Nobody has to TEACH a peafowl to fly. It comes very naturally...and early! You will need to contain them till they get used to their new home and if all of the are strangers, it may be a great time to introduce them rather than having one established in their home already. When ever I mix new birds into my flock, I let them all out to free range then I put everybody in a new pen together. After a few days I put them in their regular chicken run again. It's like they've always been together and nobody feels like their turf has been invaded.
Looking for info. on Peahens & cocks
That's great Sonita! I would look for a breeding male, about 5 years or older for the peahen. Then you could breed them yourselves. Males are generally ready to mate in their 5th year if I remember correctly. Maybe even pick him up later.
I got my first breeding pair at the feed store for $50 six years ago (someone had too many & couldn't house them anymore). LUCK! I incubated at first, then last year let mama hatch her own. Want her to again this year; but it seems something got her eggs. I have seen them at auctions in my area a few times, once the whole family hen, cock & chick!
Yes, they fly quite well. You want them to if you are free ranging. That way they can fly away from predators to safety. Also, my closest neighbor is about 10 acres. They don't even know I have any animals (fir trees help I think). The MEOW or HEY AL is what I think I here. I do not think it too loud & love talking with him! Close neighbors would be the only complainers. One friend of mine was force to get rid of hers, the city moved to her.......go figure!
Here is my current family; hen -- 'Precious'; newest chick in front -- 'little one'; cock -- 'Jem'; and older sis hiding in back -- 'Princess'. Indian Blue's & somehow cameo's? Hard to get them all in same picture & out of shaded spots LOL
I just got back from picking up mama peahen and her 1.5 week old chick. I have her in 4x4x4 brooder in the hen stall right now. The baby is way to small to let out for a bit, which is good for all to get to know each other. I'll take a pic of her tomorrow. Cocks are on high demand around here! But I'll keep on looking. The zoo said when they catch more they will call me, and they offered eggs if they found them. Yippie!
Gosh how lucky are you. That is great, awaiting on pics. I can live my dream thru you.
sonoita,
This is a really nice way for you to get what you've wanted ... and for just the cost of a trip to the zoo. Pretty awesome. What variety / color(s) are your peafowl? Maybe if you get some eggs soon you can have a good sized flock in just a year. I'm just delighted for you and your husband. Kelly in Moxee
This is my new black shoulder hen. She is only about 2. She was pen raised, but has learned fast to roost high in the trees. She appears to love all the woods and freedom.
George
What a sweetie she is!
well, gee so sorry i am just now reading this. maybe one we clear the north side of the property, i could call our nearest zoo, go for a road trip, and then say, "hey hunny, guess what followed me home?!"
big congrast sonita!!!
tf
Aha! I found my peacock nest! After searching for a week in my son's yard, I found her behind the asparagus in my garden. WHat a clever bird, it is fenced in, inside a fenced in yard, so she has double protection. It's also right in the middle of my edamame beans which she likes so well they are all gone. (nothing left but sticks) I only wish that she had a mate so the 6 eggs would be fertle. Oh well, one is on his was as soon as I can get him here.
Bummer! My hen's first eggs were taken from her by a weasel or other rodent. She has laid a few more for a 2nd try at it. If your male gets there soon & you can get them together, she will certainly lay again - just may not be as many eggs.
Sure fun watching the peahen raise & teach their chicks. Last years chick is beside herself right now. Not too sure what to do, with her mama busy & chasing her off quite a bit. Family dynamics! LOL They learn, just as we all had to when a baby sis or bro came along.
can u cross breed them to get a mix of colours??
josh
Yes, Josh you can. There are some awesome color combos out there. There are really only 2 types pf peafowl. The India blue and Java greens.The Javas are not as winter hardy as the blues, but the java are something to see. They are mixing the blue and java blood to make new strains that have great new colors and more winter hardy. The one I want so bad is the Emerald Spalding. If I remember right it's about 1/4 java and 3/4 India blue. Google them to see one. eggbid is another place to see the color combo's. I wish I had saved the link to a great site that explained all the colors and combinations.
Geo
what about the white ones how to they get them this site i found is pretty cool
http://www.leggspeafowl.com
This message was edited Jul 14, 2008 6:02 PM
We are members of United Peafowl Association (peafowl.org) and have raised several different kinds over the years. The India Blue is the least expensive and really beautiful. You can hear their call for one mile. We lived across the river from a cemetary and on Memorial Day the Vets would do their 21 gun salute. Our peafowl always would answer. We got so we wouldn't go to the ceremony because we would be so embarrassed. LOL. Our male would sit on our front porch railing overnight and he looked so beautiful. Then he would fly off and guess what was left underneith him! Yes, you can eat the eggs, they make a really big omlet. They are as big as a goose egg but not strong tasting at all. Our birds called quite a bit at night; at first we would get up to see what was bothering them. The owners of leggspeafowl.com has a hugh amount and kinds of peafowl.
I love the silver and purple spalding.
i lik the silver opal,the peach,the pure white,the pure white with black eyes and of course the midnight black one
OK, for all you Peafowl lovers out there. Have a question or four hundred..... LOL..... for those who have allowed the peahen to hatch naturally:
My peahen has 2 eggs now & is currently mating with the peacock for the 3rd she is about to lay. I have a critter that got into their pen & stole the last clutch. Need to repair & redo wiring, etc. They will be in pen until peachicks big enough to roost on their own outside....At this point, I have a temp fix that I believe will work for a short while - maybe a week or two.
If I move her eggs, so I can get to all the areas & repair correctly, will she still set on them? What if I move her to another pen / location once they are done mating? Will she still hatch? Or abandon all together? This is only my 2nd year letting her do it. She is a GREAT mama; much better than I did hatching, brooding & teaching. She teaches them to roost really high at just after they become fledglings. What are my chances?
