# Peafowl



## ThePatrioticPrepper (Jul 29, 2017)

Does anyone raise peafowl? I know a little bit about them but would like to talk to someone who has had hands on experience with them.

I have an issue with fox on my property and we all know how well that goes when you have chickens and other birds. I personally am not a fan of feeding my food to predators. Peacocks seem to be great at keeping predators away.

So any pros and cons would be great. I'd love to get some input.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

We raised them when I was a Kid. They are the most miserable, God Awful Noisy Birds ever Created. You're better off getting a Dog to run the Foxes off.


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## power (May 7, 2011)

The only thing that keeps peacocks from being eaten by predators is they usually roost high up in a tree, on top of the house, or on top of barns. To a predator they taste just as good as a chicken.

If you have a fox, about the only safe place is on top of the house. Not sure that would be safe.


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## ThePatrioticPrepper (Jul 29, 2017)

camo2460 said:


> We raised them when I was a Kid. They are the most miserable, God Awful Noisy Birds ever Created. You're better off getting a Dog to run the Foxes off.


That's what I was thinking as well lol. Thank you.


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## ThePatrioticPrepper (Jul 29, 2017)

power said:


> The only thing that keeps peacocks from being eaten by predators is they usually roost high up in a tree, on top of the house, or on top of barns. To a predator they taste just as good as a chicken.
> 
> If you have a fox, about the only safe place is on top of the house. Not sure that would be safe.


Thanks for the input. I knew to ask around before jumping on the band wagon. 
I did get a good laugh at my local farmers market though while talking about them. They sound like they are screaming "help" at night and I have a small graveyard on my property. Oh the possibilities of keeping the in laws away lol.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

I have a steel reinforced fortress to keep predators away from my birds.

Nothing else has worked. This does, though.


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## ThePatrioticPrepper (Jul 29, 2017)

LincTex said:


> I have a steel reinforced fortress to keep predators away from my birds.
> 
> Nothing else has worked. This does, though.


Oh my. That sounds like a lot of extra money. But may end up being the only solution


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## power (May 7, 2011)

I owned a fox a few years ago. There was nothing I could come up with that he couldn't escape from or get into if he wanted to. He learned how to open the doors in my house very easily.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

ThePatrioticPrepper said:


> Oh my. That sounds like a lot of extra money. But may end up being the only solution


Not too terribly bad. You'll need a cheap welder, though.

I used my 16' car trailer as a "jig" of sorts. I made a perimeter of 4" C-purlin for the base, then took 4 16-foot cattle panels ($22 each?) and laid them side-by-side, and tack welded them all together. 









I then formed them into an "arch", and welded them to the purlins. 









The "coop" & nesting box is on one end, with a welded steel angle iron door on the other end. The ENTIRE thing is covered with chicken wire, and the lower 24" all the way around is 1/2" hardware cloth, also.

I can't stand up inside, but it's over 5' tall in the middle.


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## power (May 7, 2011)

LincTex said:


> Not too terribly bad. You'll need a cheap welder, though.
> 
> I used my 16' car trailer as a "jig" of sorts. I made a perimeter of 4" C-purlin for the base, then took 4 16-foot cattle panels ($22 each?) and laid them side-by-side, and tack welded them all together.
> 
> ...


Nice, it would take my fox about 10 minutes to get inside and kill every bird.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

LincTex said:


> Not too terribly bad. You'll need a cheap welder, though.
> 
> I used my 16' car trailer as a "jig" of sorts. I made a perimeter of 4" C-purlin for the base, then took 4 16-foot cattle panels ($22 each?) and laid them side-by-side, and tack welded them all together.
> 
> ...


Sounds like my garden. Between the quail, Ravens, rabbits and Jack rabbits we weren't getting any of our veggies.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

power said:


> Nice, it would take my fox about 10 minutes to get inside and kill every bird.


How do you figure? 

I have set up a trail camera nearby and have recorded 100's of predators, not one has ever got inside. Fox included.


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## power (May 7, 2011)

LincTex said:


> How do you figure?
> 
> I have set up a trail camera nearby and have recorded 100's of predators, not one has ever got inside. Fox included.


I saw him do it before. He could go through chicken wire faster than you could go through the gate. Hardware cloth took a few minutes longer.
Right now I am going to repair some hardware cloth that a couple of pheasants went through.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

ThePatrioticPrepper said:


> Thanks for the input. I knew to ask around before jumping on the band wagon.
> I did get a good laugh at my local farmers market though while talking about them. They sound like they are screaming "help" at night and I have a small graveyard on my property. Oh the possibilities of keeping the in laws away lol.


Years ago I was fishing on a bog pond just east of Seattle and I heard the "Help" screaming, I thought for sure it was a damsel in distress until I figured out that it was a peacock. One time I grabbed one that was out in traffic, the dang thing nearly beat me to death, they are tough and very strong.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

A lady that is friends with my mother has peafowl. .... They suck! As far as the fox i find shooting them in the head cures them every time.


