are peacocks aggressive???? PLEASE ANSWER ME!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!

[Kedreeva]

But the wife, the dogs or if the guineas are picking on anyone - he will get riled!

My peas are in with a handful of roosters (the naughty ones that attack the little kids that come by to visit, so condemning themselves to stew) and when the roosters start getting into it with each other or picking on one another, the two peacocks and my alpha peahen are there in a *second* face kicking them apart and standing over them until the roosters decide fighting isn't a good idea at the moment. The peas are never aggressive otherwise- they've not come after people or each other, or any other bird that is being peaceful. I accidentally locked a cat in with them overnight a few nights ago, and she came sauntering out of their shed in the morning completely unharmed. Little kids can (and do) hand feed them no problem.

Glad to hear your got your chicks! I'm sure they will be great for you

 

[heartshinegirl]

YES!



Peacocks CAN become aggressive, despite their reputation to the contrary.



A few years ago a peacock appeared in our neighborhood out of nowhere.   I guess somebody abandoned him.   He was an adult male.



He lived in the neighborhood for several months without incident, and frankly, everybody kind of liked him strutting his proud little self about.   He was the center of attraction at a barbecue I held for some friends.   My daughter loved him.   The peacock often hung around in 50 foot tall pine trees right near our back yard.



But then came springtime and what I have been told is peacock mating season.   I don't know if being mating season affected what happened, but this much I can tell you:



My wife and I are avid organic gardeners, and March is the time to put out the lettuce around here.   My wife put out some small romaine lettuce transplants along with some cole crop transplants.   The same way she does every year.



But this year, her romaine lettuce was getting eaten to the ground.  She didn't know what was eating her romaine, but decided to replant since it was still early in the growing season.   


So she went out with some more transplants, and stooped over to plant them.   About half way through the re-planting, she heard a horrible, loud sound (she described it as being similar to the horrible sound that Nazi dive bomber planes made as they swooped down over the skies of Europe during WW2).   


She was stooped down when the loud noise suddenly came towards her, and straightened up very quickly -- and they missed each other by inches.   She thinks she swung her arms at him to keep him off of her, but everything happened so quickly and she was so frightened and startled that she isn't sure.   The quick jolt upward, however, caused her blood pressure to dip really bad and she almost lost consciousness because of that.   



Turns out, the peacock was the one eating her romaine lettuce plants, and our best guess is that the peacock must have thought that she was eating his lettuce rather than replacing lettuce he had already eaten.   I guess when he saw her "go after his private, reserve food stash" he decided to attack her.   



Anyway, the law in this area does not protect peacocks and since my wife has dangerously high blood pressure (the garden is SUPPOSED to help relax her and help her work down her blood pressure), the local animal control officer and I didn't feel it was safe to allow the peacock to stay in the area.  So the local animal control officer ended up shooting it after trapping did not work.

You exactly described the male Peafowl mating ritual. It sounds to me like you have a Peafowl that was in love with your wife. If she bent over... And he rushed her making that screech then my dear friend your bird was in love.

Shooting him for going after your woman for sex was maybe not the best idea... But when you're in love... (As you are with her) keeping her safe is important too!

Poor bird.. He fell in love with the wrong human!

 

[msmolly]

thanks. i still need some more answers though to convince my grandpa.

