Should I let my peacocks roam free?

[DreamBird]

Never happened with mine and I have raised plenty. India Blue and Whites.. For some reason the whites never seem to develop much color LOL

Well that is weird. Every IB peafowls I've seen could be identified as males or females when they are months old, especially almost a year old at least. No need to wait for them to be 3 years old to tell the difference.

These birds are both almost 1 year old :

Peahen :

http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/rtatt90/DSC_0100.jpg

Peacock :


The barrings are obviously gone on the peahen while they are still, and will remain, present on the male. So you can cleary tell the difference, not to mention the neck colours. So yep, your birds are all males, Dracoe19.

I also agree, if you treasure the purple guy (and I would as well !), don't let him roam free so soon, it would be sad if you lost such a beautiful bird ! I truly hope you will never lose any of your birds, though. I never like to hear about someone who lost their animal(s).

 

[DAS]

You really can't tell until they are mature and the tails come out. We have two that will be three years old in July. One of them is definitely female because she 'assumes the position' even when I just hold my hand out flat with the palm down above her. The sibling/buddy does not do that and is even angry with her because of the way she is acting. He(?) may be male but there is no long tail action or he(?) may simply still be enough of a juvenile that her actions just don't seem right. She should be chasing the chickens instead of acting wimpy and submissive (I am typing in peacock terms).

What is strange is that she is the first female I have ever seen do anything like that. Our females have always been aloof about the whole thing and pretty much dominant in the flock..

If you have a bird that is almost 3 years old and it does not have a long or partial train at this time, then chances are, it is a hen. If you have photos of this bird, there are many on here who could sex the bird.

 

[dracoe19]

Alright so it has been a long time since I posted on this but I finally let my peacocks go free. I banded them and let them in my chicken pasture. The first day during the light they generally stayed close to their old aviary and just stood around. Night fell couldn't find one of the blues and assumed it flew in the trees since it wasn't dark yet. The other two were on the ground so I attempted to catch them to put them in the barn or back in the aviary. I caught the india blue and handed it to someone then attempted to catch my purple. He didn't like the man handling the first time and jumped in the air and flew to my neighbors trees. The india blue kicked my partner and he in turn dropped him and we decided to just let them be. The next morning we came out and one of the india blues was in with my wyandottes relaxing. We searched further and found the other india blue hadn't been as smart as his pal and was eaten by a fox. I called my neighbor about the peacock and she said he was alive and chilling in the trees. She was fine with having him there so we weren't in a rush to bring him back over. The next day the blue was still fine and we were going to try to encourage the purple back over but he came back on his own. He was pacing the fence to our chicken yard for quite a while so we thought we would try to get him over the fence. We tried and he flew over the chicken yard, over the barn and into the opposite tree line. The next day the blue was still chilling with the chickens and the purple came back again still pacing the fence not being able to figure out he can get over it. The 2 saw each other through the fence and were happy to see each other and layed next to the fence and greeted each other. We decided not to "help" the purple since the other 2 attempts were him flying across fields into other trees. So far the india blue seems quite happy following and eating with the chickens. The guineas were very excited to see the peacocks and eagerly followed him around and showed him where food and water were. The chickens also like hanging with him and will lay around him and just act like he's just another chicken. Hopefully the purple will figure out how to get over the fence so he can join his buddy. So far I think letting them free was a good decision. They seem happy to walk around with the other birds and go into trees. Yes I did lose one but it's part of nature and the other two are thriving. Thank you all again for your help and advice it helped a lot !

Here are some pictures of them. The first to are of the india blue still staying close to his old avairy with the younger chickens wandering around. The other two are hard to see but the purple black shouldered spalding pacing the fence.

 

[dracoe19]

Both the boys are finally settled in and hanging around with the chickens. I think they are very happy now and content to stay here

 

[new 2 pfowl]

They look very happy!
It is great that they are settling in, and that they can roam freely.
Your farm seems to be a lovely setting for them.

By the way (off topic, sorry), I love that last photo-your rooster looks giant (maybe he is?).
Makes me think of those old "exaggeration" postcards...



(this image is the property of an ebay seller, NOT mine)

 

[katescountryfarm]

I have never owned them. The ones I see free range are always out and about. We even had a pair roost on the horse paddock 2 nights. My husband thought for sure I brought more birds home!

 

[dracoe19]

I'm glad they have decided they like our place and prefer not to wonder. He is a big fellow but he is a bit closer to me than the peacocks. The picture does make him look big! Nice photo of the greeting card it made me smile



I would have been accused of the same thing! XD

 

[Joe.G]

SO now it has been a while what has happen since you last posted? are they still around? any issues?

 

[dracoe19]

I sadly lost one to an unknown cause. I found him "sleeping" in his favorite spot in my wyandotte pen.... The other boy is doing great though! He spends a majority of his time with our chickens and sometimes goes to my neighbors horse pasture. He has never left our property besides that. He loves hanging out with the chickens and especially our guineas. I have even seen them playing with each other by chasing each other then jumping in the air and running the other way. It is so cool to see him roaming about . He has even become more friendly towards us. We taught him not to go into our house yard where our dogs are and one day, in spite of us, he didn't come into the yard but flew onto the house! He was spying on my mom in the bathroom! lol. I think he is very happy to be able to go where he pleases. I actually got him a new peacock buddy so he wouldn't be the only peacock around here. The other boy is still in our aviary for now until he is adjusted to being in his new home then I will let him out as well. Over all I am very happy I decided to let them out. I can tell how happy he is just being able to run around and fly to where ever he pleases. He always comes home and only roams on about 5-6 acres of land. Usually fewer than that unless he is feeling adventurous.

Here he is on the fence separating my land from my neighbors horse pasture.

His new buddy



He loves to perch on the wyandotte fence and coop. It is one of his favorite spots.

Here's the guineas teasing him while he displays. They get a kick out of running and having him turn really fast and shake his tail at them.

more of the gunieas teasing him

Him hanging out with some of the chickens at the feed bowl

 

[Joe.G]

So you lost two overall to free range then?