posted 9 years ago
I used to work at a wild animal park that had a dozen or so peafowl.
We had to make sure the tour bus doors were fastened so the wind couldn't blow them open or you'ld have a huge mess in the bus the next morning - the peacocks like to roost in there, covered and a high vantage point.
The pea hens tend to raise young similar to Old English Game Birds (bantam chickens), in that several hens will lay eggs inthe nest and one will finally go broody and hatch them to raise as her own. We had this happen at the park and the one hen that raised around 13 chicks and would take them from the nest to the petting zoo area to feed and graze - yes they liked the grass, or maybe the bugs in the grass. Unfortunately, she was either young, dumb, or lazy because her trail went right through the alligator pens. The 2 gators learned to line up for the delivery of appetizers each morning, so after a week or so she ran out of chicks. Then she started roosting with the other hens in a tree until one morning she flew down only to land in the snake pit on top of a rattlesnake.
That being said, they really prefer to roost up high and under shelter (I had to train them to come to the barn area in the evening by luring them with food, crumbled cat food mixed with barley and wheat. Then we locked them in until morning. Took about a week to 10 days for them to get the idea that this was a routine and their new home.
They will come if you start calling them when you feed them.
They like the cat and dog food for the protein, which they do need for feathers. Call a couple of zoos and aviaries to see what they feed their peafowl, it will more than likely have a higher protein and calcium content thatn what's found in chicken and wild bird feeds. I know they LOVE bugs, since we never had a bug problem around the main building which is where they hung out during the day.
As to their screams - yes it can carry long distances and irritate your neighbors to no end. Also, when they shake their tail feathers, it can sound just like a rattlesnake, so be prepared if you have a snake phobia or have cows or horses nearby - they will spook and take you right out of the picture.
The up side is the feathers - high ticket craft item. All of them, not just the peacock eyes (which are popular with the goddess movement or as a tittilation wand, depending on length). The swords are popular as well. I sold the feathers of our dead peahen to non-carded Native Americans and buckskinners as "legal eagles" because I got stopped by a police officer at a pow wow while wearing one. He was a jerk, acting like a bigot, and has since had to find other employment (I refused to show him my tribal card - I have 2).
Another option is a holiday alternative to turkey - niche market meat sales. Don't know if that's something you're interested in, but in the day peafowl was served on royal tables in a big presentation (so were swans).
Anyway, good luck with your birds.
