Peafowl??

That if very true!!

I don't believe that I would do much with them... other than let them roam the farm. I have a "plan" to take a 1/4 acre and turn it into a chicken/duck enclosure. I would bring all the animals in at night, and have plenty of cover for them to protect them from hawks during the day, but I think that I might actually leave the top open. Good idea?
 
That's basically what I do with my chickens and I don't have issues. We have hawks all over the place but they don't bother the chickens, even the young ones. But realize you are taking a risk. It's possible that a hawk will decide to go after your chickens.

It's also possible some predator will find your chickens and you'll have serious losses. I use electric netting and it has stopped the foxes and the dogs that people like to abandon out here so we can shoot them. I'm not really that bloodthirsty. When I can I capture them and take them to the pound.

You are dealing with living animals. No one can tell you what will happen. You may go years without any kind of predator attack or you may immediately have serious problems.
 
When I kept free range chickens I had more trouble with owls than I did with hawks. I was also surprised that buzzards will go after chickens. They "crash land" on top of them to cripple or kill them, then down they go. I guess buzzaeds have strong breastbones. They keep their legs up when they crash onto a chicken and just flatten it.
 
ouch! guess that's why i'm so paranoid about buzzards. we have some around here, though i always see them flying and rarely on the ground.

the peafowl i have now really aren't as big as i was thinking they would get but they are still young. i would say probably slightly smaller than a goose. definitely smaller than a turkey, at least a meat turkey! i raised those last year just before i got the peas.

i did learn through the BYC site that there are a couple of really informative breeders/owners of peafowl, mostly further south, lots are in FL or TX. it's just they have varying degrees on how they think they should be raised. one thing i remember is that the Java Greens are the hardest types to keep since they are less cold tolerant due to thinner legs and tend to be wild even though you won't be able to actually get a full blooded Java Green here in the US without importing. anything with Emerald in it's background can tolerate colder temps better. they have thicker legs and have become accustomed to it since they've been breeding here in the US for such a long time. the cameo color i have was actually a natural color mutation that came about in the 1960's from a breeder in Maine!

ok, i found the site in TX that has the peafowl and some really neat info about the different colors and buildings they house them in. http://www.texaspeafowl.com/
 
I'm always amazed that such an ungodly screech can come out of such a beautiful bird. They sound like a rusty gate but a hundred times louder.
 
check youtube for peafowl calls! the male's call is haunting when it's in the background on something i'm watching. i have yet to hear it out of my own birds. but one of mine makes a loud honk noise when i walk into the coop with my dog. so i know it's a warning most times. they also make a clicking sound, which also seems like a warning when i'm right beside one of them. from their colors i think both are females. i'll see if i can get a pic sometime when it's not raining.

oh, and i forgot but we have a local amusement park in Salem, NH that keeps lots of peas on their property. some are allowed to roam. most are in aviaries. i've never noticed if they have a barn they could put them in during the winter. in summer they are out there all the time.
 
Oh I've heard them... woken up to one many many MANY times when I was younger... They were farmers... but.. commercial farmers and also had a dairy farm... there was no garden.... so I didn't know if they would or not. :/

Maybe someday we will have one... maybe not. *shrug* I just know that they are beautiful. :)
 
We have a local cemetery that has an aviary with peafowl. They add an unnecessary eerie atmosphere to the place.
 
Our small local zoo has several peacocks that just wander around. The zoo doesn't have much to offer- but I always enjoy that part!
 
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