hello, we just bought a new peahen and brought her home on Mother's Day (so just short of two weeks ago). We have one other peahen, and two peacocks, as well as chickens. Our flock free ranges. As we have always done, we put the new peahen in our quarantine pen, where she was for the first week. It has high wooden sides, though she can hear and see the others, and the top third of it is wire, so she can see out a bit. After a week, she was freaking out in there, honking and carrying on, so we decided to put her in a pen that has wire sides, which is in the barn, but she can see all around, and can socialize with the flock through the fence.. We know that she is healthy, but our practice has always been to keep the new birds (especially peafowl) confined for the first three to four weeks. I have read that you need to do this with peafowl if they are going to free range, so that they can imprint on their new surroundings, and not take off.. It was not a problem with our other peafowl to do this, although they were younger. This hen is three years old. After the first two days in the new pen, she is pacing and obviously stressed. She has met our other peahen through the wire, and the other birds, but I'm reluctant to let her out just yet. But should I let her out? I'm worried about her stressing in there. The rest of the flock goes outside, and she acts like she wants to follow them, but it is breeding season, I'm not sure how well she'll be accepted by our other peas, and I sure don't want her to take off. They seem to get along ok; the other peas are more or less ignoring her while she's in the pen. What should I do? Let her out, or not? It hasn't even been two weeks.....I was going to give her an apple on a string, or corn cob, or something, to give her something to do, tomorrow.
