Quiet Peafowl, Anybody interested???

[MinxFox]

People also assumed the same things about "de-crowed" roosters not being able to function normally with less volume.
Less volume? So if they are de-crowed they can still make noise??

Well that's been disproved by the quiet roosters that are out there fertilizing eggs and protecting backyard flocks.
Yes but what breed are these chickens? Chickens have been far more domesticated than peafowl. I am positive that chicken behavior has changed with domestication. I know that people who keep wild type chickens - Junglefowl - say they are nothing like domestic chickens. They are wilder, they don't lay year round, etc. Unlike chickens, peafowl don't lay year round which makes breeding season and the rituals that go with it even more important.

People forget that peafowl are strictly an ornamental animal. To my knowledge they aren't being raised for sport, egg or meat production like chickens.
Just because they are ornamental and we are not eating them does not mean they shouldn't be treated well. In the past the wealthy would have peafowl in the garden and for dinner parties they would have a cooked peacock set on the table with his feathers around him. Later people turned to eating turkey mainly and eating peafowl became rare, but it still happens. You can find youtube videos of people eating peafowl meat. In Asia they have large peafowl farms for the sole purpose of raising them for meat. Then the feathers, which are a by-product, are sold. The peafowl is a sacred animal in India.

So I liken this procedure to de-scenting ferrets. They are modified in a way that does not seem to alter the behavior or well being of the animal but allows it to be enjoyed by humans. Not necessary for life, but can possible allow for one. Again, this isn't for everybody. It shouldn't be. Just an option. Thanks.
I, like Garden Peas, disagree that this is like de-scenting a ferret. The ferret can still make noise and communicate that way. To me removing a peacock's voice isn't even like fixing a dog or a cat. None of those things involve removing the voice. The peacock's voice is a defining feature of this bird, and while the male might still breed without his voice, you can't say his life won't be as happy as a peacock who has a voice. If my instincts told me that during the spring and summer I was to call loudly to attract a mate, I would be pretty upset if I couldn't do it. I have read stories of peacocks going crazy just because their peahen died, they were separated, etc. A nearby breeder told me when she penned a peahen that one of her free-ranging peacocks really loved, he cried out for her. They may not be humans, but they do have personality and feelings. But of course people will do what they want to do in order to have what they want, even if it isn't always for the best of the animal. If the procedure is safe, if it doesn't cost a lot, if it keeps the neighbor's happy...If if if but I want to know how this would affect the peacock's quality of life because I don't care if it would make the neighbor's happy to take away an animal's voice.

Anyways, I am just saying my opinion because I see this in a different way than you might. I don't know if you have ever raised peafowl or grew up around them, but I think you should get to know them in person and that could help your venture. Also doing a study on a de-voiced peacock and recording the data from the previous year's breeding before he was de-voiced as a control, and then the breeding season after the de-voicing and see if the breeding results differ at all. We don't hate you, but we just don't agree with your de-voicing plan. I wouldn't be surprised if you encounter others along the way objecting to this practice. Some people will take you up on this I am sure. You might want to do some research into feral peafowl populations. There are feral peafowl in some part of Florida in a community and many people hate all the noise they make but others love them. They have been trying to control the population with birth control mixed in the bird's food, but I don't think it is working. A community like that may be desperate to have someone like you come along and help control the noise level. Even just removing a few peacock's voices could help lessen the noise as I am sure it would be hard to catch all of them. Like I said, I am not for de-voicing, but if you really want to help people with this a good way to help people, get experience by performing this on many peacocks, and making a whole neighborhood happier.

 

[zazouse]

Hey, I haven't been on here primarily because of all of the haters. I still haven't done any peacocks yet but I have had a few offers from some that are interested. I'll probably end up with some eggs from a client to try it out. I think it's kind of funny that people question my surgical abilities and make assumptions about other folks' opinions on this procedure. This procedure has been successfully used on peacocks by the vet that taught me. So proof of concept does exist. People also assumed the same things about "de-crowed" roosters not being able to function normally with less volume. Well that's been disproved by the quiet roosters that are out there fertilizing eggs and protecting backyard flocks. All the while keeping the neighbors happy. People forget that peafowl are strictly an ornamental animal. To my knowledge they aren't being raised for sport, egg or meat production like chickens. So I liken this procedure to de-scenting ferrets. They are modified in a way that does not seem to alter the behavior or well being of the animal but allows it to be enjoyed by humans. Not necessary for life, but can possible allow for one. Again, this isn't for everybody. It shouldn't be. Just an option. Thanks.

Dr. James

I did not see anyone hating on you nor did they question your surgical abilities.
I do have a question, why are you still looking to do a surgery on someones peafowl when you posted this statment on your website?

