Raising Peafowl 101

[IWantATurbo]

is there anything we should NOT feed them? so far every thing i put in there they eat!!!!

noodles, fruit, cooked egg, egg shells, grass clipping, seed, and more. have not tried meat of any kind will they eat that?


i was told if i eat it most likely they will?

 

[Sue-Cat]

Quote:
Not sure on that... I would avoid giving them people food with preservatives and other chemicals in it, and coffee and chocolate. Grass is fine, as long as it doesn't have chemicals (pesticides, weedicides, fertilizers) on it! Fruit, egg definitely fine although I think raw egg would be better for them than cooked egg. I think they would eat meat but it's not part of their natural diet, aside from insects and worms, so I'd avoid giving actual meat to baby peafowl - ditto for dairy foods. Grain based foods, fruits, veggies, eggs all should be fine.

Ours have access to: mixed grains/seeds, drug free protein mash, oyster shell, grit, kitchen scraps (including some meat and dairy) and whatever they find in the forest... and (since it is the season) I've been feeding mom and the babies blueberries! They love those!

Sue-Cat

 

[zazouse]

Why would you raise pea chicks off the ground? i read several post where people are keeping the chicks in a brooder for 2 months or more.

I free range everything here and they all start out on the ground unless we are having a flood,i believe this builds up their natural immunity and they are healthier.

So is this not the case with pea chicks?

 

[Sue-Cat]

Quote:
I agree with that zazouse, but when we buy, e.g., baby chicks and have no natural mother to raise them (which we've done with hens and ducks), we raise them inside in a brooder box for 2 months or more until they are old enough to survive outside with our adult birds. It's the only way we have to keep them sufficiently warm, not having any set up outside that would keep them warm on the ground.

Texas is a fair bit warmer than Maryland where I live... how do you keep your chicks warm enough outside?

Sue-Cat

 

[zazouse]

my brooder is a 16 by 16 greenhouse, with doors in the bottom leading outside to a outdoor area,In the winter i keep heat lamps on in there and have never lost a chick to the weather.

For the outdoor run I use corral panels covered with hardware cloth when my chicks start flying up past the attached hardware cloth i lift the panels up and set them on bricks just high enough for chicks to get under, then i have 3 ft by 8ft pieces of plastic lattice work i put next to the panel, the chicks can get away from the old flock if they need to but the older ones cant get in.

Usually a within a week they are all together at all ages no problems.

 

[Sue-Cat]

Quote:
You have a nice setup!

I see no reason why you couldn't raise pea chicks same as you do other chicks. (Our bird pen is an electrified wire fence... small chicks can go right thru the gaps. Hen house in the pen for shelter has open doors and lots of holes.)

Sue-Cat

 

[zazouse]

Thanks Sue,

i thought it was going to be next year before i could get pea-chicks but i finely found someone in my area that has eggs, and their flock is tested yearly which was important to me as i have alot of birds here.

So i have questions and this is a great topic that was started.

 

[Frosty]

How about how long they have to be on heat or when can they be removed from mom and not need heat?

Sue-Cat, I don't know where you get your feed, but standard chick feed does NOT contain antibiotics. The medicated feed contains Amprolium which is a coccidiostat. It blocks Thiamine uptake and will help keep birds from getting coccidiosis but will not treat it if the birds get it. There are some here who recommend the medicated feed for peachicks. I personally use unmedicated, but that is a decision that each person must make on their own.

 

[nivtup]

A thread to watch as we are in discussions on getting chicks from the neighbors up the road a spell now.

 

[deerman]

Check this link.......he raises a few each year

on the ground depend on your area....just by reading this forum, you can see were so many lose peachicks they try raiseing on the ground....heck some will sell their peachicks before they even know they picked something up, they start losing them the 2nd month. Blackhead and cocci are to big killers, they can get from eating worms and etc.

http://www.leggspeafowl.com/peachicks.htm