There's one animal out there that I'll shoot & could really care less if I make a poor shot on. The stinking rotten feral hog. Those suckers are worthless. I'm not a big fan for yotes either.
predators
- Thread starter fowlsessed
- Start date
I'm very interested in how you naturalise peafowl on an estate or farm Resolution.
As always, I thank you for sharing all your knowledge.
[/b]
Quote:
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
edited to add i am waking up at 5am this thanksgiving morning to hopefully harvest that big buck i have been after. wish me luck! may the crosshairs be steady
Anti Hunter? Wow. I must've wasted a whole lot of time hunting Wapiti on my ranch this fall. Must not have been me that dressed her and dragged her down off the mountain in the freezing fog either. My horse slipped and cut up her hock. Have to change the bandage every morning. Sure was a mess in my kitchen but boy that sausage sure is tasty ( and nutritious and a supplement to the meat harvested from my working farms and ranch) and me and the boys made it all by hand.
I live in elk country fizzle sticks and wear my ropers to bed. The difference between me and that little man in the photo is that I have Respect for NATURE and all her bounties.
Somebody wise taught me close to forty years ago to never kill something unless I was ready to eat it. Hunting for "sport" is something practiced by little tiny men.
Getting back to the topic of predators of peafowl, if they're established properly they don't seem to get disappeared with any of the regularity of your typical poultry.
Average age of the peafowl on most old ranches is somewhere in the early teens- ten or eleven being what you should expect for most birds but many an old bird will survive well past that, avoiding their enemies with surprising cunning and strength. Hardly a week goes by when you won't hear the swarm a Kok! Kok! Kok! Kok! knocking from out in the woods and pasture- coyote or lynx likely- love to watch them all winging straight up the hill and into their favorite trees.
Like guineas or turkeys or chickens- it may all come down to the level of domestication of the bird that will determine its capacity to rise up vertically fast enough and with enough dexterity to avoid getting captured. The old males seem to fight a bit with the foxes and bobcats- you can follow them with field glasses -always approaching the threat - that's the strategy - it may seem silly but these birds are millions of years old and in their native haunts they have a much wider diversity of predators and they're well equipped to survive.
I've been surprised with owls- I think they may be better predators of peahens and juvenile males than I once assumed. Great Barred Owls wont bother but the Great Horned Owls- when they've got owlets are really good at flushing birds of the year off their nocturnal perches and capturing them as they fly off - this is why it's in everyone's interest to select the right plumage -if you live in a place with lots of birches -aspens- white bark- pale peahens seem to fare better- on the nest as well.
Raccoons - those little monkey bears are the scourge of tarnation - don't get me started on those little bastards. Living fossils they may be but I do not hesitate removing them at first sight and it's taken me years to get that gumption. I don't eat the raccoons but I do plant them under the blue berries and a cycle is fulfilled.
Catamounts- they'll chase peacocks from tree to tree over a very wide area -but I think they just find the peacocks fascinating. They're after the old males- generally- the peacock has a cat and mouse game hard wired in nature with the leopard - they'll show up in early spring and late summer- but I don't think they take as many peafowl as coyotes. Hawks aren't interested in peafowl, not even goshawks but a golden eagle will take a peahen- that happens out west pretty often. Surprisingly- male peafowl will take on a big bird of prey- as it wrestles with a member of the peacock's flock- it will get swarmed and on the ground no bird of prey is any match for a peacock. They will beat the living hell out of any bird of prey they can tackle on the ground- again- a hard-wired instinct from nature where Hawk Eagles are notorious predators of young peafowl and they hunt in pairs or packs ( this first year peahen was actually killed by the female after being approached by the smaller male . Had there been an adult male present, perhaps her fate would have been different.
Male peafowl are pretty tough in that department. That's why they're always announcing their elevation and intention to do battle when a hawk flies over and one reason old time pioneers carried peacocks all the way to their homesteads - to protect their chickens.
Most of my peafowl will reek like a skunk at some point of the warm season- they just can't leave them alone. A group will just keep after that poor thing until it's baffled and exhausted- but don't forget- there is no better mouser than a skunk. Skunks are not your enemy- not under the barn- just leave them be if you want chipmunks to stay out of your feed.
Let's see what else- wandering dogs from visiting tourists and seasonal residents- they suck and will kill anything and everything- run your horses into the fences- rip the guts out of a rhea- I've got a salt shooter just for them.
I think lynxes and bobcats are the best predators of the peahen and the juveniles- but again- old males with trains seem to live forever -that mantra of the peacock being made more vulnerable and easy kill by its predators has never been something I've seen substantiated- not in truly fit birds- not in nature- where I've researched and not on farms or ranches- its the peahens that get eaten first followed by the juvenile males. Subadult males seem to hold their own too.
