Peafowl… a good or bad idea?!

[Clairemarie1982]

Hi! We are into our 6th year keeping poultry. We started with chickens and have since added ducks, geese and guineas. My husband had wanted to add turkey to the flock but I read that it is sometimes advised against due to blackhead. Then he suggested peafowl. I am the one in the family that does the research prior to getting new animals so here I am. Currently our flock is all housed together in a large coop and predator proof pen. During the days when we are home they free range with our donkeys to look over them. So my question is two fold. So before getting guineas I had read a mixed review that often they leave and never come back. We took our chances, raised them with chickens since babies and handled them daily. We have never lost any, they seem to think they are chickens- eat out of our hands, very docile and come in at dusk on their own. Is it possible to have peafowl do the same? And my second question is can you successfully keep peafowl with the above poultry or is blackhead a big worry? What about housing them in a different coop but letting them all free range together? We live on a large farm with no neighbors so that’s not a concern. However we would like them to hang around the donkeys as they seem to keep the predators away. Totally new to peafowl so any advice or comments are really appreciated! Thanks in advance. Claire

 

[casportpony]

My husband had wanted to add turkey to the flock but I read that it is sometimes advised against due to blackhead. Then he suggested peafowl.

And my second question is can you successfully keep peafowl with the above poultry or is blackhead a big worry?

Peafowl are just as susceptible to blackhead as turkeys are.

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

Hi! We are into our 6th year keeping poultry. We started with chickens and have since added ducks, geese and guineas. My husband had wanted to add turkey to the flock but I read that it is sometimes advised against due to blackhead. Then he suggested peafowl. I am the one in the family that does the research prior to getting new animals so here I am. Currently our flock is all housed together in a large coop and predator proof pen. During the days when we are home they free range with our donkeys to look over them. So my question is two fold. So before getting guineas I had read a mixed review that often they leave and never come back. We took our chances, raised them with chickens since babies and handled them daily. We have never lost any, they seem to think they are chickens- eat out of our hands, very docile and come in at dusk on their own. Is it possible to have peafowl do the same? And my second question is can you successfully keep peafowl with the above poultry or is blackhead a big worry? What about housing them in a different coop but letting them all free range together? We live on a large farm with no neighbors so that’s not a concern. However we would like them to hang around the donkeys as they seem to keep the predators away. Totally new to peafowl so any advice or comments are really appreciated! Thanks in advance. Claire

It depends on what you expect from your birds. Both turkeys and peacocks can get blackhead, but other than that they are very hardy birds. If you are looking for a productive bird (either meat or eggs) then go for heritage turkeys. They are way cheaper than peafowl, and more quieter. Peafowl are super expensive and cannot really be trusted with stable egg basket loads. Turkeys can easily be coop-trained and can get very tame towards humans (they follow you around and eat food from your hand). Peafowl, on the other hand, are wild and can fly a good 100 meters of distance when they do not want to be near you. Peafowl can be coop trained, but it takes strenuous effort to successfully free range them. Both turkeys and peafowl can become more tame if raised from a young age. If you are looking for an ornamental bird, then go for peafowl. They can live up to 25 years when properly cared for, while turkeys start deteriorating at around 10 years of age. Male peafowl also have that signature look that is very pleasing.

 

[Midnightman14]

Hi! We are into our 6th year keeping poultry. We started with chickens and have since added ducks, geese and guineas. My husband had wanted to add turkey to the flock but I read that it is sometimes advised against due to blackhead. Then he suggested peafowl. I am the one in the family that does the research prior to getting new animals so here I am. Currently our flock is all housed together in a large coop and predator proof pen. During the days when we are home they free range with our donkeys to look over them. So my question is two fold. So before getting guineas I had read a mixed review that often they leave and never come back. We took our chances, raised them with chickens since babies and handled them daily. We have never lost any, they seem to think they are chickens- eat out of our hands, very docile and come in at dusk on their own. Is it possible to have peafowl do the same? And my second question is can you successfully keep peafowl with the above poultry or is blackhead a big worry? What about housing them in a different coop but letting them all free range together? We live on a large farm with no neighbors so that’s not a concern. However we would like them to hang around the donkeys as they seem to keep the predators away. Totally new to peafowl so any advice or comments are really appreciated! Thanks in advance. Claire

putting chickens and peafowl together invites disaster. It's not just blackhead and other diseases. Pea are often aggressive and will bully or kill chickens. Have seen quite a few people lose chickens during breeding season because a male got roid ragey and killed it.

 

[Klutch]

Peacock squack thru the night. Like a MEOOOOWWWW MEOOOOWWWW.