Should my peafowl free range

[NatureGirl74]

My peacock is 6 years old. We've had him since he was 3. The hen is 4 and we've had her since she was 1. We've had them in a pen that's 250 sq ft. We were planning to almost double it. We had really high winds a few days ago that destroyed the tarp and netting over the pen. The hen flew out, but we caught both of them and put them with the chickens. The chicken run is 262.5 sq ft and there are 11 chickens. So far the birds are getting along really well. Should we rebuild the pen and put the peafowl back in, or should we let them freerange?

 

[KsKingBee]

Everyone's particular situation is different but one rule remains, never free-range a bird you are not prepared to lose. If I could free-range all of my birds I would and here I do free-range a dozen or more every winter but during the breeding season I pen all of the mature birds and only let a few yearlings roam. Free-ranged hens have a habit of sitting a nest and sometimes get taken by a predator.

You have to take a lot of variables into account, neighbors, predators, local ordinances are the main ones. We have livestock guardian dogs to protect our flock, and here in the country living on a creek, in the middle of a square mile with the closest neighbor a mile away we have the perfect situation. If you determine to free-range then only let one bird out at a time for a week or so then let the other bird out and they will most likely stay. Always feed inside their pen as they know that is their safe haven.