Peafowl Living Outside

[bubbleberry]

Hi, I have a single peachick due to hatch (long story) next month and wanted to get some advice

I know to keep it in a brooder for 6-8 weeks and what to feed it but I'm in two minds whether to rehome it. If I did keep it I would try my best to find another peachick of a similar age.

We have ducks and chickens and they won't be sharing a house but they would be free range in the garden together. The garden is about an acre surrounded by farmland and no neighbours. Lots of trees and high points to perch too. I'm in the UK and winter is relatively mild.

Would peafowl be able to live out 24/7 all year?

My current flock wouldn't last a night without being shut in because of foxes, stoats and occasionally buzzards but they are not street-wise in the slightest.

I have an aviary I could section off while they adjust to their surroundings.

I just don't want to commit to keeping it and set it up to fail.

 

[Waterfaery]

The first thing that strikes me is that you say you're in two minds whether to rehome it. Peafowl are special birds that live long lives and I would strongly advise to only keep them if you're passionate and dedicated to them. The best thing to do is to read the information in the stickies section and learn as much as you possibly can. Then you can decide if you are prepared to be committed enough to keep peafowl.

As for the climate, I'm in Ireland so I'm in a similar climate and I would not be comfortable for my peafowl to have no shelter. It's not nearly cold enough here to kill them and they are very hardy so they would survive, no doubt, but they benefit from having somewhere to stay out of the worst storms and driving rain. The wind would be a risk if they were totally exposed. Mine choose to roost outside in crazy bad weather but they do sometimes roost inside if it's particularly stormy. They don't like thunder. They also hang around in the sheds a lot on the very wet, miserable days.

In terms of predators, foxes would be the biggest problem, especially for peahens sitting on eggs. You mention that your current flock of ducks and chickens wouldn't be streetwise enough but I wouldn't assume that brooder raised peafowl would be any more streetwise at all. They would fare a lot better in the wild if they were peahen raised.

An acre might seem like a lot but peafowl will wander quite a lot further than you imagine. Unless your closest neighbours are several kilometers away, don't discount the possibility of peafowl bothering them. And of course, there is always the risk of the peafowl wandering and not returning.

That might sound like a lot of negatives but I think it's important to think these things through. I think it's great that you're investigating it now while you have time so you will make the right decision if you do the research. They are very rewarding birds if you have the dedication and can provide the right care for them.

 

[bubbleberry]

The first thing that strikes me is that you say you're in two minds whether to rehome it. Peafowl are special birds that live long lives and I would strongly advise to only keep them if you're passionate and dedicated to them. The best thing to do is to read the information in the stickies section and learn as much as you possibly can. Then you can decide if you are prepared to be committed enough to keep peafowl.

As for the climate, I'm in Ireland so I'm in a similar climate and I would not be comfortable for my peafowl to have no shelter. It's not nearly cold enough here to kill them and they are very hardy so they would survive, no doubt, but they benefit from having somewhere to stay out of the worst storms and driving rain. The wind would be a risk if they were totally exposed. Mine choose to roost outside in crazy bad weather but they do sometimes roost inside if it's particularly stormy. They don't like thunder. They also hang around in the sheds a lot on the very wet, miserable days.

In terms of predators, foxes would be the biggest problem, especially for peahens sitting on eggs. You mention that your current flock of ducks and chickens wouldn't be streetwise enough but I wouldn't assume that brooder raised peafowl would be any more streetwise at all. They would fare a lot better in the wild if they were peahen raised.

An acre might seem like a lot but peafowl will wander quite a lot further than you imagine. Unless your closest neighbours are several kilometers away, don't discount the possibility of peafowl bothering them. And of course, there is always the risk of the peafowl wandering and not returning.

That might sound like a lot of negatives but I think it's important to think these things through. I think it's great that you're investigating it now while you have time so you will make the right decision if you do the research. They are very rewarding birds if you have the dedication and can provide the right care for them.

Thanks so much for your response. We have a menagerie here and a lot of the animals came to be with us by chance with not much planning, needless to say they are all family and their health and happiness is top priority. If we were to keep the peafowl then this would be the case also and I totally agree with you.

I've had a good think about housing and forgot that we have a hay loft with a large door. We can leave this open and the ledge is about 3m off the ground. It's a large space and it gets a lot of light. In your opinion would this be suitable? I'd hope that they would use this at night and I could potentially shut them in.

