My Growing Muster of Peacocks
It’s always such a joy to see my peafowl growing and thriving. They are so curious and friendly - wandering the premises and checking out all the activity.
I currently have 12-peafowl here at my Bedford, New York farm. My first ones came from Pedda Reddy, a very passionate and knowledgeable peafowl breeder and raiser in Dutchess County, New York. The younger ones were incubated and hatched here - right in my kitchen. If you follow this blog regularly, I'm sure you’ve seen glimpses of my two bright colored male “blue boys”. They love to explore. The others can often be found in their large enclosure, not far from my stables. All my adult peacocks and peahens get lots of attention from visiting friends and family. They’re all doing exceptionally well and remain active and very, very vocal.
Enjoy this update and these photos of my peafowl.
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- Here is one of my young peahens roosting in a tree “planted” in the “palais de paon” or “palace of peafowl”. Both male and female peafowl have the fancy crest atop their heads – it’s called a corona.
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- All my peafowl live in this coop not far from my stable. One side for the adults, and the other for my two youngest peachicks – now just about five-months old. They all share this large yard.
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- Indoors, there is ample room for all of them to move about freely.
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- Or perch up high in their tree. While peafowl are ground feeders and ground nesters, they still enjoy being up at higher levels. In the wild, this keeps them safe from predators at night. My outdoor birds all have access to natural perches made from old felled trees here at the farm. It is important that they have a variety of perches upon which to roost.
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- This ladder perch is against a wall in the coop – it is also made from old wood found here at the farm.
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- This hen is perched atop a food bin – from this location, she can see everything outside the door, including the camera – hello, my dear peahen. Peafowl will look you in the eye, unlike many birds, but if you stare at them or seem aggressive in body movements, they will feel threatened.
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- Every morning, the peafowl coop is opened, so all the peahens and peacocks can venture outside into their large yard.
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- Because most of my peacocks and peahens have been raised here at the farm, they’re all accustomed to the various noises – they are very curious animals. Here are most of the adults by the side of the fence just watching the many activities going on at the farm.
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- Peafowl are pretty social animals. Young peacocks like to play, pester each other and explore if allowed. Peafowl are also very smart, docile and loud. Oftentimes, I can hear them all the way from my Winter House.
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- Here is our “dynamic peacock duo” – walking the carriage roads.
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- These blue peacocks love to be in the middle of the activity – they can often be seen wherever the outdoor grounds crew is working. Peafowl are quite clever and will come close to all who visit – hoping to get a treat or two.
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- Peafowl are beautiful birds, but do not underestimate their power – they are extremely strong with very sharp spurs. Here is the other blue peacock atop the dump truck.
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- These peacocks are two-years of age – incubated and hatched right here at the farm. They can always be found together.
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- The peacock “tail”, known as a “train”, consists not of tail quill feathers, but highly elongated upper tail coverts. These feathers are marked with eyespots, best seen when a peacock raises and fans his tail. Next year, these males should have even fuller tails of beautiful feathers. Peahens usually choose males that have bigger, healthier plumage with an abundance of eyespots.
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- Peacocks shed their feathers once a year after breeding season and then grow them back – each time looking more showy and beautiful. The train gets longer and more elaborate until five or six years old when it reaches maximum splendor.
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- Full grown, peafowl can weigh up to 13-pounds. Mine are in excellent health. All the peacocks and peahens get lots of fresh, organic treats from my gardens.
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- Here he one of he blue boys in flight. Peafowl are among the largest flying birds, but they can’t go very far. In fact, most of their time is spent on the ground.
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- Here are two of my peahens venturing just outside the coop. Peafowl are ground feeders. They do most of their foraging in the early morning and evening. As omnivores, they eat insects, plants, grains and sometimes small creatures.
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- Inside, the smallest peachicks practice fluttering their wings. These young birds will be kept separated from the others at night until they are a bit bigger. During the day, they can all socialize outside in the fresh air.
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- The peachicks also get their own tree, but all my birds are very safe – their coops are closed and locked at night to keep predators out.
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- Peafowl are happiest when living in small groups. These two will be very close friends.
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- Peafowl have acute hearing, but can be poor at discerning from what direction certain sounds originate.
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- The Silver Pied peacock is a white bird with about 10 to 20-percent color on it, including the bright iridescent blue on his neck. He also has white-eyed feathers in his train. This beautiful bird came from Dr. Reddy. He is so stunning when he fans his tail.
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- Peafowl are very hardy birds, and even though they are native to warm climates, they do very well in chillier weather as long as they have access to dry areas away from strong winds. Sleep well, peacock – see you later.
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