Peacocks are beautiful, hardy creatures, able to live in all types of climates -- from the extreme heat of India to the fluctuating temperatures of the American northwest. The jewel-toned fowl are will thrive if their basic needs are met, but they have a loud, shrill cry that would disturb those close to you in a neighborhood. It's recommended you have at least an acre of property, entirely fenced. Because they like to roost high at night, you should have trees on your property, unless you don't mind the colorful birds bedding down on your roof.
Step 1
Provide fresh water at all times for your peacocks. They can drink from a trough if it is low enough, or from large dishes placed directly on the ground.
Step 2
Feed your peacocks two handfuls of mixed grain per adult bird each day. Feed stores stock grain mixtures formulated for pheasants that is appropriate to feed peacocks. Peacocks do well on game bird crumbles, too, also available at feed stores.
Step 3
Supplement your peacocks' diet with cabbage or other green vegetable.
Step 4
Worm your peacocks regularly to keep them healthy. How often this is depends on the type of wormer you use. If you use diatomaceous earth, include it with the peacocks' food daily. Herbal worming products are typically administered monthly; chemical preparations, every six months. Read the medication packaging for proper dosage and frequency.
Step 5
Keep your peacock flock safe from predators. Tall fencing around your property will help with this task but you can also turn a radio on at night, keeping it near your peacocks to keep predatory animals at bay.
References
Tips
- Peacocks will happily explore your ground and don't tend to stray far. If you want to provide housing for your peacocks, make sure the enclosure is large enough. Peacocks with full tails are almost 5 feet from beak to tail tip and need space enough in a pen or house to fully turn around and move about.
- Peacocks get along with other birds and will do well with chickens.
- The notion of keeping peacocks in your house is a no-brainer. Even if your home is large enough to accommodate one or more of the large, long-tailed birds, they don't house-train well. A peacock kept in the house will leave unpleasant surprises for you wherever he goes in your home.
- Peacocks aren't companion animals, although those raised around humans are quite tame. Socialization of peacocks doesn't require anything more than daily handling and interaction with them from the time of hatching. The more human contact peacocks get, the less fear they'll have. Some tame peacocks trust humans enough to allow themselves to be petted and even eat grain offered from the hand.
Photo Credits
-
Peacock image by Charles Jacques from Fotolia.com
Writer Bio
Elle Di Jensen has been a writer and editor since 1990. She began working in the fitness industry in 1987, and her experience includes editing and publishing a workout manual. She has an extended family of pets, including special needs animals. Jensen attended Idaho and Boise State Universities. Her work has appeared in various print and online publications.
