Peacocks anyone?
So we?re having a party back on 4th of July. We hear a noise in the woods, daughter says it sounds like a peacock. I put some bird food and corn out by the fire pit on the edge of the woods near where the sound came from.
Sure enough a peacock comes out and eats the food. Like any critter, you feed it and it hangs out. Took up residence in the neighbors old barnin and would come walking over and hang out at our place during the day. Nice enough so far.
Now we?re getting snow and he perches all night on a big maple tree.
I kind of feel like I ought to build a peacock house (I guess) so he can get out of the weather.
I don?t know what exactly to build. I figure a 4x4x4 box up on stilts, throw some seeds in it and add a perch a foot off the bottom. Wrap it in the pipe tape and put some carpet over that. Then move it a ways at a time until it?s under the barn overhang (loafing ahead on the south side.
Never had any fowl. Only dogs, cats and horses, so this is a new area for me.
Any suggestions welcome. I guess they are a bit dry though for thanksgiving. [:0]
Sure enough a peacock comes out and eats the food. Like any critter, you feed it and it hangs out. Took up residence in the neighbors old barnin and would come walking over and hang out at our place during the day. Nice enough so far.
Now we?re getting snow and he perches all night on a big maple tree.
I kind of feel like I ought to build a peacock house (I guess) so he can get out of the weather.
I don?t know what exactly to build. I figure a 4x4x4 box up on stilts, throw some seeds in it and add a perch a foot off the bottom. Wrap it in the pipe tape and put some carpet over that. Then move it a ways at a time until it?s under the barn overhang (loafing ahead on the south side.
Never had any fowl. Only dogs, cats and horses, so this is a new area for me.
Any suggestions welcome. I guess they are a bit dry though for thanksgiving. [:0]
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I have never eaten peacock. The neighbors in California raised them, the screech pretty eerie. I have some pics from at the zoo here in AZ.
Don't know if they roost like some other fowl. Really don't hear much about them.0 -
They will perch where they want. You might get her to perch on a 2x6 under the overhang or a piece of plywood. We had 8 at one time but they will perch outside in a snow storm if they want or in the barn when you try to keep them out. Good luck 0 -
Visited many a rural homes in the countryside while growing up down in Texas, and most peacocks that I saw were allowed to range, roosting in trees, but did see some in pens. Your choice, I guess. 0 -
Thanks for the reply Radar. Maybe I?m getting soft in my increased age, but I wasn?t sure how big to build a box. I figured 4x4 as his train is fairly short now, but will grow by spring.
From your experience is 4x4x4 big enough?0 -
Best watch dog there is, up there with Guineas. 0 -
This link says for a single peacock it should be at least 10 foot by 10 foot...
https://animals.mom.me/build-peacock-coop-9191.html0 -
Good luck! [xx(]
They're noisy and will leave droppings all over your roof/yard/drive/patio etc if they take up residence.
In many places 90% of the residents who have these things running wild around their homes think they're pests, but the 10% of the 'animals above all' people keep them around.
They are really pretty birds, but I'm glad I'm not living near any of them.0 -
I love this place 0 -
I grew up across the road from a bird sanctuary. Hearing the sounds of a peacock in the morning, every morning, was the norm back then. Whenever I hear them these days, it is like the sound of an old friend![:)]
Late in the Spring each year was molting season and I would gather quite a bundle of peacock tail feathers and sell them for a buck apiece to a few tourist gift shops around town.0 -
I saw them when I was little and to be honest they creeped Me out .It was the noise and the eyes on their feathers lol[:0][:D] 0 -
I saw a peacock hanging out with a bunch of turkeys years ago.
Had to look twice as I thought I was seeing wrong.
He must have thought he was some special turkey.0 -
A buddies neighbor had one.
He thought it was neat until he came home and it was perched on top of his new Tahoe.0 -
X neighbors had them. They screached all the time. Then they started walking down our drive and crapping on everything. I only found feathers of what was left when the coyotes ate them. 0 -
There is a lady near us that has a farm with a big blueberry orchard. She had a random peacock show up and found out it belonged to a distant neighbor. She let them know it had taken up over at her place. They came and got it several times......before just giving up and letting it live at her place.
I think these are one of those critters that just decides where and how it wants to live. I don't think whatever luxuries you provide for it will matter much. Its brain is the size of a pecan at best....so I wouldn't worry too much about it.0 -
I?m going to try the easy way first. Going to pick up one of the grand kids old plastic play houses. Build a perch in it and wrap it with some of that pipe tape that keeps pipes from freezing in the winter. Have to buy a short one, only one I have is long for the hydrant inside the barn. It does get cold enough I?ve seen that freeze without it. Put the thing up on stilts and throw some sunflower seeds in it and see what happens. His tail is short right now so it ought to fit.
If he can?t figure that out, I can?t help him!
As was said, they do poop a lot though, not as bad as a goose by any means, but after he ate my wife?s impatience flowers he pooped pink. I think it was the poke berries as they were ripe then, but she was convinced it was from her flowers, not worth arguing over at any rate.
Update to follow. Over.0 -
After raising blue's, white's, etc I will be interested in your update.
I'll be surprised if your "box" will be taken advantage of.
Good luck.0 -
When I moved here 15 years ago my neighbor had maybe twenty and they would walk and fly around and were pretty cool I thought. After four or five years a new family moved in on the other side of the guy with the birds and started complaining so the birds were gotten rid of. I miss them. 0 -
they LUV to get on vehicles and hay stacks...and scratch and KRAP 0 -
Many zoos across the country have peafowl roaming the grounds. Provide them with food and water and they will roost in trees and do OK. 0
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