems with them staying home, they were in a pen
for the first four months we had them, so they know where they live. We have had some pretty cold snowy weather
here the past few weeks, so peas and chooks have spent most of their time in the barn, but the past few days
have been mild, so everyone is coming out for a walk. The peacocks have been widely wandering, going into
our neighbor's yards across the road, and staying out til well after dark. They always come home but we are worried
about them getting hit by a car, though we live on a country road there is still some traffic. I think they are looking for peahens,
they have given up on the idea of our chickens as a love interest..

...I was wondering if we got a couple of hens, about the same age
if we can find em, if that would help to persuade our cocks to stay home? Of course the hens would spend their first few months in a pen
here. I haven't wanted to get hens bc I have heard that peas can be very prolific and we don't want a lot, we really only just want two,
but we are very attached to these birds and I would hate to see something happen to them. Help please? Thoughts?

 

[MinxFox]

Hmm you can always sell the chicks if you don't want many. Your situation reminds me of a problem I had. My first peafowl were older and after being penned for a while I let them out. The male picked on the peahen and I am not so sure he liked her, and once the winter came, he was gone. He went across the street into someones yard but he never came back and by the time we went to go find him the neighbor said he was gone. People all over were spotting him but it was always too late by the time we got there. I think he was looking for peahens because he wanted more girls or he didn't like his peahen. If you get more than one hen it should help keep the males around even if they don't like one they will always have the other peahen or peahens. It must be something about winter that makes them leave. Maybe winter would be the time in the wild they would be searching for the peahens again so they could find a place to display for breeding season since in the off season they hang with their buds and don't care as much about the peahens like they do in breeding season, that might explain it. The peahens should help anchor your males though hopefully.

 

[chicknmania]

That's interesting. Thanks for the information.