I've had peacocks as pets for 20 years and they are lambs. A rooster chicken is a whole nother matter- they can get really mean after 2 years. My current policy is only keep one male bird on the property- and that is my male peacock. I have 1-2 peahens and several chicken hens for his harem. Blue(my peacock)is the chaperone and gaurdian for all his ladies and he is a total gentleman. He protects the chickens the same as the peahens and is very kind to people, cats, dogs etc... Even during breeding season I can walk up and stroke his tail while he is doing his mating dance for the females. Blue sits on the bench across from me on summer mornings while I drink my coffee, and I toss him dried meal worms. He only screams a little bit during breeding season or when something is going on- (like a hawk has grabbed one of his chickens -or a chainsaw is cutting down a tree- he gets very upset and screams- go figure) I think because he is the only male on the property and we have a pretty relaxed atmosphere here- every body is chill(as my teen agers say). The following pictures should prove to your father how docile the birds can be. Like any animal or child, treat them well- and they will be kind in return. Peacocks require, Good food, safe shelter, high perches and a sense of territory.
People often talk of peacocks at the Zoo that chase people- or peacocks at parks that attack people- Even dogs under those conditions can be mean- but those are not "Pets" .
Peacocks are curious, social and really nice to have around.
Show these pictures to your father.
1) Morning coffee with Blue (coffee cup in foreground)
2) Blue hanging out with dogs and chickens
3) Blue likes to hang around where ever people are- so back patio with the chickens at grilling time.
4) Blue's silhouette on the roof of house acting as the night guard. Announces when my son comes home at night...Ha, no sneaking in late for him!
5) Blue protecting his family - that's his peahen with chicks.
6) Blue perched over the patio dining area, so he can watch over us while we eat dinner...yes, we often have to move the table out of ...range.

Hope this helps.

 

[Birdrain92]

I've had peacocks as pets for 20 years and they are lambs. A rooster chicken is a whole nother matter- they can get really mean after 2 years. My current policy is only keep one male bird on the property- and that is my male peacock. I have 1-2 peahens and several chicken hens for his harem. Blue(my peacock)is the chaperone and gaurdian for all his ladies and he is a total gentleman. He protects the chickens the same as the peahens and is very kind to people, cats, dogs etc... Even during breeding season I can walk up and stroke his tail while he is doing his mating dance for the females. Blue sits on the bench across from me on summer mornings while I drink my coffee, and I toss him dried meal worms. He only screams a little bit during breeding season or when something is going on- (like a hawk has grabbed one of his chickens -or a chainsaw is cutting down a tree- he gets very upset and screams- go figure) I think because he is the only male on the property and we have a pretty relaxed atmosphere here- every body is chill(as my teen agers say). The following pictures should prove to your father how docile the birds can be. Like any animal or child, treat them well- and they will be kind in return. Peacocks require, Good food, safe shelter, high perches and a sense of territory.
People often talk of peacocks at the Zoo that chase people- or peacocks at parks that attack people- Even dogs under those conditions can be mean- but those are not "Pets" .
Peacocks are curious, social and really nice to have around.
Show these pictures to your father.
1) Morning coffee with Blue (coffee cup in foreground)
2) Blue hanging out with dogs and chickens
3) Blue likes to hang around where ever people are- so back patio with the chickens at grilling time.
4) Blue's silhouette on the roof of house acting as the night guard. Announces when my son comes home at night...Ha, no sneaking in late for him!
5) Blue protecting his family - that's his peahen with chicks.
6) Blue perched over the patio dining area, so he can watch over us while we eat dinner...yes, we often have to move the table out of ...range.

Hope this helps.

I know this is a little late to be commenting on this thread but I felt the need to share. I don't like the reason why some Zoos have to get rid of their peafowl. I asked the zoo near where I live what happened to their peacock. They told me it was attacking little kids that got so close to him. I asked why and the zoo keeper said we have to clip his wings so he can't fly and little kids would pull his feathers and then he started attacking kids and they had to get rid of him. I found that stupid, it's the kids who were asking to get attacked. Another reason to back up that peafowl are friendly would be these photos. None of my birds have attacked me nor tried to. They are all friendly.

This is my Spalding peahen Thora. She was 1 year old in this photo.

This is Marshmallow. She's my Black Shoulder peahen and was 3 months in this photo

This is Colbolt and Sage. They are Indian Blues and are both 4 years old in this photo.

This Ice. He's my yearling White peacock.

 

[MinxFox]

I agree Birdrain. It really upsets me when kids, and even adults, chase peafowl at the zoo because they want their feathers. I would be one of those zookeepers that kept an eye out for that and then I would try to educate people on why you shouldn't chase the peafowl - it makes them afraid of people and thus they hide and then people can't photograph them and enjoy them, the birds can't enjoy walking around without fear, etc. I always wished I lived closer to our local zoo because a dream job (not forever but for a while) would be a zookeeper.

