Peafowl Nutrition 101

[zazouse]

Ya know i wonder just how good they can smell cause a while back i planted some peanuts in their shell in some flower pots in my garden area, the peas never mess with my garden per say as they have so much to forage for elsewhere, well i want you to know they dug up every peanut i planted, how did they know they were there, peas don't scratch like chickens so i wonder how they found them all. And no they did not see me plant them i made sure of that cause they love, love ,love peanuts.

I know Buzzards have a great sence of smell, they can locate the dead even hidden under the cover of the trees in the leaf litter.

 

[bdfive]

Ya know i wonder just how good they can smell cause a while back i planted some peanuts in their shell in some flower pots in my garden area, the peas never mess with my garden per say as they have so much to forage for elsewhere, well i want you to know they dug up every peanut i planted, how did they know they were there, peas don't scratch like chickens so i wonder how they found them all. And no they did not see me plant them i made sure of that cause they love, love ,love peanuts.

 I know Buzzards have a great sence of smell, they can locate the dead even hidden under the cover of the trees in the leaf litter.

Maybe a squirrel dug up the peanuts. My peafowl love them too. I purchase them in the large bag at the feed store in the bird seed section but they sure are getting expensive. At one store, $38 so passed on them but found them at another for $33. l'm rationing, LOL!!!

 

[zazouse]

Na it was the peas, they did leave the shell behind for me LOL

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

Just a quick question, my peachicks are getting 28% protein in their feed now, most of them are 12 weeks old now, should i reduce it to 24% in their feed? I have read many opinions on this and i'm worrying about leg problems caused by high protein in their feed. So should i reduce it or they will be fine at 28%?

 

[snowshoe]

When I kept mine on 28% protein on occasion I did have leg problems but 3 years ago at 6 weeks of age I reduced protein to 24% by mixing 18% medicated chick starter to 28% medicated turkey starter and over the next 6 weeks cutting the protein to get it down to the 18% I have not had any leg issues with my chicks

 

[Peafowlssssssss]

When I kept mine on 28% protein on occasion I did have leg problems but 3 years ago at 6 weeks of age I reduced protein to 24% by mixing 18% medicated chick starter to 28% medicated turkey starter and over the next 6 weeks cutting the protein to get it down to the 18% I have not had any leg issues with my chicks

Okay thanks, thats what i'm going to do, thanks again.

 

[Jrowley35]

Frozen raw in the shell appears to be the least expensive. Cooked is probably just as good. The underscore is to insure that you feed these ingredients consistently every other week at least, more if dealing with breeding stock, moulting adults or chicks of the year. I just hope that people will add these supplements to their feed manifests and understand why these very specific ingredients are described here rather than pet food or broccoli or frozen peas or what have you. These are the single most valuable additive ingredients readily and economically procured. When fed consistently and in the appropriate ratios- they will- in concert- the entire food pyramid - that includes maintenance ration- will meet the considerable requirements of growing peafowl.

Of course shrimp are going to be far more important than anything else on the list if you want to meet all the amino acid requirements. That's expensive and that's why they're listed as something to feed out every few days in small portions. Each bird should have at least a thimble full of shrimp per serving- a very little goes a long way- provided it's fed consistently. One way to be most economical about it is to just put all the ingredients except for the cereals and grains into a food processor and mix thoroughly. The slurry produced can be frozen in ice cube trays and stored for future use. Each bird should receive ~ 1-4 slurry cubes per serving- at least twice a week. The cubes will thaw of course -where the birds will peck at them at their leisure. If you decide to create slurry cubes the rule of thumb is to make sure that each bird receives at least one cube every two -three days.
If you are dealing with imported dragons, moulting heirloom stock or any breeding females or chicks that you care a great deal for, increase the ration by putting out 1-4 slurry cubes out at least thrice a week.
I think if you look at your maths carefully you'll see this is affordable on even the tightest budgets.

Let me reiterate again. If you are feeding Argus or Congo Peafowl skip out on the kale and celery and replace that ingredient mass with more cooked sweet potato and significantly more shrimp in the shell.

Frog legs- well- frog legs are for special occasions. Is there any reason that you can't farm frogs yourself? Tadpoles are less heart wrenching a dilemma to harvest. Just scoop them up and place them in the freezer. Freezing them kills protozoa and parasites as does cooking them. But frogs have bones, marrow and a whole span of nutrients-

Quote:
When you look carefully at some of these nutrients in frog, you just can't mimic that without using the real thing and once you've recognized how important amphibians are in the natural diet of peafowls- it's difficult to see around it.

Do you have a recipe for your slurry? And , do you use equal amounts of millet, sorghum, oats and poultry crumbles as a basic feed? Thank you

 

[KsKingBee]

Do you have a recipe for your slurry? And , do you use equal amounts of millet, sorghum, oats and poultry crumbles as a basic feed? Thank you

Resolution left BYC years ago and is not likely to come back.

 

[Jrowley35]

Resolution left BYC years ago and is not likely to come back.

Thank you

 

[KsKingBee]

Do you have a recipe for your slurry? And , do you use equal amounts of millet, sorghum, oats and poultry crumbles as a basic feed? Thank you

I am on a FB page he is also on and I can tell you that he now is using a 'Whole Ingredient' form of feeding using whole grains and Ultra Kibble. He is very anti soy and does not use any soy in any form. Other supplemental feeds are mostly nuts and veggies.

I also use the whole ingredient method as well with the UK but I also give the game bird crumbles as about 1/3 of their diet.