The peas are out of their pen

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Wow they are looking big! I only free-ranged once so far, it was with my first peafowl pair. I plan on doing it again but this time with younger birds who will actually stick around.
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Anyways I always found myself wanting them to explore more, but when they did it got stressful searching for them. There were days we couldn't find them but they were around somewere in the bushes. They always hid in the bushes and I hated that. What is the point in having such a beautiful bird free-ranging if all it is going to do is hide in the bushes most of the day and only walk a few feet out of the bushes to display and then go back in the brush? I was surprized how even the male could blend in amidst the bushes and if it wasn't for the blackshoulder peahen I don't think I would have ever spotted them on some days. It wasn't what I expected at all of birds that were free to roam around a big yard...Hopefully the next peas I let out won't be that way.

It is good that yours are exploring. I bet it was a bit scarry when you couldn't find them. They are just checking out the yard now that they feel more comfortable like my birds did a bit.
 
At first i did worry about them but i am starting to understand them now, when they disapere i just go looking for the dark place around here like under our backhoe, dump truck ,barns under the house, i don't worry about neighbors cause i don't have any close enough to see.

They are getting to know the rest of the flocks,even though my birds free range some of them never go over by the barn where the peas live and some stay over there untill it's time to roost.

The guineas are following them around alot i think they really like the big birds
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I love that you can free range your birds! We purchased ours a bit older (yearling pair, and 4 year old quad), so won't risk trying to free range them. I have thought about keeping back some chicks to free range this spring--however we were hearing other peas in the distance this fall. We think a farmer down the road who has turkey/pheasents may also have some pea fowl.
 
Well i had my first problems with the peas this evening.
They always head to their pen just before dark but not this time, they got up on my roof and would not come down, i tried the water hose,a few fire crackers and ended up getting the latter and climbing up on the roof and herded them down, then i had trouble getting them to go in their pen, after i got them in ther started honking,they have settled down but can anyone that may free ranges peas tell me why they did not want to go in their pen after all this time?

They are just 6 months old and i do not want them sleeping on the roof cause the owls can get bad around here sometimes, i have had them knock the guineas out of the tree they roost in and when they hit the ground my dogs are on them because they don't relize they are guineas at first and i have lost 2 this way after a 100 pound dog pounced on them by mistake, don't wanna loose any peas this way or from the owls.

Could it be mabe they want a high place to roost cause their roost in the pen is just barely 8 foot off the ground.

Other than this all is going great with them free ranged.
 
Glad I read through this thread...would have been my next question. I got my peas last Sept. They are 2-3 years old. I suspect they will run off, so I have not let them out yet. They are semi friendly, they will eat from my hand, but I am sure once they get out I would never be able to catch them.
 
BHep.. When you decide to let them out ,just let out one at a time, keep one in the pen and if possible rotate the free range time between them. Watch when the hen starts laying as she will go hide and lay eggs and that is where most are lost to predators. good luck .. connerhills Farm.... George
 
Well i had no problems getting them in last night, i think what happen is i had fed them grain on top the conex box earler that day, where as i have aways feed them in their pen and they were just not hungry.
Lesson learned
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They did venture out into the woods a bit with the guineas yesterday.
 

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