Peacock Help?

H

hushpuppy7

New Member
Hi all,

When we moved into our house about 3 years ago we inherited a Peahen and 3 Peacoks, however in a very short time 2 of the males disappeared without a trace, so for the last 2.5 years we have had just one male and a female.

At night they have always slept in a very large Willow tree, despite my efforts to buikd them a tree house for a bit of shelter.

Sadly I got up this morning to find Mrs P dead. There were no signs of her having been attacked, and despite the very cold weather we have had, for the last few nights including last night it was mild, so I am assuming it was age related.

However I now have a problem and need some advice please.

I am now left with a sole Peacock and I don't know if I should try and rehome him so he is with other Peacocks, or leave him in an environment that he knows and is used to, albeit a lonely one?

My worries are if I rehome him, it may to be to someone who has their Peacocks caged, not what he is used to. I'm not sure if I want to try and get another Peahen, so any advice would be appreciated please?
 
Peacock help

Your widowed peacock should be quite happy on his own with you; any attempt to re-home him to a free range home would either cause trouble with any resident peacocks, or he would wander off anyway. Why not bite the bullet and get another hen? They are lovely things.
 
FBBird,

Thanks for the reply. I'm just concerned how difficult it would be for a new bird to get used to the surroundings and not fly off straight away. I would hope that they would be clever enough to sleep in a tree at night, etc etc etc!!!

Really confused, but a bit reassured that leaving Mr P in situ is probably best.
 
Peacock Help

What you do is build an aviary for your new Peahen and keep her shut in for a few weeks before letting her out, so she knows her surroundings before release. Or, you get hold of a broody [chicken] hen and some Peafowl eggs, rear them on site [again using an aviary initially], sell off all the young cocks & keep the hens. The beauty of this approach is they will grow up immune to any 'bugs' you may have in your soil. Keeping any new birds confined, where he can see them, is a good way to familiarise your old Peacock with them, before they are released.
 
If you tried to rehome him nearby, he might well come back anyway. They are happiest where they know their own area- even if living on their own.

My advice would be try and get a hen- but you will need to confine it somehow until it has settled from being moved and it has come to know the male. If you just let it go immediately it is more than likely to disappear straight away.
 
Thx for the advice. I'll start researching where I can get a Peahen from, unless anyone can recommend somewhere close to St Neots, Cambs?

Out of interest does anyone know what is the general life expectancy of a Peacock/Peahen is?
 
hushpuppy7 said:
Out of interest does anyone know what is the general life expectancy of a Peacock/Peahen is?
Click to expand...

At a guess I'd say somewhere about 10+ but not sure on that. Maybe much longer?

You'll need to confine it for several weeks- don't be tempted to let it free too soon. And it will automatically go to roost up high in a tree when its free- if its with the male it won't necessarily roost with him though- they tend to sleep seperately though within reach.
 
Peacock Help

The biggest peafowl breeder in the UK is Quinton Spratt in Norfolk [phone 01508/489471]. You might also like to read the Brow Farm Peafowl website, which is very informative.
 
Yes peafowl do best when they have at least one other peafowl to hang with. I hope you can find a peahen and keep her in a pen were she can see were she will be free-ranging. Good luck!
 
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