Peahen and peacock not getting along that great...

[kittyk]

Hello I am fairly new to peafowl. Two years ago i bought a chick and he is now a 2 year old Indian Blue. He took off on me about 3 months ago and i finally caught him about 2 weeks ago. So i went out and bought him a year old hen. At first she seemed like she wanted to stay near hi until he would peck at her. She is extremely skittish and he was really skittish when he was young (they are from the same guy). Since my cock has been home he seems less afraid of me. So I have a few questions
1. How can I calm her down? I plan to do treats everyday but she won't even ea them if i toss them near her, she just runs away.
2. How can I get my hen and cock to become closer.
I clipped my cocks wings (until i read you should only clip one) and he still escaped..again, but i got him back within 12 hours.
3. How high can they jump/fly with a clipped wing?
i plan on fencing in your yard and letting our peafowl and chickens roam more freely but i want to make sure the fence is high enough to keep my birds in.
4. Are there any really good books on EVERYTHING to know about raising peafowl?
5. Does anybody have pictures of their peafowl enclosures, or set ups, roosts/nest boxes they'd love to share?
THanks! Katt

 

[MinxFox]

You just have to keep working with them to get them tame. I have gotten a very spooky peahen before and I couldn't even walk past her without her flying up and hitting the netting. Eventually she tamed down and now I can hand feed her and get close to her, but she is still more skittish than my other peafowl. Your peacock and peahen just need to get used to each other. The peahen is new and she is younger so your male is more interested in asserting his dominance to her than seeing her as a mate right now - especially since she is young.

They can jump/fly pretty high with a clipped wing. A lot of people don't recommend clipping their wings because they can still escape really well with clipped wings and once they escape they then can't fly away from predators. It is a really dangerous situation. You can either cover the fenced in area with bird netting to keep the peafowl from flying out, or you can let them fully free-range but for this they need to be penned for a while to get used to your area before being set free to roam.

I know there is a peafowl book that is still fairly new called "Let's Get Started Raising Peafowl!" by Stephanie Tindell Here is what the book is about:
Quote:
I do not own this book though so maybe some others have a peafowl book they personally use and would recommend.

I use welded wire for my aviary fence and UV resistant 2 in knotted netting for the top. The flower pot on top of the roost keeps the wood from rubbing a hole in the netting. I found that out the hard way...


I used to have the roosts in a cross formation, but that was a bad design as I was out there almost every weekend fixing the perch. This design works much better for stability. Also, make sure you use treated wood that can be used outdoors. The original wood we used was not treated and it completely rotted.


This is my old setup. Now I mainly use this pen as a catch pen or as a way to separate the peafowl if needed. This pen is made using 2 dog kennels to form an L shape and the top is covered in tarps. The fencing is big and sturdy enough that you can slide planks through the fence to create perches for the peafowl.


This is my tin shelter. The peafowl don't sleep in here even if it rains at night. The only way to get them to use a tin shelter at night is if they don't have any outdoor perches. This tin shelter has two perches inside.


Eventually we added a nest box inside the tin shelter. The peahens hardly use it and would rather nest under one of the plants in the aviary or in a secluded corner of the aviary. They do like nesting underneath the nest box as well. In other words, you don't really need a nest box.


We now have a second tin shelter for another aviary we are working on. We don't have building experience so we have had to hire my Dad's friends to build the shelters for me. I have really been wanting to make them on my own though so I documented the process and if you would like to see that process here is my article on building a covered shelter: http://bamboopeacock.com/Building_a_Covered_Shelter.html

My website also has some peafowl articles. It doesn't cover everything but it is a start: http://bamboopeacock.com/Articles.html

 

[kittyk]

Thank you so much. I like your outdoor perches! I just extended our fenced in area a bit and it is entirely closed off...it looks kind of ghetto but it works. Maybe i will just keep them in the enclosure until we can buy a farm and they will have more room to roam freely.as right now we only have half an acre. I don't like clipping their wings, but thought it might help. I was also worried if they might get loose again and then their defense would be weak and they'd be killed. I think I'll check into that book. Beautiful birds btw!

 

[MinxFox]

Thanks good luck!

 

[kittyk]

I was checking out your site too! Its great! I have a site, not nearly done but its http://the-funny-farm.wixsite.com/thefunnyfarm

 

[Birdrain92]

Hello I am fairly new to peafowl. Two years ago i bought a chick and he is now a 2 year old Indian Blue. He took off on me about 3 months ago and i finally caught him about 2 weeks ago. So i went out and bought him a year old hen. At first she seemed like she wanted to stay near hi until he would peck at her. She is extremely skittish and he was really skittish when he was young (they are from the same guy). Since my cock has been home he seems less afraid of me. So I have a few questions
1. How can I calm her down? I plan to do treats everyday but she won't even ea them if i toss them near her, she just runs away. 
2. How can I get my hen and cock to become closer. 
I clipped my cocks wings (until i read you should only clip one) and he still escaped..again, but i got him back within 12 hours. 
3. How high can they jump/fly with a clipped wing?
i plan on fencing in your yard and letting our peafowl and chickens roam more freely but i want to make sure the fence is high enough to keep my birds in. 
4. Are there any really good books on EVERYTHING to know about raising peafowl?
5. Does anybody have pictures of their peafowl enclosures, or set ups, roosts/nest boxes they'd love to share?
THanks! Katt

Repeat it over and over. Also be very patient. Just give it time. They're establishing a hierarchy. Just have to wait it out. Also I would advise not to clip their wings. Makes them easier targets. Peafowl can jump over 8 feet. It would be best to have a roof. "Let's Get Started Raising Peafowl " is a good book. There are a few things in that book that are concerning but other than that it's a great book. Probably one of the best, that I can find at least. I just planted grass with my White peafowl. Never had to separate them from the grass. They are some seeds, dug a couple dust bathing pits, other than that the pen has grass. The older pen the peafowl only eat seeds and a couple blades of grass. Doesn't do anything to the grass though.

 

[Birdrain92]

My hens just make nests inside where ever they feel.

 

[MinxFox]

That looks like a spot my hens would enjoy as well.

 

[Birdrain92]

Unfortunately I'm at college so I don't know if her one egg will hatch and I won't be able to see the chick until Christmas break. My brother can send me a picture though if she hatches out a chick.

 

[kittyk]

Thank you, over 8 ft ok i'll definitely keep them penned, and won't continue clipping, especially if they are penned in. Unless i make 10-12 foot fences around the yard.. hahaha don't think my boyfriend would be too happy lol. where can i find the book, you both suggested? I couldn't find it on amazon, my go to book place lol. Plus i'm in quebec so all our bookstores are french. :/