What's too cold for lone pea?

[valewife]

I need advice, please.
We recently completed our new bird barn and runs and
moved the 2 turkeys and my one lone peacock in. It's a
12x20 metal-type barn, divided in half by fencing.
Our first real winter blast of cold weather is coming next week.
The turkeys are fine through our NC winters but I'm unsure
about this young peacock, especially since he roosts alone.
Our night temps will get down into the low 20's next week.
Should I provide a heat source for him during these cold nights ?
(He free-ranges with the turkeys, ducks, guineas and chickens
during the day.)
Thanks.

 

[zazouse]

My peas stay outside in all kinds of weather , i turned them loose at 4 months of age and they are fine in all kinds of weather.
My oldest roost in the trees on limbs by themselves and they are fine too.
What area are ya from ? your weather may be more extream that mine.

 

[trailchick]

He is how old?

I have my free range group (6 total)- all 1+ years and they have been FR since mid summer...
I have worried terribly about them since our big storm 2 weeks or so ago with wind 30+ mph and
temps to 0°.

I also have a group in a coop (I close the pop hole for them at night) with small pen. I do have a heat lamp in the
coop, & I have noticed that my yearlings (hatched last summer) all congregate under, & I suspect that is for heat.

If you can give your lone pea a heat source, then do it.
I think the best thing for him would be a companion of his own kind.

Do you plan on giving a heat source for the turkeys, ducks, guineas, and chickens?
If not, he will do fine. If so, he will be fine too, as he has a group to provide a heat source with.
I also have a turkey with my penned group.

Hope this helps....

 

[vbgarden]

I'm in the same boat.

My pair of peafowl freerange with the chickens during the day and roost in tall trees near the chicken pen at night. Unfortunately, their roost is in a small copse of trees surrounded by open fields and the trees are deciduous, so the peas have no real cover at all up there now that it's getting colder here in Virginia Beach. We may not be as frigid as some of y'all but they are smack in the WIND and I'm terribly concerned.

I'm working to get the chicken run completely covered on three sides with leftover plastic from our greenhouses - it's where the peas were first raised (12x18x 12' tall). They have a platform in there but when the chooks come home to the coop to roost at night, the peas fly up into their favorite tree. Just as in NC, we're looking a temps that will be teens out here at the farm (20's on the Weather Channel which uses the airport).

I hate to do it but I guess everyone's going to have to get into the run tomorrow if I can finish covering it - - and stay there until the end of March, so I can sleep at night without listening to the wind howling with my feathered darlings out in it. <sigh> Even now, they fly down in the morning and immediately to go the open ended hoop house nearby to settle and warm up.

Looking forward to hearing how everyone continues to cope with cold weather. All suggestions appreciated!

PS You can see my lovelies photos on our blog: www.usefulgardens.com
PPS My two year old male is already passionately displaying for the one year old female, who looks mostly... nonplussed.

 

[Frosty]

My peas don't huddle together like the chickens do. When I got my first pair they were young, about the size of a Leghorn chicken when winter hit. They went through temps as low as -38F. I do have some freeze damage on my males toes, my fault because I didn't give them a wide enough perch. Other than that, they did fine. I am not a fan of heat lamps, more than one barn has burned down because of them. If you do decide to put one in, please make sure that it's mounted VERY secure and make sure that they can't fly up and hit it. Another reason I don't like supplemental heat is if you lose power and they are used to the heat, it can be really hard on them.

 

[zazouse]

Quote:
Being penned all that time might mess up your pretty peas tail, we get winter winds here and the birds do just find just like the wild birds if they are use to the weather they will be fine.

 

[vbgarden]

Hi, Zazouse, how cold do you get out there in SW Texas? Do you get into the teens?

I'm more worried because of our N'oreasters - we're not far in from the ocean here and the winter ice storms coming off the ocean can be severe and they generally last for three days of solid bad weather. There are deeper woods nearby, but I also don't want the peas to get into the habit of roaming onto other properties. Plus the coons will get them, I fear.

 

[zazouse]

With the wind chile it can easly get into the low teens,heck we have had snow the last couple years.
We also have lots of humidity here from the coast and that freezes on my birds backs in the winter.

I feel for ya if ya got close neighbors cause my peas see another animal that they do not consider part of the flock, off they go honking in hot persute, i see them do this all the time with the wildlife.
Crazy birds

 

[vbgarden]

Oh your place looks PERFECT for peafowl! Our farm only has trees of any kind in one corner and a few too small ones along a ditch line. Everything else is open fields! They seem to LOVE walking on grass among trees and that's where they seem to be in all the documentaries. Ours were rescues, however, so you do what you can!

 

[zazouse]

I also have lots of open fields, what i do is till strips of the field and plant stuff that the birds like lthey love pea blossums so i plant peas in the spring and in the fall i plant different kinds of greens that fair well in the cold.
Oh and they love my DH rose pettles in the fall.

I also build brush piles in the spring in the safe zone for my guineas to lay in and am hopping the peas will also use them.i know my geese ,ducksand chickens often share nest with the guineas.