Peafowl questions

[S-t-o-n-e]

I am loosely entertaining the idea of getting a peacock come spring, but I know very little about keeping them. So I have a few questions and if anyone could help me out that would be great.
• Can peachicks be raised by a chicken ( I was specifically thinking an Orpington )
• If they free range can they be fed chicken layer feed? If not what should I feed them? ( I have heard game bird food )
• Will a peacock try and fight a rooster?
• How old are the males when they start displaying?

Thank you all for any help your can give.

 

[Dany12]

• Can peachicks be raised by a chicken ( I was specifically thinking an Orpington )
Orpington ... very good choice! bred with chickens ... no problem! Some people will tell you that chickens will give diseases to peacocks ... in free ranging ... it does not matter!

• If they free range can they be fed chicken layer feed? If not what should I feed them? ( I have heard game bird food )
Yes ... !
I feed with maize and wheat ... and a lot, a lot of grass! They are free ranging ...

• Will a peacock try and fight a rooster?
Sometimes ... but do not attach importance ... it's rare!

• How old are the males when they start displaying?
Since the age of a week ... seriously!
The tail starts to be beautiful at 3 years old
It's better when the male is one year older than the female! a 2-year-old hen will lay eggs, but a two-year-old cock is often still sterile ... and therefore not interested in the female!

 

[KsKingBee]

First I will point you to the Stickies topics at the top of the Peafowl page that answers most questions about care, housing, and medications. Chicken hens make good mothers but they tend to leave the chicks much sooner than a peahen would. Peahens will care and cover the chicks until they are nearly a year old, a chicken will go back to laying and brooding after a couple of months. Also the peachicks will outgrow the hen and will be too big for the hen to cover at night which is only a real problem late in the year. A peachick raised by a chicken will not tend to wander off but will stay close to the hen for life as that is their flock mother. Disease is much less likely when free ranged but a watchful eye is always important to ward off sickness. Most of the birds' nutritional needs can be found free-ranging feeding on bugs and greens. Scratch grains and some crumbles are still necessary for free-choice feeding especially during the winter when grass and bugs are not abundant.

 

[S-t-o-n-e]

Thank you all a lot for your help!

 

[Istvan Elekes]

Can someone please help me sex my peafowl? sorry for the bad pics it was hard to take the pictures because they move around quite a lot. Thanks in advance!

 

[KsKingBee]

Can someone please help me sex my peafowl? sorry for the bad pics it was hard to take the pictures because they move around quite a lot. Thanks in advance!

View attachment 1932114 View attachment 1932115 View attachment 1932116 View attachment 1932117

Congratulations, you have a pair. The one close in the first pic is the cock and the one behind is a hen.

 

[Istvan Elekes]

Congratulations, you have a pair. The one close in the first pic is the cock and the one behind is a hen.

Awesome!thanks for the reply