peacocks

[love them chick]

beautiful male peacock showed up in our yard, we thought we knew who he belonged to and left a message with no response. He stayed for the night, left the next night and has returned with two females. We live in the country, we don't have dogs, just three chickens.
Can they just run lose? I will feed them I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions

 

[Varglet]

They'll be fine on their own. I live in the literal middle of nowhere and we have some wild peas running around with no one feeding them. Someone used to own the original peas, but they moved a long time ago.

 

[Garden Peas]

If you would like them to stick around, feed them -- some chicken pellets supplemented with cat food will work, or you can get some game bird feed, which is more appropriate for their protein requirements. But with running around on their own, they can catch bugs and choose their own diet. Since you don't know if they were feral, free-range or recently escaped, it's hard to say how much experience they have foraging for their own food. You may get some idea just from watching how they behave when you put food out, and how flighty (or not) they behave around you.

If you keep them around, you will want to worm them -- we can help you when you are ready to do that. And the tamer they get, the more likely you can catch (or at least pen) them, which will help keep the hens safe while sitting their eggs. That could take awhile. Yes, they can run loose, but the hens may get eaten by predators if they start nesting.

In the meantime, perhaps you could put up a found note at your local feed store, and/or check with animal control. Sometimes birds escape and their owners get frantic to find them -- I know I sure do! Peas can travel quite a distance from home, so they could have come from a mile or a few miles away.

Good luck with them!