But really - I learned the hard way that predators of different regions -the forest cover- or what have you- they all are major factors - no place is identical- but peafowl are pretty bright even if they behave in ways that may seem more than little counter-intuitive .
We see the peacock's "courtship display " as a pretty vainglorious showing when in fact, it's actually a demonstration of intent- that's another topic.
One has to wonder where the peahen's nest is.... Dollars to donuts it's behind the fan.
Fake footage shows tiger catching train bearing male =actually jumping up and taking dead juvenile male bait hung from tree- wildlife photographs were so frustrated that they never were able to witness an adult peacock being captured by any of its natural predators.
All in all - if the birds are well-established- they seem to be pretty capable of discouraging intruders from trespass.
Epic Battles are sure to happen in the meadows- and you'll probably not be lucky enough to witness them...
I've developed a strategy to naturalise peafowl on an estate or farm - which I'll share with if anyone's interested.
As always, I thank you for sharing all your knowledge.
[/b]
Quote:
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
edited to add i am waking up at 5am this thanksgiving morning to hopefully harvest that big buck i have been after. wish me luck! may the crosshairs be steady
Anti Hunter? Wow. I must've wasted a whole lot of time hunting Wapiti on my ranch this fall. Must not have been me that dressed her and dragged her down off the mountain in the freezing fog either. My horse slipped and cut up her hock. Have to change the bandage every morning. Sure was a mess in my kitchen but boy that sausage sure is tasty ( and nutritious and a supplement to the meat harvested from my working farms and ranch) and me and the boys made it all by hand.
I live in elk country fizzle sticks and wear my ropers to bed. The difference between me and that little man in the photo is that I have Respect for NATURE and all her bounties.
Somebody wise taught me close to forty years ago to never kill something unless I was ready to eat it. Hunting for "sport" is something practiced by little tiny men.
Getting back to the topic of predators of peafowl, if they're established properly they don't seem to get disappeared with any of the regularity of your typical poultry.
Average age of the peafowl on most old ranches is somewhere in the early teens- ten or eleven being what you should expect for most birds but many an old bird will survive well past that, avoiding their enemies with surprising cunning and strength. Hardly a week goes by when you won't hear the swarm a Kok! Kok! Kok! Kok! knocking from out in the woods and pasture- coyote or lynx likely- love to watch them all winging straight up the hill and into their favorite trees.
Like guineas or turkeys or chickens- it may all come down to the level of domestication of the bird that will determine its capacity to rise up vertically fast enough and with enough dexterity to avoid getting captured. The old males seem to fight a bit with the foxes and bobcats- you can follow them with field glasses -always approaching the threat - that's the strategy - it may seem silly but these birds are millions of years old and in their native haunts they have a much wider diversity of predators and they're well equipped to survive.
I've been surprised with owls- I think they may be better predators of peahens and juvenile males than I once assumed. Great Barred Owls wont bother but the Great Horned Owls- when they've got owlets are really good at flushing birds of the year off their nocturnal perches and capturing them as they fly off - this is why it's in everyone's interest to select the right plumage -if you live in a place with lots of birches -aspens- white bark- pale peahens seem to fare better- on the nest as well.
Raccoons - those little monkey bears are the scourge of tarnation - don't get me started on those little bastards. Living fossils they may be but I do not hesitate removing them at first sight and it's taken me years to get that gumption. I don't eat the raccoons but I do plant them under the blue berries and a cycle is fulfilled.
Catamounts- they'll chase peacocks from tree to tree over a very wide area -but I think they just find the peacocks fascinating. They're after the old males- generally- the peacock has a cat and mouse game hard wired in nature with the leopard - they'll show up in early spring and late summer- but I don't think they take as many peafowl as coyotes. Hawks aren't interested in peafowl, not even goshawks but a golden eagle will take a peahen- that happens out west pretty often. Surprisingly- male peafowl will take on a big bird of prey- as it wrestles with a member of the peacock's flock- it will get swarmed and on the ground no bird of prey is any match for a peacock. They will beat the living hell out of any bird of prey they can tackle on the ground- again- a hard-wired instinct from nature where Hawk Eagles are notorious predators of young peafowl and they hunt in pairs or packs ( this first year peahen was actually killed by the female after being approached by the smaller male . Had there been an adult male present, perhaps her fate would have been different.
Male peafowl are pretty tough in that department. That's why they're always announcing their elevation and intention to do battle when a hawk flies over and one reason old time pioneers carried peacocks all the way to their homesteads - to protect their chickens.
Most of my peafowl will reek like a skunk at some point of the warm season- they just can't leave them alone. A group will just keep after that poor thing until it's baffled and exhausted- but don't forget- there is no better mouser than a skunk. Skunks are not your enemy- not under the barn- just leave them be if you want chipmunks to stay out of your feed.
