Show off your Peas!

[Garden Peas]

I would be happy to do that, but I'm going to wait for some slightly warmer weather. It's frigid out there, and I'll need hubby to demonstrate so I can take some pics, and I doubt he's going to want to go out and catch Peas in the freezing cold just for demo purposes.

He'd look at me like I'd lost what little mind I had left! And honestly for me it depends on the bird, my CBS hen the 19 year old, is a bit on the slow side, so I will just corner her and she will try to jump to get away and usually she jumps right up into my arms, but we've gotten to know each other pretty well over the past 19 years. The net is easiest for most.

Kathy just started one....

Could you post a photo of your net? I need to buy one for emergencies...

 

[casportpony]

Quote: I don't have a net for catching peafowl... was hoping others would post what they use.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Was thinking about one of these maybe?
http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Economy-Landing-Nets/product/37127/

-Kathy

 

[KsKingBee]

Just to be perfectly clear here, the 2 birds you had die during handling. Were they strong healthy birds who were receiving preventative medication(wormer), or were they birds who were already compromised or weakened by some sort of disease or infection/infestation? Not questioning this at all, I just want it to be perfectly clear for others who may read this.

I recently met someone with some free ranging Peas, when we discussed worming he said he'd never wormed his and didn't intend to. He preferred to let them live and die naturally as a method of controlling the flock size. He freely admitted to finding dead ones and was not the least interested in the causes of their death.

When catching do you use a net or some other method? I use a net, but I know some people consider netting to be dangerous.

Yes, thank you. I meant to reiterate that fact but forgot. Yes the ones that died were sick and had weak systems to begin with. It was the stress of catching them while they were in a weakened condition that finished them off. As I stated, catching them has to be done and I try to take as much care in doing it and releasing them as quickly as possible.

I bought the high dollar net for catching them and I am not really sold on using it. In a pen full of peas it really gets them ALL excited and now just the sight of it will get them antsy. I find it easier in a small pen to just corner the bird and pen it down to the ground without picking it up. I usually pen the bird down and DW gets a hold on the legs extended straight back and will put one hand on the birds back while I attend to the injection or whatever we are doing.

When we use the net it is mostly the same process but the net gets in the way having to remove the net and the birds feathers from it. If the bird is really flighty we have to use the net, but I prefer not to if possible.

When we are done attending to the bird we simply back off and let it rise and walk off by itself.

If I need to carry a bird I will cradle it in my arm with the head under my armpit and my free hand holding its legs. Again when releasing it I place it on the ground with my hand on its back and back away. Many times it will lay there for a minute or so until it realizes that it can get up and walk away.

 

[Shay1Bear]

looks like Little Eagle and Blue are plotting on how to get away from this big grew foo. Lol Mayur keep following them all around the coop with his train fanned.

 

[Shay1Bear]

Sorry about my spelling ha ha my hands are frozen from being outside feeding my babys. I ment big green fool. Lol. I absolutely love all of the pic all us pea people post! They are all so great!

 

[DylansMom]

Was thinking about one of these maybe?
http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-Economy-Landing-Nets/product/37127/

-Kathy

That is exactly the kind we use, but all mine came from yardsales. I swear I can spot a net at a yardsale while driving past at 60 mph! We currently have 3 of them, I have had a couple that the Peas actually just tore right thru, not sure if they had weaker netting or maybe a bit dry rotted from age?

 

[thndrdancr]

When I said he was lucky, I was under the assumption he had never lost any.

Hey when holding a bird I always use a large towel or small blanket throw to wrap around them and also cover their headand to contain those feet!. After I pin them. That way you don't have to worry about those deadly claws. I think it was deerman that once said he had one claw his belly so bad he required sixteen stitches or more. We all know how experienced he was was.

 

[Garden Peas]

So I was hoping we could put all this good catching info on Kathy's new thread so we can search for it and find it and send folks there that might need help

 

[DylansMom]

When I said he was lucky, I was under the assumption he had never lost any.

Hey when holding a bird I always use a large towel or small blanket throw to wrap around them and also cover their headand to contain those feet!. After I pin them. That way you don't have to worry about those deadly claws. I think it was deerman that once said he had one claw his belly so bad he required sixteen stitches or more. We all know how experienced he was was.

2 babies were lost as well, one died because it hatched with curled up feet and he didn't know you could straighten the toes by taping(chick shoes), so it couldn't walk. The other actually got a little bigger and he decided to start tethering it by one leg. He blames the bird for pulling it's own leg out of the socket because it wouldn't stop fighting against the tether he put on it. The track record here is not very good and that is one reason I find it so frustrating that he continues to ignore advice when it is given to him, and (IMO) even worse he tries to pass along incorrect/unproven advice as fact.