what to look for when buying peacock pairs

[jimmythechicken]

my daughter wants to get an older pair of peacocks 1-2 years old she has her 2 babys maybe 2-3 week old blue indian would they be fine together when the little ones are 3-4 months old an go in with them.an should she stick with same type or can she mix in some differant color peacocks?what should i look for in a health 1-2 year old bird an what should i try to stay away from.we have a livestock auction on mondays that we might go check out.i have emailed a few breeders around her with in 2 hr drive an the first on wanted 300 a pair an i have not heard back from the other one yet.if that is the case i will buy a pair from some of the big breeders around 100-140 a pair of 1 year old an have them shipped for another 100 bucks atleast she will be able to pick out any color she wants.she wants to find a peacock with blue, green ,an purple in it is there such a thing?thanks for any feed back you guys have been a huge help for us

 

[chickenzoo]

Purple pied kind of have all those colors.... this is my young male, doesn't have his train yet. I'd look at breeders close to you over an auction. Local town auctions can be good and bad. You can find nice looking birds and a large variety of things, and might catch a good price, but problem is that you don't know were they come from, you don't know what diseases they may have or had, you don't know what they are being exposed to while they are at the auction..... so it is a risk.... and if they have something that can spread to your other birds it might end up a very expensive risk..... but I have heard people buy nice things there.....

I would not put a 3 month old in with adults, unless you have a lot of space. Adults tend to be bossy, especially to younger birds and can really hurt them or possible kill them. It largely depends on space and temperament of the birds, but I rather be safe than sorry.

As far as finding a healthy bird - look at it's overall appearance, it should be fairly clean with in reason, eyes should be bright and clear with no squinting, no watering, no swelling, no discolor. Nostrils should be fairly clean, no discharge and no strong smell. Should hear no coughing, there should be no wheezing when you listen under the birds wing for the lung sounds. Legs should be smooth and shiny with out raised up scales, gashes or injury. no worms in poo. Should not have an off walk, hips should be equal level on back, no dipping. feet should be smooth and all pads should be with out swelling, no swelling or raised spots in between toes. vent area should be fairly clean. No real keel bone should be felt on chest, bird should be of good weight. Color on bird should be nice and shiny - dull color could indicate poor condition....

Also check how they keep the bird, dirty green water, moldy feed etc..... indicates they might not keep up with the bird.

 

[jimmythechicken]

thank for all the info your peacock is real cool looking she really likes the blue pieds i think i am going to stick to breeders.