Where to start?

[flyred77]

Hi there,

I live in Central Missouri and for several years we have talked about adding peafowl to our little family. Currently the only birds here are my parrots, two African Grey and one Blue Quaker. I have been around many different parrots and hand fed a few. My husbands first job as a young man was cleaning the chicken coops in his family's rather large egg supplier business. I believe it damaged him; He refuses to have a chicken on our little ten acre tract of land. He seems amenable to the peafowl in a free range situation.

We want to start with Indian Blues, perhaps a Cock and two or three hens. We have a small building, that use to house three pygmy goats when the weather turned bad, We can run fence around it to get them use to us and then we can turn them loose. I would continue to feed and treat from that area so I could get hold of them if I need to in the future.

My biggest question is, "What is the best age to start with? Chicks, mature adults, or yearlings?"

They would be the only birds we owned until we get the pond dug, then we will add some ducks, that is down the road a bit. I have read everything I can on feeding, illnesses, free ranging, and we have a huge supplier less than an hour away.

I would love for everyone to put forth their opinion on getting started and if you have favorite web sites with information, please point me me in that direction.

We really don't have intention of breeding to sell, we just love the idea of them being here. We like birds!

So thanks in advance for any bits of wisdom you have to share.

Marietta in MO

 

[flyred77]

Here is the big time breeder, about fifty miles away. http://leggspeafowl.com/

Do you think these prices are reasonable? I can probably do better with a small breeder closer to home perhaps...

 

[ruth]

I ordered my original assorted pack of peafowl from Leggs and couldn't be more pleased. When I had questions about raising the peachicks those first few week the Leggs personally took my phone call and helped me. From what I've heard they are some of the best peafowl breeders and have some of the rarest colors. I've also heard their farm is a sight to behold and worth a trip. I wish I could see it in person. So to answer your question......I would definitely drive the 50 miles and buy directly from them. No doubt about it.

 

[deerman]

Yes you can get better prices.......be hard to find better birds than leggs. Maybe as good.,but not better. You should go vist him, check out all his colors and patterns.

Ruth got a great deal on a mixed lot.. some nices birds now. Depend on how well you are as a newbe. Peachick can be hard for newbe. Leggs will have birds at all ages . Chicks will need to be 2yr old to breed. Peacocks need to be 3yr old to have a full train. So depend how long you want to wait

 

[deerman]

Like to add if you want start will blue color get ones split to other colors or patterns. Brad could help you eith birds to produce the other color or patterns.

 

[ruth]

I did get a good deal. I had signed up in advance for the medium-priced box of 8 assorted colors but Brad Legg called me on the Fourth of July and said they had some of the more expensive colors to hatch that he could ship them for the same price if I wanted them - well of course I did. I still hate that I lost two when they were only a few weeks old. As Deerman said, it takes a while to get the hang of raising them. I was letting mine roam free and live with my chickens and they started eating hay and got all impacted. One of them I saved by seeing something sticking out it's rear end and I pulled it and a huge rope of twisted hay came out but the other two never passed it and coudn't poop and they passed away. Deerman was great also at helping me at that time and told me how I needed to keep them on wire which I did for the next several weeks before turning them loose. They've free ranged ever since and they all started reproducing at only two years old. I ended up with three males and three females - each a different color. I still wonder what two colors I lost since each chick I got was a different color. I also learned to feed them wet mash with my nails and to at least put a baby chick or two with them initially to teach them to eat and drink. I got my first Marans chicks the same day and I raised them together. Even now the peacocks fly over the six foot fence of my Marans breeder pen and hang out with the chickens they were raised with. They also eat their eggs, to my dismay because I have a waiting list for eggs. I love my peafowl and wish I could see the Leggs farm.

 

[deerman]

I did get a good deal. I had signed up in advance for the medium-priced box of 8 assorted colors but Brad Legg called me on the Fourth of July and said they had some of the more expensive colors to hatch that he could ship them for the same price if I wanted them - well of course I did.  I still hate that I lost two when they were only a few weeks old.  As Deerman said, it takes a while to get the hang of raising them. I was letting mine roam free and live with my chickens and they started eating hay and got all impacted.  One of them I saved by seeing something sticking out it's rear end and I pulled it and a huge rope of twisted hay came out but the other two never passed it and coudn't poop and they passed away.  Deerman was great also at helping me at that time and told me how I needed to keep them on wire which I did for the next several weeks before turning them loose. They've free ranged ever since and they all started reproducing at only two years old. I ended up with three males and three females - each a different color. I still wonder what two colors I lost since each chick I got was a different color.  I also learned to feed them wet mash with my nails and to at least put a baby chick or two with them initially to teach them to eat and drink.  I got my first Marans chicks the same day and I raised them together. Even now the peacocks fly over the six foot fence of my Marans breeder pen and hang out with the chickens they were raised with.  They also eat their eggs, to my dismay because I have a waiting list for eggs.  I love my peafowl and wish I could see the Leggs farm.

Ruth i think thats was his first year sell dayold peachicks too. Me and Brad had talk about risk of shipping dayold peachicks. He.has done a great job with it......shipping cost for day old chicks not much. Compare to older birds. With someone like Brad ..i would say dayold chicks lot better than hatching eggs. Yes you may find better prices.....myself many of my birds came from Brads.
Now with all said.....lot of good breeders on this forum also. Know a dozen or more could name a. Few.but afraid i may leave some out.....some have my past breeders or chicks from me

Myself i was never able to wait. So i would buy yearling in the fall. That way they would breed in the spring.

 

[MinxFox]

For free range starting with young birds is the best. I myself would not be able to wait for peachicks to grow up and would probably go for yearlings. Reading what you said about your husband sounds familiar because that sounds like my dad. My dad has done so many things and had so many cool pets that he sometimes speaks for my mom and me when we want to do or have what he has done or has had. When I first talked about getting peafowl my dad was not very thrilled with my idea...I think he too was relating them to his past with chickens as a kid...In fact the first time we visited a peafowl breeder I was petting one of the great pyrenees that guards the yard and the owner told me "Those aren't pets." My dad then said seriously "Did you hear that? He said peafowl are NOT pets." He wasn't quite ready for me to have peafowl.

Also when I finally got peafowl he said he would never help us make pens for them...That changed. Now my dad thinks they are pretty cool and we are all more interested in birds since getting the peafowl. My dad even said to me a few days ago if we lived more in the country it would be nice to have a few free range chickens. All these years my dad has been so against chickens talking about the noise and the poop and everything and he finally admits that some chickens would be cool.

Well anyways I definitely think you should make the trip to Legg's. Last year the United Peafowl Association visited them and got a tour of the place. I was so sad that I wasn't able to go because I really really want to see all of those peafowl in one place. Legg's is probably the dream place for anyone getting their first peafowl to go to. You have a wonderful selection to find the variety or varieties that you want and can see all of those varieties in person without having to find photos of them and imagine what they look like in person.

 

[flgardengirl]

Oh that's a great website and looks like a nice price. Thanks for posting this thread!! I think I will order a variety pack, I have been wanting to get some young peachicks to start with. I have been looking around here and all I have found is older wild peafowl males and not even any females offered on Craigslist etc. We have almost 4 acres so can build a really huge pen for them.

 

[AugeredIn]

Where are you at in Florida. There are peafowl available throughout the state.