Let's see what else- wandering dogs from visiting tourists and seasonal residents- they suck and will kill anything and everything- run your horses into the fences- rip the guts out of a rhea- I've got a salt shooter just for them.
I think lynxes and bobcats are the best predators of the peahen and the juveniles- but again- old males with trains seem to live forever -that mantra of the peacock being made more vulnerable and easy kill by its predators has never been something I've seen substantiated- not in truly fit birds- not in nature- where I've researched and not on farms or ranches- its the peahens that get eaten first followed by the juvenile males. Subadult males seem to hold their own too.
But really - I learned the hard way that predators of different regions -the forest cover- or what have you- they all are major factors - no place is identical- but peafowl are pretty bright even if they behave in ways that may seem more than little counter-intuitive .
We see the peacock's "courtship display " as a pretty vainglorious showing when in fact, it's actually a demonstration of intent- that's another topic.
One has to wonder where the peahen's nest is.... Dollars to donuts it's behind the fan.
Fake footage shows tiger catching train bearing male =actually jumping up and taking dead juvenile male bait hung from tree- wildlife photographs were so frustrated that they never were able to witness an adult peacock being captured by any of its natural predators.
All in all - if the birds are well-established- they seem to be pretty capable of discouraging intruders from trespass.
Epic Battles are sure to happen in the meadows- and you'll probably not be lucky enough to witness them...
I've developed a strategy to naturalise peafowl on an estate or farm - which I'll share with if anyone's interested.
deerman
Rest in Peace 1949-2012
on the pic of the wolf kill ....note the man doen't even stand up, look at his knees. plus he may be short, my guess the wolf is around 100 lbs.
Quote:
I kept looking at the photo,....there's just something wrong there, and your comment about the man's legs, etc., made me look again. Something's just not right,...it's not just the length of the wolf in comparison to the man,...it's also the size of that wolf's head!!! The wolf's head is much bigger than the man's head,.....but look at the man's hands, they're also much bigger than his head!!! Aha!!!! Trick photography, or photoshop, or both, but that wolf ain't as big as it looks!!!!
But,....it sure was a beautiful animal!! It really makes me consider my place in the food chain,....how I feel about killing any animal,....how the majority of our population haven't a clue about where their food comes from,....how we, mankind, are capable of great good, and great evil, not just to animals, but to our fellow man!
Hmm,....just food for thought. I have no answers, just questions.
I kept looking at the photo,....there's just something wrong there, and your comment about the man's legs, etc., made me look again. Something's just not right,...it's not just the length of the wolf in comparison to the man,...it's also the size of that wolf's head!!! The wolf's head is much bigger than the man's head,.....but look at the man's hands, they're also much bigger than his head!!! Aha!!!! Trick photography, or photoshop, or both, but that wolf ain't as big as it looks!!!!
But,....it sure was a beautiful animal!! It really makes me consider my place in the food chain,....how I feel about killing any animal,....how the majority of our population haven't a clue about where their food comes from,....how we, mankind, are capable of great good, and great evil, not just to animals, but to our fellow man!
Hmm,....just food for thought. I have no answers, just questions.
- Apr 28, 2011
- 7
- 1
- 7
Fascinating ! I'm VERY interested in your technique of naturalizing peafowl on an estate or farm. My dream is to have a few peafowl pairs to protect a small flock of bantam chickens . We have many foxes in our area , but I've never yet seen a raccoon. I do have one problem - no large trees . The one venerable tree I had in front of the house for safe roost was uprooted by superstorm Sandy . How big a tree do I need to provide a safe roost ? Thanks !
RESOLUTION, Avany and I would be very appreciative if you will share with us your technique to naturalize peafowl on a property. Hope all is well with you and yours.
AVANY, I have 2 Emerald Spalding I keep putting back in the aviary because they insist on roosting nights on the roof peak of our house. I've had a peahen and year old male taken by Great Horned Owls (I think) in the past so prefer the birds roost in our huge old growth Live Oak trees. Guess that's a crazy thought because the 2 taken were in the trees I mention. Anyway, what I wanted to say is peafowl will choose a high spot on your homestead to sleep nights. Trees aren't necessary .... a house, barn or garage will do but they aren't well hid by branches above. Many folks have peafowl and no trees so don't give up on your dream. I've been told birds of prey will choose the smaller poultry/fowl. Friend was pointing out it's better to loose a chicken then a peafowl therefore I should have chickens to feed the hawks. My thought is having small chickens is inviting birds of prey to dinner. Same with raccoons and fox. We've just finished a chick house for peachicks. Their peeping calls in every predator within hearing distance. I'd like to have a livestock guardian dog but at my age and lack of energy I don't need anymore animals to care for.