 

[Birdrain92]

I agree Birdrain. It really upsets me when kids, and even adults, chase peafowl at the zoo because they want their feathers. I would be one of those zookeepers that kept an eye out for that and then I would try to educate people on why you shouldn't chase the peafowl - it makes them afraid of people and thus they hide and then people can't photograph them and enjoy them, the birds can't enjoy walking around without fear, etc. I always wished I lived closer to our local zoo because a dream job (not forever but for a while) would be a zookeeper.

It would be awesome to be a zookeeper for peafowl. There are kids that go to the county fair every year and they believed peafowl are mean and allowing them to pet Thora changed their minds about peafowl. I will probably bring her again for people that came last year will be able to see her again. People heard about me and Thora around town really fast. I had people that would walk up and say "The rumors are true, a peacock is at the fair." There are kids at my school as well that believe in the same thing. I've been able to change some people's mind about peafowl. Others still think they are always mean but at least I've shown them that some can be nice.

 

[MinxFox]

So how did you get your new white peafowl to be tether trained? He just looks so calm in your photos. Do you do get them used to random noises in the training so that they don't spook at the fair or do they just do well without any prior noise training?

I am not big on holding Peep because I don't want to do something he isn't comfortable with, but the other day he kept being chased into the small pen by the other peacocks and I was trying to get him out so he could go eat and he wasn't wanting to leave so I quickly picked him up and then let him jump out of my arms. The UPA's Peafowl Today magazine recently had an article about a tame peacock in it. They had an awesome photo of a lady reclining in a chair and her peacock was all spread out lying there with his head on her chest. It was great.

 

[Birdrain92]

So how did you get your new white peafowl to be tether trained? He just looks so calm in your photos. Do you do get them used to random noises in the training so that they don't spook at the fair or do they just do well without any prior noise training?

I am not big on holding Peep because I don't want to do something he isn't comfortable with, but the other day he kept being chased into the small pen by the other peacocks and I was trying to get him out so he could go eat and he wasn't wanting to leave so I quickly picked him up and then let him jump out of my arms. The UPA's Peafowl Today magazine recently had an article about a tame peacock in it. They had an awesome photo of a lady reclining in a chair and her peacock was all spread out lying there with his head on her chest. It was great.

I've been able to place them in different areas as you have seen in my range of photos.

I start out by getting them used to being caught. Sometimes I do a steady snapping in one spot and they become so focused on the snapping that I can put my other hand on their wing and then I can move the other hand fast to the other wing to catch them. Once they stop struggling which is usually in 4-5 seconds. I sit there and pet them and tell them, "When I put my hands on your wings you stop." Then I let them up throw them a treat. The less struggle they give I pet them and keep them caught for less time and give them a treat. After that I practice just perching with my arm. I place my hand firm on the shoulder of the wings or keep my hand in front of their face; that way they don't try to fly off. I pet them give them a treat like usual. After they are calm with being on my arm I put the tether around their foot but keep them in an area where they can't jump off of anything. I stand still and let the tether get tight a few times. When it goes tight they usually stop and stand or they lay down. While they are standing still wondering what just happened or laying down I tell them "This is a tether, when it goes tight that's as far as you can go." It only takes them two times of letting the tether go tight and they know what it does. With Ice it took 5 days to get this part down. Thora took only a day with it but I had her when she was a chick making it a breeze. Marshmallow took 3 days. Then I bring them outside and walk around. Dogs will run up and the peafowl look at them like they are stupid. My family comes and pets them. After introductions then I get them to stand on a carpet and let me stretch their wings out, lift their tail feathers, pet their legs, tap the crest softly. With the showmanship part it takes a few days. Though the environment changes every now and then so some days they are more stubborn. They learn very quick.

I think the reason why they don't get to scared when perch is because when they're perched it gives them some feeling of security and that I give off a sense that I will protect them. If I don't trust something near them I wrap around which ever peafowl I have and push away what I'm protecting them from. Easy part to catching them I think is the steady beat of snapping. I think it just takes their attention off me as if they are dazed or hypnotized by the snapping. I will have to do a tutorial video with them sometime. Though I sound really funny on camera.

 

[MinxFox]

A video tutorial sounds great! I think everyone thinks they sound funny on camera or on the phone. I think I sound weird.