I want to get more chicks soon. What are the odds she will take to them with (or sadly without ) hers? Or will I have to keep them separate for a while?
Also, I do not have access to game bird pellets here - only crumble - which does not work for adults / teens. I have been making my own protein enriched diet that they seem to like (cept maybe the layer pellet I put in it). They have access to sunflower seeds, corn, dandelions, melons, lettuce and ????
What do you feed yours?
Thanks TONS!
Pea - Cheryl
I have raised the blue India for several years, this is what I have learned.
Yes, they are very loud, especially during mating season.
They are very prolific! Mine will lay about 6 eggs, and hatch em all out , and they will do this 3 times a year!
They like to make thier nest in the woods, you can find the nest when the hen gets off nest to eat and drink, just follow her back to nest.
Never let the newly hatched chicks stay with hen, something will kill them. Best to catch them all right away, and put them in brooder, they like it warm, so keep temp for babies at about 80-85 degrees.
They do like Catfood, but dont like cats!
A male will not stay by itself without a hen to mate with, they will just simply fly away.
I had to get rid of my guineas cause they were harassing my male when he was trying to breed.
Just my 2 cents
I'm going to stuff a silkie egg under her tomorrow. It's due to hatch in a week and I feel so bad that she will have nothing to show for her work. Maybe she will take the baby.
oh so she will get a babie to raise evryone wins you will have to post pics of the pea hen and baby silkie together when it hatches
Sorry to be absent, I went to Mexico for a spell.
After a week I released the Peahen from the brooder with her chick. Now I am sorry I released the chick after reading what roadhawg wrote! I have seen no sign of her. She is either hiding or moved off to someplace else :(
My next attempt will be to purchase hatchlings, raise them in the brooder until a good size before releasing them to the open property.
Any other suggestions? I'm bummed!!!!
I went to the local Livestock Auction last week in Escalon CA and they had beautiful pea fowl--I thought of you. Maybe I can find out who the local breeder is. Are you interested in incubating in the future?
sorry Sono! ;-(
Yes, I can incubate.
They do have peacock eggs on egg.bid and ebay. I would love to try, but then what would I do? If I can't have roosters, peacocks are probably not going to fly--or at least not without the neighbors complaining when they do:0)
This message was edited Jul 22, 2008 4:05 PM
Catscan, If you're not allowed to have a rooster where you live .... Pea Fowl are 10 times louder. I've driven thru Lodi on our way to or from Yosemite. Kelly in Moxee
VERY sorry Sonoita! How long has she been missing? How old do you think she is? maybe hiding somewhere (hope, hope, hope)
Check Craigs list in your area. We have a breeder about an hours drive from me with peachicks for $15 each, all ages. They also sell adults, for a pretty price. You just may find someone that way too, if the auction doesn't work out (here, it is a hit /miss as to what people bring).
oh bad luck with the pea hen
jylgaskin how is the silkie egg under the peahen doin
Well, the day I went to grab the silkie chick, I picked it up and it PEEPED! they were already hatching so I snagged a duck egg day before yesterday. I could feel it noving in the shell so I knew the timing was right. She never even moved when I shoved it under her. Well this morning I heard peeping in the garden and there was a baby duck running around. Guess she didn't buy it. The duckling is back with his momma who is with the ones hatching right now.
have a dozen new silkies with two mommas taking care of them and at least 4 ducklings so far. It will be a novelty to actually have DUCKS raising DUCKS. Most of them this summer have been raised by silkies.
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh how cute, just say no, just say no...............I want a baby ducky. No No No
The hen and chick have been awol for 1 week today. She maybe hiding, who knows. However I purchased 4 pea eggs on ebay last night, and will try my luck with chicks, until I can find more adults at a reasonable price. On eggbid there is a '05 male for 125., but he'd have to be shipped. A bit pricey. They have other chicks but they are light in color. I am trying to avoid light colored peafowl because they glow in the dark, easier for preditors to find!
You need to keep any new ones contained for a longer period. Mine were in a pen for at least six weeks. I don't think I'd worry about the light colors, don't let them out of the pen till they can fly (About 4 weeks) and they will roost high enough that night predators can't reach them. The only attack we have had on the peacocks was in broad daylight and it was a neighbors dog.
wonder if she is trying to return home. I gave someone a chicken once and to returned over 5 miles. It took two weeks, but he made it.
The zoo is 60+ miles away!
Any words of wisdon on hatching the eggs?!?
i bet there is a thread here somewhere about hatch8ing peafowl... if not maybe soembody will chime in with help...
i think there is a stie called chixbid... they are affiliated with a breeder in south texas where i get my own stock, and i believe they had/have peafowl....jyl, great job!
tia, of course you want baby ducks...
jylgaskin how about trying to put another silkie egg under her to see if she will except that
The eggs should be here tomorrow. I have a incubator all lined up, and am ready to rock-n-roll. I have also found a sexed pair of chicks I can get shipped out this fall. If I have good attrition rate with the eggs and the sexed pair I should be set with peafowl for a while. Keeping my fingers crossed.
lucky charm, no silkie eggs left.They all hatched. 12 in all. The peacock took the empty duck egg out of the nest and dropped it in the middle of my garden. I guess she's telling me what she thinks of MY ideas. She spent quite a while off the nest today, so I think she's giving up. I gotta get that male here!
Hi Sonoita! Did your eggs come?
wow, 12 silkies, i am ENVY-ous
jylgaskin i think she would enjoy having a male friend with privleges