Peacocks ?

[Julie_in_PA]

Any one know anything much about Peacocks ? What are they used for ? Just for "looks" and pets ... or is there more to them ?

Do they get along with chickens ?
Are they hard and/or expensive to keep ?
What type of housing do they need ?
What feed do you use for them ?

Any info about them would be helpful

 

[DuckyBoys]

I don't have any info but there are a few peeps on here who have them and will chime in. I want some real bad - but afraid of the non-poultry neighbors freaking out!

All I need is for the people over the hill, who are at this moment building a chicken coop, to catch the fever like I did. Then if they get something real noisy, say 15 roosters by mistake, then I can get some peafowl and no one will care!

(My hallucination anyway.)

 

[dixygirl]

Quote:
You can use them for the same things you use a chicken or a duck for and they are pretty on top of it.

The feathers are pretty ink pens and decorations. I feed mine turkey food. If you can't find turkey food, dry dog food or cat food are good. They require higher protein than chickens to give color to their vibrant feathers. My two do not eat much at all. I put out their food once a week and it never runs out. A $7 bag of food seems to last forever. They particularly like yellow and red foods. When you first get them, they don't know how to eat believe it or not. So a trick is to dice up boiled eggs and mix it in their food. The yellow yokes will attract their attention and get them going. If that doesn't work, add some red ketchup and that will really get them going. I hear they can eat mice and moles too.

Mine also get french fries, grapes, goji berries.... table scraps in general as occassional treats. I don't know if they get along with chickens or ducks yet because I just got my chicks and ducks but the Amish near me just have them all loose outside together and they seem to socialize just fine. Most animals are territorial, so the first ones to live with you might be mean to the newcomers for a while regardless.

Mine live in an encaged wooden carport. Many people keep them in barns if not outside. Their housing can be similar to that of a chicken but they need it to be at least 6 feet tall and at least 10 feet wide and deep but prefereably more. The train of the male can 6 feet long so they need that much space to move around and not damage the plumage. They need a perch that is about 5 feet off the ground. They like to sleep up high. In nature this is to be away from most predators. The perch should be a 2x4 hung the wide way across. This is so that during cold weather, when they sit down on the perch, their toes will be covered by their bodies as they squat to rest. The toes will stay warm and not get frost bite.

They make a pretty singing call sometimes and other times they scream a meow that sounds like cat. The male raises his train to court the female. She acts like she doesn't notice. She can lay 10 eggs or more at a time and incubation takes about a month. I think if you like chicken and the like, you will love peafowl.