Question ABout Peafowl

[ccrawf]

Went to an auction over the weekend and there were 4 Peacock eggs. Thought about getting them, but they went for $25 and I stopped bidding at $20. Not sure what they are actually worth or what condition they were in. Been thinking about getting some.
So when I came home and told my son, he said that they have the nastiest, tarry, smelling poop of anything he's seen.
Some one want to fill me in on this? I know ducks are pretty nasty, my geese aren't too bad, and the chickens and turkeys aren't too bad. Just when I let them run in the yard, there is a lot of it and some are pretty big and every once in a while one gets the squirts. Other wise it is still the same.
My question is do all you with peafowl notice this, or maybe it was just something they were eating at that particular place.
Thanks.
Clay

 

[Whispering Winds]

My friend has some, and I was at their pen last time I was there and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary and no smell at all . . .she gave me two boys, but you have to have a really good fence and cover or they just "walk away" and here they would walk right into the mouth of a dog, coyote or coon. . .so that is next on my list of things to do after the chicken coop and fence.

 

[BlackBart]

Mine had a sort of greasy sticky poop that if it got on you it was hard to get off.
But my Peacocks free ranged so who knows what they were eating besides the food I gave them.

 

[Kev]

Funny question.

My chicken pens have more smell than any of the peafowl pens. Even brooders with chicks have a stronger smell than those with peachicks. If I'm late with cleaning out a chicken brooder, they definitely stink strongly.. but peachick brooders have just a slight smell in comparison..

Thinking about it.. would say that chickens(and definitely ducks/geese) poop much more than peachicks/peafowl do. Related to this- chickens/ducks/geese eat MUCH more than adult peafowl.. a pen of chickens eat through same amount of feed in one or two days that takes a pen of peafowl to use up in a week. I've taken to warning new peafowl owners that they eat very little, if they already had other poultry, after one new owner worried about how little the peafowl was eating.. Others have expressed amazement how little peafowl eat compared to other poultry..

Poop size, yes peafowl poop can be bigger. So, less pleasant to step in.. don't notice the smell being worse though. The exception is if they are caught and very frightened, they WILL let out a very bad smelling and liquidy poop.. it seems to be a defense thing because I never smell this particular smell in pens or birds who are not frightened. So if the only experience a person had with peafowl was being close to a captured one that let out this kind of stinky poop.....

 

[deerman]

Yep Kev is right on.. When catching one, seen that more than once. A full grown peafowl eats no more than a chicken, now turkeys will eat 2 times what a peafowl eats.

Geese ,duck, and turkey are messier than any peafowl.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Quote:
Agreed,

Oh and if you dont think goose pop is bad, LOL you'll never even notice peafowl mess. I have 40 of them here with virtually no smell at all, course I clean their pens out every weekend too, They have big droppings, that are abit nasty, but dont all birds, get you some,
Oh and if they were all 4 eggs for $25, that was a deal, go on ebay and look up peafowl hatching eggs, it'll blow your mind, some are $50 EACH

 

[ccrawf]

Wasn't sure exactly what they were worth and I didn't have a lot to spend at the moment. Took a shot at them, but wasn't sure I wanted them. I went to the auction with the intention of NOT buying anything.

And I didn't buy anything, lol! If there had been some way to tell where the eggs came from, how they had been handled, etc, I may have tried harder. Thanks to every one for your answers. Would like to get some one day, but pigs are higher on the wish list. I can eat them, lol!!
Clay

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Some people eat peafowl.... and lot better lookin than a pig.....lol

 

[Kev]

Pigs? And potential smell of peafowl is a concern?

if you can tolerate pig smell.. then peafowl are perfectly scent-less in comparison.

 

[ccrawf]

Quote:
Well, the pigs would be further away, and I know they smell. It wasn't so much about just the smell I think as that is was their poop is tarry and sticky and such. Chicken poop breaks down pretty easily.