Raising Peafowl 101

[mahsmaj]

I thought it would be great if we could try to make an helpful topic about the basics of peafowl, and go through a lot of the frequently asked questions about peafowl. Please post any common Questions and Answers that you have about the basics of Peafowl and it will be added to this post. [ I'm trying to create a topic like the Raising Guinea Fowl 101 topic, so this is what we're using as Our Template. (Raising Guinea Fowl 101) ]

Here are the categories in which your questions and answers will go:

- Reasons to choose Peafowl:

- Peafowl care:

+ Are Peafowl susceptible to diseases?
* Peafowl are very hardy birds but there are a few preventive steps that can be taken to insure the health of the birds. The easiest way to keep adult peafowl healthy is to worm them at least twice a year. Many of the diseases that peafowl are susceptible to are carried by internal parasites. There are several wormers available that can be given orally or mixed in the drinking water. The use of wire bottomed cages and brooders will help keep the chicks healthy. Feeding a medicated starter to the chicks will help prevent coccidiosis. The starter feed should be kept fresh because these medications lose their effectiveness over time. Chicks can also be given medication in their drinking water for various other diseases.

- Managing your Peafowl:

- Peafowl eggs and Peachicks:

 

[ChooksChick]

Fabulous idea!!

 

[mahsmaj]

Thank you! I just thought it would be helpful for those BYC'ers out there that wanted to expand their poultry obsessions with Peafowl!

 

[mahsmaj]

Does anyone have any questions and/or answers that I can add to the Main post?

 

[Moonspeckle]

What about what diseases and other things they can get and how to prevent them?

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

How long (time frame) to keep them on wire before they can go on the ground?
Answer in months would be helpful. I know there are lots of different ideas on this, but a general rule of thumb would be helpful.

What to feed peachicks and adult pea fowl, and recommended length of time on each feed.

Dosages of different types of wormers for each age group of pea fowl.

Size of coop and or pen requirements for pea fowl.

Recommended height of pens.


When I think of more things I want to know, I will post them.

Jean

 

[laceynoelle]

This would be really helpful!! I am going to raise peafowl when i get older, and something like this will make it loads better!! Could you add these to your Q and A? I'd help with it, but i dont know any of it myself.

Can they fly far or away?
Can they be around other animals/poultry?
Can they be free range?
How often do they lay or sit?

And if youre all feeling up to it, you could set up example of different colors and photos, and a list of breeders an hatcheries that sell them. Is there any way i can help?

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Thanks for starting this thread..
I have gotten peachicks 2 years in a row and they are about 6 weeks old...they look fine, I have them for about 3 weeks and all of a sudden I go out one morning or afternoon and ..welll they are dead. what am I doing wrong? the one I have now is a couple of years old, but I brought her as a full grown hen...I don't have a mate with her because I don't know how to take care of the little ones obviously...please help me.

 

[Sue-Cat]

D'Angelo N Va. :

Thanks for starting this thread..
I have gotten peachicks 2 years in a row and they are about 6 weeks old...they look fine, I have them for about 3 weeks and all of a sudden I go out one morning or afternoon and ..welll they are dead. what am I doing wrong? the one I have now is a couple of years old, but I brought her as a full grown hen...I don't have a mate with her because I don't know how to take care of the little ones obviously...please help me.

Awww.... what do you feed them? You can't feed them anything with antibiotics or other drugs in them. (Standard baby chick food contains antibiotics - we always buy drug free version for all of our birds.)

Any temperature extremes at time of death?

Sue-Cat​

 

[Sue-Cat]

Quote:
My husband and I have had 3 adults peafowl for a couple of years - 2 peahens and 1 peacock. This year one of the peahens hatched chicks - they are so cute!

Yes, they can fly ... enough to get very high up in trees and to fly away. I understand flying away can be a problem for some but we haven't had that problem with ours - we live in a forest in MD, have a large bird pen with electric fencing to keep predators out, with no 'roof' or similar - so if the birds can fly, they can fly out. Our birds that can fly almost always stay close however and usually inside the pen... we feed them plenty of nice food, they have plenty of space and a nice environment to live in. They instinctively know they are safer inside the bird pen.

Yes, they can be around some other birds: they get along fine with our ducks, hens, bantam hens and turkey all in the same pen. We had a male guinea hen though that insisted on attacking our peacock - even though the peacock was much bigger and he got beaten up he would just keep going back for more! We had to lock him away... sad, he died... our female guinea hen is fine with our peafowl however. We also have 2 large white geese (they way too fat to fly) who are shut in their own separate section of the bird pen because they have a habit of beating up our hens to the point of killing them. I don't think the geese would get on very well with the peafowl.

Yes, they can be free range in the right location (don't know at what population level they would begin to leave to find own territory?)... but consider predators in your area. We have foxes, raccoons, possums and bobcats. Peafowl will prefer to roost high up a tree or on a roof, unless it is cold/raining at which times they usually prefer to seek the shelter of the hen house.

They lay eggs every spring/early summer... the first season we had our peahens they laid eggs but didn't sit on them long enough to hatch chicks. This year one did, the other is still thinking about it and figuring out how to do it.

Our mom peahen made her nest outside the pen (gasp! worried out predators) even though she usually previously stayed in the pen bird... successfully hatched 5... she refused to take them into the bird pen, instead foraging for food in the forest - we also put grain and water outside the pen for them. A predator got one at night when something like 10 days old. The next night mom peahen managed to get all of her babies to fly up to the roof of the house - quite a feat for the little things! They are over 3 weeks old now, getting stronger and bigger all the time and every night mom insists they fly up to the roof of the house and then onto a high tree branch to stay safe from predators. During the day they mostly forage around the house and forest.

Sue-Cat