What do you wish you knew before getting peacocks?

[CooksCritters]

So I should treat them when I get them? where can you get the meds from?

I raise South African Boers goats and India Blue peafowl. I wish that I had known that within a few years I would have to become a pharmacist and run a pharmacy from my home. Your biggest concern with your new peachicks is to be ready to save them from coccidiosis, worms and blackhead in that order and you should have the meds before the chicks. Wishing you well on your new endeavor. Peafowl are well worth the effort to keep them healthy.

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Hello and congratulations on your new pea friends!

I just wanted to mention that chain-link will not keep out predators. I'm not sure what your predator situation is there, but in general, predator-proofing is an extremely important consideration in pen building...

 

[CooksCritters]

Thank you! I'm insanely excited.( I'm a stay at home mom. I have little excitement. Lol) Our predators here in the fl panhandle are dogs, possums, racoons, foxes, many, MANY varieties of snakes, coyotes, and numerous birds of prey. Every once in a blue moon we might hear a bobcat, but not often.
I was thinking of cooping them at night, and making them a covered run in the day time maybe out of chain link, but now I'm not sure. Now I'm thinking Chicken wire, and hardware cloth. I was thinking about an string of electric fence. ( of course well away from the birds. )
But

Hello and congratulations on your new pea friends!

I just wanted to mention that chain-link will not keep out predators. I'm not sure what your predator situation is there, but in general, predator-proofing is an extremely important consideration in pen building...

 

[Frenchman Creek]

So I should treat them when I get them? where can you get the meds from?

There is a ton of good information on this website in regard to pea health. I am assuming that your peachicks are very young as in weeks old. You need to have a medicated chick starter feed to help prevent coccidiosis and a supplement of corid in their water every so often will also help. With chicks if you see one walking around slowly with its head tucked into its shoulders it is already too late. That chick already has both feet and one wing in the grave. Prevention is the key. In your avatar you have a chicken so I assume you also have them and if so you need to prevent black head which can kill peas of all ages very quickly. All peas need to be treated for worms on a regular basis. If you can not find the meds locally go online to Valley Vet and they will have every thing you need. They have stocked most of my pharmaceutical shelves.

 

[CooksCritters]

Thank you Frenchman Creek! You have been extremely helpful! I will look into that. I get horse supplies from Valley Vet, so it's good to know they carry peafowl meds too. I will keep my Peas far away from my chickens, but i'm still going to order the meds to prevent it. my four Peas and I thank you!

There is a ton of good information on this website in regard to pea health. I am assuming that your peachicks are very young as in weeks old. You need to have a medicated chick starter feed to help prevent coccidiosis and a supplement of corid in their water every so often will also help. With chicks if you see one walking around slowly with its head tucked into its shoulders it is already too late. That chick already has both feet and one wing in the grave. Prevention is the key. In your avatar you have a chicken so I assume you also have them and if so you need to prevent black head which can kill peas of all ages very quickly. All peas need to be treated for worms on a regular basis. If you can not find the meds locally go online to Valley Vet and they will have every thing you need. They have stocked most of my pharmaceutical shelves.

Tha

 

[Frenchman Creek]

Thank you Frenchman Creek! You have been extremely helpful! I will look into that. I get horse supplies from Valley Vet, so it's good to know they carry peafowl meds too. I will keep my Peas far away from my chickens, but i'm still going to order the meds to prevent it. my four Peas and I thank you!

Tha

You are welcome. Valley Vet will have what you need in the goat med section or in the case of metronidazole in the aquarium section. They have only a sixty count of metronidazole for $57.00 so you may want to check for Fish Zole online for a smaller bottle at a lower price. The only med rush is a coccidiosis prevention either through feed or water. If you do not plan on allowing the chickens and peas to mingle you may not need the metronidazole as droppings are the carrier. Good luck with your new peas.

 

[Midnightman14]

I wish I had bought an rcom incubator right off the bat, I wish I had built my pens bigger right away, and most of all I wish I had known not to mix peafowl and chickens.

 

[casportpony]

I wish I had known that when a bird gets blackhead it almost always gets a secondary E.coli infection. Also wish I had known what the proper metronidazole, enrofloxacin (Baytril), and fenbendazole doses were. So much misinformation on the web regarding doses.

 

[KsKingBee]

I wish I knew everything in the 'Stickies'

 

[casportpony]

I wish I knew everything in the 'Stickies'

Perhaps we should add a "medications" for peafowl to the stickies?