With regards to the neighbours, we are all on good terms and they have my number if they needed to contact me. Most of them have noisy dogs so this may deter them!

 

[Waterfaery]

Thanks so much for your response. We have a menagerie here and a lot of the animals came to be with us by chance with not much planning, needless to say they are all family and their health and happiness is top priority. If we were to keep the peafowl then this would be the case also and I totally agree with you.

I've had a good think about housing and forgot that we have a hay loft with a large door. We can leave this open and the ledge is about 3m off the ground. It's a large space and it gets a lot of light. In your opinion would this be suitable? I'd hope that they would use this at night and I could potentially shut them in.

With regards to the neighbours, we are all on good terms and they have my number if they needed to contact me. Most of them have noisy dogs so this may deter them!

That sounds like a great space and you could definitely make it work. I'm just wondering about training them to stay there. You wouldn't be able to just raise them in a brooder and then set them loose and expect them to use that building or to stay safe from predators.

I wonder if you could set up the brooder area inside that space so they think of it as home from the very start. As they grow, they would need access to an outdoor area that's contained. They can fly from very young and they would also be at risk from aerial predators so it would need a top netting.

I know you said you have an aviary but it would be a good idea to "home" them from the beginning to the place you intend to keep them long term and also to have a secure outdoor area adjacent to their home. An aviary attached to that building would be lovely if that was possible. Of course, the bigger you could make it the better, but it wouldn't need to be as big as an aviary you would need if you were to contain them permanently full time. I'd be thinking about keeping them in there until the spring. Then you could start letting them out for short, controlled periods for a while and gradually build up to leaving it open so they can come and go as they please or just locking it overnight.

You can train them to come for food by feeding in the evenings and only feeding them within the aviary / hay loft. That way, they will hopefully keep coming back to roost there in the safe space once you start free ranging them. They may still choose to roost elsewhere but at least they would have the option and they could use it for shelter on bad days. It would also give you the facilities to contain them for short times if needed for various reasons in the future.

Peafowl eggs aren't easy to hatch so bear that in mind as well. When is the hatch due? You're off to a good start by doing the research now, so that's great.

 

[KsKingBee]

That sounds like a great space and you could definitely make it work. I'm just wondering about training them to stay there. You wouldn't be able to just raise them in a brooder and then set them loose and expect them to use that building or to stay safe from predators.

I wonder if you could set up the brooder area inside that space so they think of it as home from the very start. As they grow, they would need access to an outdoor area that's contained. They can fly from very young and they would also be at risk from aerial predators so it would need a top netting.

I know you said you have an aviary but it would be a good idea to "home" them from the beginning to the place you intend to keep them long term and also to have a secure outdoor area adjacent to their home. An aviary attached to that building would be lovely if that was possible. Of course, the bigger you could make it the better, but it wouldn't need to be as big as an aviary you would need if you were to contain them permanently full time. I'd be thinking about keeping them in there until the spring. Then you could start letting them out for short, controlled periods for a while and gradually build up to leaving it open so they can come and go as they please or just locking it overnight.

You can train them to come for food by feeding in the evenings and only feeding them within the aviary / hay loft. That way, they will hopefully keep coming back to roost there in the safe space once you start free ranging them. They may still choose to roost elsewhere but at least they would have the option and they could use it for shelter on bad days. It would also give you the facilities to contain them for short times if needed for various reasons in the future.

Peafowl eggs aren't easy to hatch so bear that in mind as well. When is the hatch due? You're off to a good start by doing the research now, so that's great.

All great info Waterfaery!

 

[bubbleberry]

Thanks for the info, that all sounds very promising and we will use the hay loft like you said. The peachick has hatched this morning and looks strong and healthy

 

[theoldchick]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-raise-peafowl-information-on-the-basics.67208/

 

[Waterfaery]

Thanks for the info, that all sounds very promising and we will use the hay loft like you said. The peachick has hatched this morning and looks strong and healthy

Congratulations! Did you manage to find a friend for it?

 

[bubbleberry]

Congratulations! Did you manage to find a friend for it?

I went out and got 2 little pekin chicks who are keeping it company now but a lady has contacted me asking if she can rehome the peachick. Her place is amazing and she has experience raising them so I'm reluctantly letting him go!