P. S. I will no longer be offering this procedure for client owned roosters, for the time being. There have been too many complications on birds that leave my care after the procedure. Roosters will still be available for purchase and I will have a greater assortment as the chicks I have mature.

http://quietroosters.com/

 

[casportpony]

Surely one could find and inexpensive peacock in OK, right? I say buy one, do a before and after video, and maybe video the procedure, that would be very interesting to those of us that like that sort of thing.

-Kathy

 

[CathyC]

It is nice for those of us who live in cities to have the option of keeping animals who like eachother together. If a "hen" in my city turned out to be male the city would act quickly the first time a neighbor was irritated by crowing. It is hard to rehome a roo or peacock to a place that does not use a cone as an option even if you are willing to pay board.

 

[MinxFox]

What does it mean when "a place does not use a cone as an option"?

I don't know about chickens but with peafowl you will know within at most a year if your peahen is actually a peacock (often sooner than that). They don't start calling until they are two years old and it is the breeding season, and even then they don't seem to call as much as they might when they are three. You would have plenty of time to sell or give away the young peacock before he started becoming noisy.

I know people in the city like having chickens so that they can have fresh eggs, but you don't need a rooster for eggs.

I can't stress enough that there are many beautiful pheasant varieties that are far quieter than peacocks or roosters that can be wonderful alternatives for city life - especially the small pheasants because they don't need much room. Red golden pheasants are very popular with many people and the male displays for the female. I think most if not all pheasant varieties have some sort of display.

 

[casportpony]

It is nice for those of us who live in cities to have the option of keeping animals who like eachother together. If a "hen" in my city turned out to be male the city would act quickly the first time a neighbor was irritated by crowing. It is hard to rehome a roo or peacock to a place that does not use a cone as an option even if you are willing to pay board.

Welcome to BYC!

-Kathy

 

[Garden Peas]

It is nice for those of us who live in cities to have the option of keeping animals who like eachother together. If a "hen" in my city turned out to be male the city would act quickly the first time a neighbor was irritated by crowing. It is hard to rehome a roo or peacock to a place that does not use a cone as an option even if you are willing to pay board.

I don't know what a "cone" is ... other than the cones that chicken people use when they are whacking off chicken heads prior to cleaning them for the freezer. Is that the kind of cone you mean? Not usually what we do with peafowl these days, even at Thanksgiving.

With all respect, life is about choices. Choices where to live, choices who to live with, choices for what animals will share your home, your barn, your yard. Not every domesticated animal is appropriate for every yard. If the neighborhood is such that the noise from peas will create a problem, then peas shouldn't live there, or plan to find a way to work it out with the neighbors. If there's no zoning or nuisance restriction, then it's a matter of comity. If there are laws restricting them, then de-voicing is not the answer. Having peas in the city is a dangerous proposition for the peas anyway -- I know, because I am currently doing it, and I am counting the days until I can move somewhere more appropriate for my birds. If birds don't fit the environment, then alter the environment rather than cripple the bird.

It is not "nice" in my opinion, to mutilate a bird in order to keep it for a pet. There's no "right" to keep every pet in every location. Apparently a significant number of chickens die from the anesthesia, and many others have complications from the surgery. Why risk a dead peacock? For non-essential surgery??? How would any one of us feel if the pea died on the operating table as so many roosters do?

Peas are NOT chickens. As MinxFox said, the voice of a pea is integral to its behavior. Peas are much more communicative than chickens and they live much longer, in intimate family groups. Peas become exceedingly distraught when they lose a family member. Peacock calls seem to be related to peahen egg laying. Peas do not lay eggs year round. And peas lek... I don't know if chickens ever were lekking birds, but peas still are, and the male calls seem to be related to lekking behavior.

I don't think de-voicing a chicken is ever appropriate, and I am totally and completely horrified at the prospect of de-voicing surgery on peafowl. So far, the only people who have been writing in, asking about it, have been non-pea owners who think they would like to have peas. My kiddo wants her horse up her too, but no horses in the city, duh. This is the same kind of no-brainer.

 

[KsKingBee]

I know guys that travel up here to buy cheaper peas to resell down in OK, but you have a good idea. The OP could do this during mating season and take decible readings before and after the process.

 

[Garden Peas]

I know guys that travel up here to buy cheaper peas to resell down in OK, but you have a good idea. The OP could do this during mating season and take decible readings before and after the process.

Assuming it doesn't die from the anesthesia. Or hemorrhage after the surgery. Or ruin itself by trying to call during the mandatory 5-7 day "all quiet" period following the surgery.

I think it's wrong to do it even as an experiment.

 

[casportpony]

You all know I love my peas, right? I wouldn't sell one to someone that wanted to do this experiment, but I do think it's an interesting idea, and possibly a better outcome for the pea than one sold at auction to the taxidermist.

-Kathy