AVANY, I have 2 Emerald Spalding I keep putting back in the aviary because they insist on roosting nights on the roof peak of our house. I've had a peahen and year old male taken by Great Horned Owls (I think) in the past so prefer the birds roost in our huge old growth Live Oak trees. Guess that's a crazy thought because the 2 taken were in the trees I mention. Anyway, what I wanted to say is peafowl will choose a high spot on your homestead to sleep nights. Trees aren't necessary .... a house, barn or garage will do but they aren't well hid by branches above. Many folks have peafowl and no trees so don't give up on your dream. I've been told birds of prey will choose the smaller poultry/fowl. Friend was pointing out it's better to loose a chicken then a peafowl therefore I should have chickens to feed the hawks. My thought is having small chickens is inviting birds of prey to dinner. Same with raccoons and fox. We've just finished a chick house for peachicks. Their peeping calls in every predator within hearing distance. I'd like to have a livestock guardian dog but at my age and lack of energy I don't need anymore animals to care for.
I see this is an old thread brought back to life waiting for a response.I'm no gun toter and don't hunt for sport. In our area deer no longer has any natural predators except coyotes and both populations are very high here.We do have a state deer hunting season including bow,shotgun,muzzle loader and black powder.Granted deer does not pose a problem here at my place with my valuable peacocks but deer is a reason for the much higher coyote population.I believe coyotes mainly are scavengers and will kill sick or injured animals,or clean up dead carcasses.but manytimes hunger forces packs of them to migrate between my property and a wooded river lowland about 1 1/2 miles away,and a railroad tracks that has many dens used by coyotes.The coyotes uses an old fenceline that is perfectly inline going to and from both areas and my property is within this trail they use.
Populations of coyotes in my area is much too high to catch and relocate.Severe winters causes packs of them to hunt for food sources and whatever they find is fair game for them.If I neglect to lock the chickenhouse door every night and lose 20 french marans,it is my fault.If they would attack any of our German Shepherd females that are each housed and kenneled within 50' of the back of my house and kill them,it too is my fault.If they break thru all the measures I built into Pea Palace during construction,and wipe out all of my Charcoal pen of birds,,this too is my fault.
But if any of the above instances do occur because of a coyotes killing or a coyote pack hunting and killing you can rest assured my Remington 1187 12 ga will be in hand,fully loaded and will be used.I know what predators we have here and I built accordingly.If a wild animal is so desperate for food it will break thru my protective measures it then becomes my enemy.Nocturnal hunters does so for an advantage.And if a pack finds a location with a food source they will come back over and over again.If those initial predators are eliminated so is a second possible attack.If I so much as see a coyote on my property it is my decision how to insure it nor any of the remaining pack continues to frequent my property for a meal.We choose to domesticate and keep certain animals and in doing so we are responsible for their defense.
Populations of coyotes in my area is much too high to catch and relocate.Severe winters causes packs of them to hunt for food sources and whatever they find is fair game for them.If I neglect to lock the chickenhouse door every night and lose 20 french marans,it is my fault.If they would attack any of our German Shepherd females that are each housed and kenneled within 50' of the back of my house and kill them,it too is my fault.If they break thru all the measures I built into Pea Palace during construction,and wipe out all of my Charcoal pen of birds,,this too is my fault.
But if any of the above instances do occur because of a coyotes killing or a coyote pack hunting and killing you can rest assured my Remington 1187 12 ga will be in hand,fully loaded and will be used.I know what predators we have here and I built accordingly.If a wild animal is so desperate for food it will break thru my protective measures it then becomes my enemy.Nocturnal hunters does so for an advantage.And if a pack finds a location with a food source they will come back over and over again.If those initial predators are eliminated so is a second possible attack.If I so much as see a coyote on my property it is my decision how to insure it nor any of the remaining pack continues to frequent my property for a meal.We choose to domesticate and keep certain animals and in doing so we are responsible for their defense.
We've a breeding pair of great horned owls ransacking our area right now. So far the peas have escaped harm but they are still young and I think could easily be taken. They are simply smarter and more alert than the chickens I think.
new 2 pfowl
Crowing
Speaking of predators, it looks like we had an unpleasant coyote event here early this morning...I found a pile of wing feathers and one of the girls (Chicken Girl is her name) is missing. My neighbor says she saw one of our girls being chased by a coyote and flying off but I haven't found her yet...keeping my fingers crossed...hopefully she is hiding out...
*edited to add:
What a relief, Chicken Girl showed up and seems fine. Everyone's accounted for and so far they all seem fine...I wonder where those feathers came from?
*edited to add:
What a relief, Chicken Girl showed up and seems fine. Everyone's accounted for and so far they all seem fine...I wonder where those feathers came from?
Last edited:
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