Peahen escaped - help!

[CarrilynnW]

Hi. We have a Peahen who escaped the aviary she shares with one Peacock sometime this afternoon. No one saw her escape, and we can't find her anywhere. We do see where she found a weak spot in the enclosure and messed around with it until she could fit through. She laid two eggs last week (we left them in the nest box in her aviary), but no more for about 5 days now. So she left her guy and two eggs and disappeared. . We've had her here for about 1 1/2 months now. We are out in the country, but we do have other houses near enough that we can see them.

What do you think the odds are that she'll come back? Anything we can do to encourage her? Her guy has been calling all afternoon and evening - it makes me so sad!

Is it normal for them to have 2 eggs and then no more? If she doesn't come back, now that the eggs have been there for about a week, are they possibly still viable (we're in FL and it's already been quite hot during the day)? Should I pull them and try to incubate? We don't have the greatest incubator (Little Giant) - we have eggs in there but haven't successfully ​hatched anything yet (although a few duck and chicken eggs in there right now are showing promise).

Sorry, that's​ a whole lot of questions, but I'd love to hear any advice from those with experience. The peacocks were my daughters dream for our little Hobby Farm, and she bought this pair with her own saved money, so I'm so sad for her right now. Thank you so much for any help you can offer!

 

[chicknmania]

We had a peahen do that, she disappeared in winter about four years ago...a very cold snowy winter, too...and was gone for ten days. We live in the country too. Our neighbor spotted her one day..just her head feathers in the distance...and she was actually quite close, just a half mile away, in the yard of a house that was vacant, she was very cold. We carried her home and she is fine and has been with us since. So there is hope for yours, ask your neighbors to keep a lookout. Another time when one of our peacocks left, we recorded peacock calls off the internet and played them out the window of the car as we drove around the neighborhood. He did answer the recorded calls, and we were able to pin him down. So that might work for you too.

I have heard (but hard to say if it's true or not) that peafowl will return to where they were hatched if they can. I think this is a myth, but it is true that they frequently fly the coop, so if where your daughter bought them is not too far off, you might want to check there as well. Or other places where there are poultry. I have read though that often times Peafowl go wild in Florida, as it's easy for them to survive there. She might have been attracted by wild ones, or even geese.

Yes, it can be normal for them to have just two eggs. And yes, they can still be viable, we incubated chicken eggs with success once that had been out from under the hen for a week.

If she doesn't come back though, your peacock will be very lonely if he doesn't have her. You might want to think about getting him another girlfriend soon. But give her a couple of weeks, before you give up.

Good luck and welcome to the forum! Please keep us posted.

 

[CarrilynnW]

She came back! We're so grateful!
So now I'm wondering, should we attempt to let them free range at all? Or would you only try that with Peafowl raised from hatchlings on your property? We've been wanting to allow them to explore and eat more bugs, but are nervous that we will lose them if we try it... Thanks!

 

[chicknmania]

We let ours free range, but we kept them confined for a month to six weeks before we let them out. We got ours at different times, except we got our two peacocks together. It seems that the older and more settled they get, the less they wander. We've had a couple of instances where they wandered, but part of that was because we have two males and the beta male wanted to find his own female, I'm pretty sure, as the alpha male hogged both girls. But the beta male has not wandered for a couple of years. It's kind of your decision, but I would say that if the male and female are compatible, they will probably be more likely to stay together and on your property. Also, ours have learned to come when we call...not quite as fast as a dog might, lol, but they will eventually come to a call and also will answer with their own call when we are calling them, so you can practice that with them, and then when you let them out, that will help. The more you bond with them, the better it is. Glad she came back!!

 

[Posh Chickens]

It was a serious game of hit and miss for me! Only the peafowl that were born here actually stayed! There are elements of danger involved too letting them free-range, we have lost several, but good luck!

 

[sasglm]

i had a 1yo hen escape through the door with me standing in it. She stopped for about 3sec then flew up into a tree about 15ft off the ground. I tried trowing bread out for her but she sat up there for 30min looking all around and calling. after the first 30min she flew up about 30ft off the ground to a large limb on an oak tree much more stable for her. She then flew onto of the her pen for a few minutes then flew to the top(roof) of my barn in the sun. I could see her throat moving trying to get the heat out. Fortunately the sun went behind the trees and she was in the shade. we left for about 45 minutes and came back to find her on the ground behind her pen. She let me walk up to her and throw a towel over her and carry her back to the pen where she ran to the food right away.

 

[areeb]

my male escaped twice, once into the nextdoor neighbors yard the other time he ran around the whole neighborhood. we arent out in the country but we have a pretty big yard. the first time i just went over and netted him ( somehow this happened right after the neighbors dog died and right before they got new dogs so i was lucky). the second time he went really far away when someone left the gate open and he just walked out. i was at college and my parents didnt tell me because they knew i would flip shit. after all the neighbors started calling my parents they found him back in a bush about a mile away and then they threw sheets on him. im now realizing there were many times i accidentally let them outbut they always stayed around. I have left the male out of the cage intentionally for the past week and a half so that he dosent annoy the peahen and her newly hatched chicks. he stays close by, i just hope one of the neighbirs dogs dont get him.
Has your hen came back yet?