Peafowl Advice Needed - Lonely Peacock

[Zadell]

I don't know much about peafowl and I am looking for any advice about my current situation.

For some backstory: I don't know how old he is, I got him and his hen from my late employer around 2 years ago. They were free range 24/7/365. I think they are Indian Blue as they matched the pictures on google. They've been doing fine, then a day ago the peahen was killed by something. He's all alone now and I'm worried about him. I also have free range chickens that they hang around, and he still is. I've gotten used to the peahen being around, so I would like to get him more peahens, who I can hopefully lock up at night to keep them safe.

So I'm trying to decide if I should get more hens, and where/how to get them. I've never tried to buy peafowl before, so I'm not even sure where to start.

Some questions for anyone who's knowledgeable about peafowl:

• If I get him more hens, will he take to them? Or are they likely to be rejected?
• What's the best way to introduce him to new hens?
• What's the best number of hens to buy for a peacock who only had 1 hen?
• If I can get the hens to sleep in a coop/enclosure at night, will he join them, or keep sleeping in the trees as he has done all his life?
• Is it worth trying to start over with him? Or would it be better to find him a new home that already has established peafowl?

I want what will be best for him in the long run, and any advice or tips for something I missed would be most welcomed.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Midnightman14]

He will appreciate new hens however you will not be able to free range them for at least 6 months due to the need for them to get used to their new surroundings.

 

[Zadell]

Thank you for the info! Oh wow 6 months? I hadn't realized it was that long. I had him and his hen penned up when we first got them due to that reason, but I don't believe the quick google search I did back then mentioned it being that long.
Would I be able to put him in there with them so they could get used to each other? Obviously not right away, but after the quarantine period and such.

 

[KsKingBee]

It is always better to move the cock to the hen so put your new girl(s) in the pen for a couple of weeks while you do a full round of deworming. Then let him join the girls. Since he has been there for such a long time there is no reason to believe that they would go anywhere and should stay together, but to be safe keep them all penned for at least six weeks before you turn them out. Your cock will probably be pacing the pen trying to get inside, if he hasn't been treated for worms you might as well let him in if he wants in.

 

[KsKingBee]

Also, go to the top of the Peafowl page where it says 'Stickies' and look for the stickies list. These are threads on Genetics, Care and Housing, etc. There is a lot of basic information there for you.

 

[Zadell]

That was quite a read. I did learn a lot, but I also realized I've never dewormed the peafowl. I just let them free range and do their thing as that was how they were before I received them. That's why I'm hoping new females might be able to be trained to sleep in an enclosure at night but free range during the day as the chickens do.
So far it sounds like getting more peahens is doable. Does anyone here sell peafowl, more specifically hens? Or is there a better thread to ask on/look in? I feel it would be better to buy him girls that are mostly grown, instead of trying to start my own clutch.

 

[KsKingBee]

Free-range peas are not terribly susceptible to worms and cocci as penned birds. The amount of worm eggs is high in a pen that has been crapped in for years. Being out on clean grass and feasting on what nature provides is much better than pen life. Peas have the mentality of 'Where we go one, we go all. They like their personal time but tend to flock together at night so I would expect the hens to follow the cock out to roost in the trees. Keep feeding them in the pen and if you feed in the evening they will come in to eat and you can trap them for the night. Also, eggs are lain at dark to dark thirty so if they are laying you might be able to get them to nest in the pen as well as just spending the night.

 

[KsKingBee]

Yes, get him a hen or two but this is the worst time of year to be buying hens. I get messages every day if I have any extra hens and I do have a few but they are expensive and shipping is also. I suggest you look in Craigslist for local birds and you might find some that are not too expensive.

 

[Zadell]

Thanks for the replies and all the advice!
Oh good, that makes me feel a bit better and does make sense. How often would you worm free range peafowl? The Peafowl 101 said worm twice a year with different wormers, is that just the best practice free ranged or penned?
That's great advice! That's even how we originally caught mine, I completely forgot about it. Having them lay in the pen would be amazing. My hen went broody three times, we only found her once, sadly no chicks survived. She really wanted to be a mama and it breaks my heart.
This would be the worst time of the year. I checked out craigslist, there are certainly not as many as I expected. Do you sell just females? On craigslist I only saw pairs and I'm not sure if getting another male would be a good idea. Especially if it is 1 female to 2 males. Although I understand why people don't want to sell just females.

 

[KsKingBee]

We deworm ours twice per year. In a perfect world we would only do it when necessary but having as many birds as we do it is impracticle to run fecals on every bird or every pen of birds. So we just do it at the beginning of the laying season and before the snow flies. When we deworm we put the dewormer in a wet mash. Doing single free ranged birds you can sop up the correct amount of Safeguard in small pieces of bread or mix into scrambled eggs for them.

We specialize in upper end birds and sell off our common birds early on. I might have a yearling IB hen or two but shipping is going to double their price. I see you live in central Tejas, contact Sid at Texaspeafowl.com or call 214 707 2051. They are outside of Wetherford TX and can sell you a mature hen.