Will my peacock stay?

[Athenasjustice]

My husband and I frequent a local animal sale and 2 weeks ago I got a peacock. This is my 3rd. The other 2 ran away from our old place. This one is approx. 2 yrs. old and no, I don't have a hen to go with him and I have him on a VERY long tie cord. Granted, when I got the others I was just excited about having these beautiful birds in my yard and didn't do very much research on them before I bought them.
I have read MANY articles on how to care for them and why they run away. I have read that if you buy them grown that they will roam until they find their original home. I have 7 1/2 clear acres for him to roam on but have read that people with as much as 40 have issues with keeping them on their place. But on the FLIP side of that coin I have read that they can be trained to stay if you show them the perimeters of your place and that they love following a lawn mower. Is this true? There are SO MANY stories that contradict themselves that I'm confused on what to believe.
ALSO! And this is the reason I'm asking if he will stay if I allow him to free range! I have a pair of giant African geese as well as some white toppie ducks that love to visit and socialize with him. They eat together.....speak to one another and when the geese walk off he acts as if he wants to follow. Is it possible that they will keep him on the place?
Another thing......He doesn't ACT like the other peacocks I had. He isn't as skittish. He still does the, "What are you getting ready to do.......why are you so close" clucking noise but I'm able interact with him without him freaking out. I'm able to get him in his cage at night with no problem and the other day the tie cord got wrapped around his leg 4 or 5 times but he allowed me to approach him and even held his leg out FOR me to get it unwound.
I would love for him to be able to free range and socialize with the other animals .....but I don't want to end up just setting him free, know what I mean? So.....ANY advice is GREATLY appreciated!!

 

[new 2 pfowl]

Part of what you might think about is: what's outside of that 7 1/2 acres?
No matter how you train him, there is absolutely no way to guarantee that he won't go off your property.
If he does go further will he get into trouble, get hit by a car, bother some crabby neighbors who might hurt him?

In the meantime, I'm worried about that "tie cord." In fact I'm amazed that he hasn't gotten a broken leg from this yet. Peas like to fly and they are strong, and this sounds like a very dangerous idea to me.
But perhaps someone else knows more about this than I do.

 

[AugeredIn]

All the stuff you heard is just stuff....the smelly stuff.

To get him to stay, you must home him in a pen for several months and then free him. Not having a mate is also going to drive his impulse to stray.

.....and I second new 2 pfowl's concerns about broken or damaged legs. That cord sounds like a horrible idea.

 

[birdeo]

All the stuff you heard is just stuff....the smelly stuff.

To get him to stay, you must home him in a pen for several months and then free him. Not having a mate is also going to drive his impulse to stray.

.....and I second new 2 pfowl's concerns about broken or damaged legs. That cord sounds like a horrible idea.

I third it !

 

[zazouse]

I agree with everything the others have posted already but will add if you are in a neighborhood forget it, they can do major damage to an auto and when they pick a favorite unless you are there to catch them 5 or 6 times in a row they are gonna mess that vehicle up beyond a buff job.

I free range all my birds and i learned it is best to get babies and go from their , older birds tend to wander farther and faster if they were not raised there.
Mine cover 20 or more acres on the average day, it has taken a few years to teach all of them not to leave the area i want them to stay in, i am in a position that i taught mine to stay well within my property line so if the go past the area i want them in they are still on my place, i am retired and waited to be so before i got my first wee peas and i tell ya there have been time i would have penned them all up when they came back from a night in the woods

but apparently it wasn't pleasant for them cause they never did it again.

I have developed a sixth sense with my birds and i know when they are being naughty and following something or going where they are not suppose to.

Personally if i could not be home with any of my birds they would not be free even though i have the best protection anyone can have

Geese and peas put up with each other here no chit chat or being neighborly they just put up with each other and ducks stay out of the peas way.
Hens with babies take a beating from the peas if they bow up to them when they are checking out the new arrivals , same with duck hens so i usually have to take all but a couple babies away and put them in the brooder.

 

[Athenasjustice]

Outside the yard is my 1/4 mile driveway. I don't have any CLOSE neighbors but from what y'all have said it doesn't matter......he will roam, PERIOD! Geese or no geese! Thank you SO much for all of your advice and not to worry.....I have a LARGE pen I WILL put him in! I just thought that ANY yard time where he could get bugs and ground goodies would be better than none. There's NO damage to his legs YET! But I'm NOT willing to take the chance that there WON'T be! No matter how DIFFERENT he acts! I'm still VERY fresh to the pea fowl scene.

 

[Athenasjustice]

I agree with everything the others have posted already but will add if you are in a neighborhood forget it, they can do major damage to an auto and when they pick a favorite unless you are there to catch them 5 or 6 times in a row they are gonna mess that vehicle up beyond a buff job.

I free range all my birds and i learned it is best to get babies and go from their , older birds tend to wander farther and faster if they were not raised there.
Mine cover 20 or more acres on the average day, it has taken a few years to teach all of them not to leave the area i want them to stay in, i am in a position that i taught mine to stay well within my property line so if the go past the area i want them in they are still on my place, i am retired and waited to be so before i got my first wee peas and i tell ya there have been time i would have penned them all up when they came back from a night in the woods

but apparently it wasn't pleasant for them cause they never did it again.

I have developed a sixth sense with my birds and i know when they are being naughty and following something or going where they are not suppose to.

Personally if i could not be home with any of my birds they would not be free even though i have the best protection anyone can have

Geese and peas put up with each other here no chit chat or being neighborly they just put up with each other and ducks stay out of the peas way.
Hens with babies take a beating from the peas if they bow up to them when they are checking out the new arrivals , same with duck hens so i usually have to take all but a couple babies away and put them in the brooder.
Thank you SO MUCH for all your advice!! I am pulling him off of the tie cord tonight and putting him in a nice BIG cage! I didn't know about the possible leg damage that a tie cord could inflict! And I too, am able to stay home and care for all of my birds. I am also going to find a hen for him!! And may I say.......you have some BEAUTIFUL birds as well as GUARDIANS!!

 

[birdeo]

nice photos...beautiful birds and dogs but that poor pick up truck.

glad to hear your un-tethering that bird , was a big worry when I saw that post and felt so sorry for it.

 

[zazouse]

LOL that is a true farm truck right there I bought it in 2000 and it has a little less than 80 thousand miles, use it for running feed and animals it has been threw a lot. it lives in the barn too. LOL

 

[hobbyfarmer221]

Ok, so with peacocks you either need to have them in an in closed aviary type cage or keep them from a fairly young age (under 1 year is best) and keep them in some kind of coop so that they know that the coop is home