Peafowl with chickens and ducks?

[Rocky64]

Some people house peafowl with chickens and some don't. I don't have chickens so I don't have to worry about it.

Chickens are hardier to disease, so they can be carriers of something and you won't know it but once you put the peafowl in the same pen with them, the peafowl could catch it and get sick. It is for this reason that some people never keep peafowl in a pen with chickens, or even in a pen formerly used by chickens.

On the other hand, there are some people that keep them penned together without any issues. I bought a few peafowl from a guy who would put chickens in with his peafowl. I know of a large peafowl breeder that likes to put 1 chicken in some of the peafowl pens to help clean the pen of extra food that the peafowl don't eat.

I think if all of the birds are on a regular worming schedule that should help prevent issues. Like once you get your new peafowl worm them right away.

Like I said I don't have chickens, but from being on this site for a while and visiting other peafowl breeders, I have noted that some NEVER keep the two birds together, while others keep them together without issue and without worry. At the same time I have seen people lose a lot of their peafowl very quickly from things like blackhead which in some of the cases I think it was given to them by the chickens, but I can't be 100% sure on that.

Thanks for the info.

 

[CrazyChookLady5]

what if you raise a peafowl from when its a baby chick. will it still run off if you free range it?

 

[zazouse]

My peafowl have all been raise here and i have never lost a one to running off. they come home every time they need a siesta during the day and they come up to roost where the dogs are at night right by my house . IMO you need a pretty good area with things going on to keep them from roaming, peafowl are very curious birds and many things can catch their attention and lead them off your place and into harms way , my place is 40 ace rs surrounded by woods and hay fields behind them and the peas do not like thick high grass because they can not see what is lurking but i also do not have any neighbors close by except my daughter and my peas were taught at an early age they were not allowed there, every once in a while one will hop the gate and go looking at something , i have to herd them back home cause they are not allowed on my driveway even though it is mine.

How big is your place and do you have visible neighbors or neighbors that make noise cause that gets their attention also.

 

[CrazyChookLady5]

My peafowl have all been raise here and i have never lost a one to running off. they come home every time they need a siesta during the day and they come up to roost where the dogs are at night right by my house . IMO you need a pretty good area with things going on to keep them from roaming, peafowl are very curious birds and many things can catch their attention and lead them off your place and into harms way , my place is 40 ace rs surrounded by woods and hay fields behind them and the peas do not like thick high grass because they can not see what is lurking but i also do not have any neighbors close by except my daughter and my peas were taught at an early age they were not allowed there, every once in a while one will hop the gate and go looking at something , i have to herd them back home cause they are not allowed on my driveway even though it is mine.

How big is your place and do you have visible neighbors or neighbors that make noise cause that gets their attention also.

I live on a farm and free range all my birds but they never go too far, they all just hang around the pen and the trees that are near and around. and I don't have any neighbours close.

 

[CrazyChookLady5]

if you have a few peacocks do they fight a lot or are they more peaceful birds?

 

[showmestatebill]

We bought this 5 acre hobby farm, with a 1 acre fenced paddock. It had a hen house, which I cleaned and remodeled with at 15x22 pen attached and a barn. We decided we needed some 'pasture' pets. First we got 2 Pekin ducks.

After a lot of research I wanted an India Blue so I put a screen over the top of the pen. I found a 2 yr old male in our area for $75. The breeder told me that some of their peahens were better brooders than others, so they now routinely pull half the eggs and put them under Silkie brooder hens. The result is that 'Buddy' was hatched and raised by chickens and thinks he is a chicken.
I admit I clipped his primary wing feathers only. Being a parrot owner for years I knew he could still fly but not get much lift. He ignored the ducks and tried 3 times to fly out, gave up, and continued to look for a hole in the fencing.

The next day we got a 3 chickens. As soon as he heard their clucking he immediately stopped pacing the fence. The hens were inspecting the hen house and were up on the perches. Buddy stuck his head in small chicken door and walked into the house. The hens went nuts. No doubt the biggest rooster they had ever seen and thought they were to be mated with Andre the Giant. I attached a high perch in the corner for Buddy. He jumped up on it and they all settled down in their own space. He even slept in the hen house.

I kept all the new critters penned up for at least 2 weeks maybe longer. They free range the paddock all day and go in at night. For a week or so we had to herd them in, now they go in on their own at dusk.

We have since gotten an 2 yr old IB hen from a different breeder so their DNA is different, for $150. Used the same routine with her. I thought the expense was necessary to give Buddy a reason to hang around and so far it has worked. We also have two Pygmy goat kids. They all get along fine.

After a few weeks, Buddy started flying up on the pen roof. I shooed him down a few times and gave up. He sleeps in the large Cedar tree next to pen. The next morning he is in the paddock with the others.

