AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

You are in a rather unusual situation given you're on 800sqm and have a free roaming peacock... really fortunate! We are on 10 acres (have a few horses, expensive but lovely lawnmowers) and we border a very large environmental forest.

So good that people accept your boy too... we were informed of quite a few peafowl living on a large poultry farm right down the back of our property in the distance around a very large dam with some pelicans and other wild birds... apparently it is rumoured that they used to shoot the peafowl as they were said to contaminate the poultry! Saddened by that... wondered if they also shot the pelicans?

So hope none of our peafowl wander down that way! I've also heard that it's best to feed turkey pellets rather than chicken pellets... I put some on order last week so will give it a go and let you know what they thought!
Ours also love meal worms too but they are a tad expensive! They also love 3 stalks of celery chopped up fine, leaves and all mixed together with 1 finely chopped apple, 1small pkt steamed plain rice, handful of sultanas and 1/4 shredded chinese cabbage..

Curiously ours haven't taken a fancy to srawberries, or kiwi fruit, steamed carrot & broccoli stalks was only picked at... they did like partially stemed corn and peas though... trying to ascertain their favourite goodies so that when we let them roam free (possibly next weekend) they will return of an evening? Only had four of the peahens for a month so I'll be ever so anxious! Raised the other three (1 peahen and 2 peacocks) from 6 week old peachicks in March this year and to date have been fortunate enough to let them out only whilst we are there on weekends and then calmly usher them back to their pen of an evening .....

It will be an anxious weekend... so many predators and ushering 7 back of an evening won't be as easy as ushering 3 back (and that was no mean feat either)... just want them all to be happy & safe little vegemites
all living on our property - not someone elses who might harm them!

Great to chat... and thanks heaps for your input! Very much appreciated.
Love to hear more about your boy too!

Kind regards,
Mandy

Hi szopen,

I was so excited at the prospect of letting our beautiful peafowl out on the weekend hopefully to roam free from that point on. Unfortunatley didn't arrive back home until around 2.00pm on Saturday after shopping and the like. The skies looked a tad angry but they had done since early morning so we bit the bullet and let all 7 out. No sooner than they came up to the back verandah coyly grazing and checking everything out when Pretty Boy (the resident Peacock of 5 years or so) pranced quickly into their midst and started to display his beautiful plumage... this concered us a tad given that we had 3 juvenile peahens.
A wonderful performance ensued and then to our horror he jumped on Princess, grabbed her by the back of the neck and had his way with her! She looked ok... a tad shellshocked though... His dance ritual recommenced immediately as he swayed more to the other side and then whammo... jumped on the back of Angela... wham bam thankyou ma'm!
After all these years thinking he was Gay! Nope, reassured in that direction!
Just as he recommenced his dance the skies opened, thunder, lightning and heavy rain thundered down without warning... with that all peafowl raced around and round in circles and off in all different directions!
What a start to roaming free... scaring the wits out of them all!
This of course was the first outing in a month for The Blues Brothers and their sister Penelope Peacock but it was the first outing since bringing our new girls home from Nanango!
What a disaster!
Given the confusion we calmly herded them all back down towards their pen. We managed to get them all back in their yard but the rain was so heavy and we gave up in frustration!
Once the rain stopped we managed to pen all except one. We couldn't find Angela anywhere. Felt sick in the stomach having to leave her out there after the storm but just couldn't find her anywhere. At least we knew that she had roamed free in Nanango and she was a mature peahen so thought she ought be able to fend for herself at least!
That was some start to free roaming!
We let them all out again on Sunday morning hoping that Angela would return but no! Spent the whole day outside keeping an eye on them so that they didn't wander too far into the bush next door or on to the neighbours property... Pretty Boy again had his way with Princess and Penelope... obviously a very randy Peacock!
We penned them all again Sunday afternoon given that we still didn't know of Angela's fate! Couldn't concentrate all day Monday, drove down the back streets just in case... but nothing... no Found signs either and no carcasses!
When we arrived home Pretty Boy was performing again in his usual spot near the Lorikeet feeding station and there was Angela not far from him at the front verandah! Over the Moon!
She slept in a tree above our Bali Umbrella overlooking the pool, came looking for food at our bedroom door at 4.30am but thought it wasn't a good habit to feed at that hour, then disappeared!
When we arrived home yesterday afternoon there she was again near the front verandah! Fed her some meal worms, turkey starter, sunflower seeds and finely sliced chinese cabbage... and again up she went into the tree! She watched us in the pool and was still there when we went to bed.
This morning she was waiting outside our bedroom door again... so special!
Oh, and on Monday morning when I fed the troops I was surprised to find that Princess had left a beautiful egg for me! Hopefully she will provide another and all going well we'll be able to hand raise a couple of peachicks! That would be so special!

A happy ending was had by all! Needless to say this weekend we are
hopeful of releasing more of our peafowl to roam free...

So hope that I haven't bored you to tears... just had to tell someone of our exploits... just so very happy that all ended well!

Cheers,
Mandy

and they all lived happily ever after............... congratulations on your succes. It's always good to here a succesfull first day out roaming.

Thanks Tahir... lovely to hear from you again!

Wasn't so sure it was going to be successful after all that!

Stressful stuff isn't it!

It was lovely to see Angela down outside the pen with the other peafowl this morning... it's as if she is missing their company!

Cheers,
Mandy

when i let my golden pheasants out, i wasn't to sure if they were going to go back in the pen, but they went in them selves.
i once had one of my peahens fly in to a tree to sleep at night, but i got her back in the pen in the morning.

I thought about penning Angela this morning when she was down at the pen, but leaving her out is somewhat of an experiment at this stage as she is adapting very well so far. She seems to like our company too. It has been our dream to have free roaming peafowl rather than having them penned. We have a few acres of uncleared forest with heaps of trees. If they all adapt as well as Angela we will be in seventh heaven.

Where we picked up the Blues Brothers and Penelope Peacock from as 6 week old chicks, their mother and the chicks were the only peafowl penned. All were usually free roaming...

Maggie would scout around and find out where the peahens nested and then she kept an eye on their nests to assist in warding off predators where possible (but she is at home daily fortunately). Once the peachicks hatched the Peahen would then normally bring her chicks back to the pen where she was raised ... and Maggie would then secure the pen! Amazing hey?

Maybe wishful thinking but we aim to give it a go..

We know there are a few peafowl around as they can be heard in the distance... so far we haven't heard anyone complaining about them..

Fingers crossed!

Golden pheasants... they sound lovely too.

Lovely catching up Tahir!

Cheers,
Mandy

hopefully Angela will nest close to the house so there is less of a chance of a wild dog or fox getting to her as that would be very tragic Maybe you should pen her up for the breeding season and let her out of the season?

to bad we don't live on a big enough property to keep the peafowl out all day everyday But i am planning on hand raising a golden pheasant to free roam around the house.

i think we are going a bit off topic. maybe you should start a new topic?

Whoops, yes I agree... totally off the topic now!

I'll post a new topic in the morning...

Thanks heaps for your responses... it's the best way to learn... through other people's experiences....

Hopefully catch up tomorrow!

Cheers,
Mandy

i'll be at school maybe after school.