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## power (May 7, 2011)

RedBeard said:


> A lady that is friends with my mother has peafowl. .... They suck! As far as the fox i find shooting them in the head cures them every time.


That is the only sure way of stopping a fox. Just be sure that you are a good shot. If you do not kill it you will have a much more cunning predator.
My fox was shot once. Everyone assumed it was dead. He came home a little over a week later. He was limping but he recovered and became a much wiser fox. He is still around but people do not see him anymore.


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## power (May 7, 2011)

Caribou said:


> Do you have a pet fox that you let roam around the neighborhood?


Have you ever tried to pen a fox in or out? They pretty much go where they want. 
A few years ago I got a call from a man who had just come back from an exiotic animal sale. A couple of men were setting next to him and started bidding on a fox which was up for sale. They planned on selling the fur. He bought the fox but then didn't know what he was going to do with it. He called me and I went to pick it up. I have had several in the past. 
He was a great pet. Got along with my dog great and was a lot of fun. As it matured it begin to want more room. I spent months building different enclosures I thought would keep him in just to see him find a way out.
I do not live in a city. I do have a few neighbors but no many. The fox would leave and spend a few days in the woods but came back home. Everyone in the area knew him as he was very easy to tell from a native fox. He was half silver fox and half artic fox. None of the people in the area had pets other than dogs and cats. He enjoyed playing with all of them.
After he was shot he lost his trust of people except for myself. The last time he left I already knew he was not coming back. He does still return every once in a while but it is during the night and no one sees him. I don't even see him anymore but I do know when he comes visiting.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

I don't miss, not because im the worlds greatest shot but because i don't take shots i can't make. No animal deserves to suffer.


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

ThePatrioticPrepper said:


> Does anyone raise peafowl? I know a little bit about them but would like to talk to someone who has had hands on experience with them.
> 
> I have an issue with fox on my property and we all know how well that goes when you have chickens and other birds. I personally am not a fan of feeding my food to predators. Peacocks seem to be great at keeping predators away.
> 
> So any pros and cons would be great. I'd love to get some input.


Geese can keep predators away. I don't like them anymore than peafowl but at least they are more manageable. And if you work with them they can be friendly, well sorta........ Well now that i think of it I've never met a friendly goose and that's why i hate them. We had a pair growing up and the only person they liked was my dad. They attacked my daily. I begged the old man to let me kill them. Finally he got so mad he said i could if i cleaned them both and ate them, he didn't think i would. They tasted great! What are you protecting for birds? Guinea hens make really good alarms too. They can be annoying though.


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## power (May 7, 2011)

RedBeard said:


> Geese can keep predators away. I don't like them anymore than peafowl but at least they are more manageable. And if you work with them they can be friendly, well sorta........ Well now that i think of it I've never met a friendly goose and that's why i hate them. We had a pair growing up and the only person they liked was my dad. They attacked my daily. I begged the old man to let me kill them. Finally he got so mad he said i could if i cleaned them both and ate them, he didn't think i would. They tasted great! What are you protecting for birds? Guinea hens make really good alarms too. They can be annoying though.


My mother had some geese. They were not friendly but learned not to bother me as I was the one who fed them. I had some muscovey ducks. The drake would take on all of the geese daily just for something to do. Some days he won and some days he lost. He finally out lasted the geese.


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## phideaux (Nov 7, 2015)

African Geese don't fair well against Coyote....


Ask me how I know.




Jim


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

phideaux said:


> African Geese don't fair well against Coyote....
> 
> Ask me how I know.
> 
> Jim


No they are more of the sacrificial lamb. How many did you loose?


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## phideaux (Nov 7, 2015)

Oh, only 2 grown up adults male and female.

Huge beautiful birds , 

They lived in a shelter at night, but on my pond in daytime.

I would go out and call them , they would come and follow me to their night shelter to be fed.


But, coyotes got em in the daytime around the pond...
Big piles of feathers was all that was left.




Jim


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

phideaux said:


> Oh, only 2 grown up adults male and female.
> 
> Huge beautiful birds ,
> 
> ...


That sucks. Daytime, they must have ambushed one and the other attacked. I kniw they will defend their mate with their life. I do admire their devotion to each other. I have also been told if you keep only one goose they will be your buddy, the mate makes them protective.


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## phideaux (Nov 7, 2015)

Them Yotes are smart,

They got em the one time the pond had ice over it,
That only happens once in 5 years, 

The birds couldn't get away into water.

Same thing happened to all my ducks also.

Only when there was ice.



Jim


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## RedBeard (May 8, 2017)

phideaux said:


> Them Yotes are smart,
> 
> They got em the one time the pond had ice over it,
> That only happens once in 5 years,
> ...


Wow that is smart! They tend to stay away from my place. I've found them to be smart enough to stay away after you shoot a few of their buddies. But i had to stay up all night each time to teach them that.


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## phideaux (Nov 7, 2015)

I have a few less Yotes than I use to have.....

I shouldn't judge too quickly, because I also have a few Bobcats that hang around here too.

I have caught many a Yote and a few Bobcats on my game cameras.









Jim


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