I guess the moral of this long story is that A. You must have a ceiling of some kind over the pen. B. You must pen them up until they know where home and food is.

I think Peafowl are the Asian version of our wild Turkey. They are browsers and most always foraging and fly up high at night. They even walk and display alike.

 

[cajunfowl0]

We bought this 5 acre hobby farm, with a 1 acre fenced paddock.  It had a hen house, which I cleaned and remodeled with at 15x22 pen attached and a barn.  We decided we needed some 'pasture' pets.  First we got 2 Pekin ducks.  

After a lot of research I wanted an India Blue so I put a screen over the top of the pen.  I found a 2 yr old male in our area for $75.  The breeder told me that some of their peahens were better brooders than others, so they now routinely pull half the eggs and put them under Silkie brooder hens.  The result is that 'Buddy' was hatched and raised by chickens and thinks he is a chicken.
I admit I clipped his primary wing feathers only.  Being a parrot owner for years I knew he could still fly but not get much lift.  He ignored the ducks and tried 3 times to fly out, gave up, and continued to look for a hole in the fencing.  

The next day we got a 3 chickens.  As soon as he heard their clucking he immediately stopped pacing the fence.  The hens were inspecting the hen house and were up on the perches.  Buddy stuck his head in small chicken door and walked into the house.  The hens went nuts.  No doubt the biggest rooster they had ever seen and thought they were to be mated with Andre the Giant.  I attached a high perch in the corner for Buddy.  He jumped up on it and they all settled down in their own space.  He even slept in the hen house.

I kept all the  new critters penned up for at least 2 weeks maybe longer.  They free range the paddock all day and go in at night. For a week or so we had to herd them in, now they go in on their own at dusk. 

We have since gotten an 2 yr old IB hen from a different breeder so their DNA is different, for $150.  Used the same routine with her.   I thought the expense was necessary to give Buddy a reason to hang around and so far it has worked.  We also have two Pygmy goat kids.  They all get along fine.  

After a few weeks, Buddy started flying up on the pen  roof.  I shooed him down a few times and gave up.   He sleeps in the large Cedar tree next to pen.  The next morning he is in the paddock with the others.

I guess the moral of this long story is that A.  You must have a ceiling of some kind over the pen.  B.  You must pen them up until they know where home and food is.

I think Peafowl are the Asian version of our wild Turkey.   They are browsers and most always foraging and fly up high at night.  They even walk and display alike.

Very interesting about how he likes the chickens lol. But one thing I can't help but correct is that two weeks is not a long enough time period before letting a peacock out to freerange. I had a pair last year penned up for 4 months for the first couple weeks they hung around my other peacocks then one day out of nowhere they left and I never saw them again. 300$ down the drain. I believe some people will actually keep there's penned for a whole year and other that free range put the birds in pens periodically. I'm not saying it wont work for you I'm just saying that the odds of them actually staying are not good and other newbies just need to know that

 

[showmestatebill]

I agree I should kept them penned much longer. My bad. I have been lucky so far. I don't think your birds escaped. More likely wandered to far, got lost and kept going. That likely hood doesn't help the loss of investment though. I was just stating my experiences and others mileage my vary.

 

[cajunfowl0]

I agree I should  kept them penned much longer.  My bad.   I have been lucky so far.  I don't think your birds escaped.  More likely wandered to far, got lost and kept going.  That likely hood doesn't help the loss of investment though.  I was just stating my experiences and others mileage my vary.

I didn't say they escaped lol and I realize that you are stating your experience but I just wanted other people who are new to peafowl to know that they should keep their peafowl penned up for awhile

 

[autumnmfisher]

hi, just wanted to say I have 5 peas, and they are penned. - they wandered to far...
but anyways, I do let them out as much as I can. they are easy to herd back in, actually a couple of them want back in after a while and I just open the door and let them in, the others we herd in at sunset. I do only let two or three out at once, as they'll stay close together. so they stay close to the ones still inside. this works great for us. and I've never clipped their wings, if they do go on top of the barn or house, they come back down... they spend 99% of their time on the ground, now maybe we don't have the right trees but ours very rarely go in trees, their wing span is to wide for most trees anyways. now once or twice my one has been not into going back in.. (we named her houdina as she always broke out as a chick) she has been left out over night i'd say twice - we've had them three years - she just roosted on top of their pen. she really likes being free, always has.

If you do like you've been saying and let them out every now and then, I think it will be fine. herd them in while they are young and they'll always go back in for ya. now we go out and we just put our arms out and slowly walk them back in. if you get to close or move to fast they spook. they sometimes try to get around us, that just means its to early, we wait a little longer and they go in when they're ready. sunset is good Good luck with whatever you choose!!!