Hey Peapeople,
We have a flock of semi-feral peafowl on our Minnesota farm. The polar vortex is set to bring us a week of subzero temps, with lows of -16F and winds around 15-20 mph.
I have them in a pen right now - not a flight pen, but it's 10x16, 10 ft ceiling, with plenty of room to move and plenty of perches. They'd prefer to be out in the maple trees, and so some of the older/wilder birds are eating less, probably from the stress of being confined.
In the past, we've had three of these feral peafowl get frostbite in these conditions while free-ranging, and one of them died as a consequence. Hence the pen, which shelters them from the wind and keeps them in close proximity to water and feed. They come and go from this pen during the day, and didn't have any stress being rounded up into it. They just prefer not to sleep in it, given the choice.
If some of them are stressed to the point of not taking in enough calories, am I doing more harm then good by keeping them in the shelter? Will they come around after a couple of days and start eating the delicious worms and sunflower seeds that top their ample rations, out of survival instinct? Some of them are juveniles, and their instincts don't seem super developed; it's the young ones that have succumbed to the weather in the past.
We always give our chickens and ducks a choice of inside or out, even in this kind of weather, and they always choose inside.
I know that many of you have free-ranging flocks in northern climates. I know that most of the time our own accidental flock does fine. I guess what I'm asking specifically is, now that they're sheltered, should I keep them there until the polar vortex passes? They might be taking in less food, but they're not as exposed. Looking for advice.
Thanks for weighing in.
- Kerri in Minnesota
We have a flock of semi-feral peafowl on our Minnesota farm. The polar vortex is set to bring us a week of subzero temps, with lows of -16F and winds around 15-20 mph.
I have them in a pen right now - not a flight pen, but it's 10x16, 10 ft ceiling, with plenty of room to move and plenty of perches. They'd prefer to be out in the maple trees, and so some of the older/wilder birds are eating less, probably from the stress of being confined.
In the past, we've had three of these feral peafowl get frostbite in these conditions while free-ranging, and one of them died as a consequence. Hence the pen, which shelters them from the wind and keeps them in close proximity to water and feed. They come and go from this pen during the day, and didn't have any stress being rounded up into it. They just prefer not to sleep in it, given the choice.
If some of them are stressed to the point of not taking in enough calories, am I doing more harm then good by keeping them in the shelter? Will they come around after a couple of days and start eating the delicious worms and sunflower seeds that top their ample rations, out of survival instinct? Some of them are juveniles, and their instincts don't seem super developed; it's the young ones that have succumbed to the weather in the past.
We always give our chickens and ducks a choice of inside or out, even in this kind of weather, and they always choose inside.
I know that many of you have free-ranging flocks in northern climates. I know that most of the time our own accidental flock does fine. I guess what I'm asking specifically is, now that they're sheltered, should I keep them there until the polar vortex passes? They might be taking in less food, but they're not as exposed. Looking for advice.
Thanks for weighing in.
- Kerri in Minnesota
