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I've mentioned my peafowl, Indigo and Jade, before, but I haven't given them a proper introduction. It is time to fix that.
This is Indigo. He is a Indian blue peacock.
I got Indigo in 2015. He was roughly three years old at the time, so he is around eight years old now.
And this is Jade. She is an Indian blue peahen.
I got her in 2018, along with her four babies. Age unknown - possible around five years but she could be older.
Here are the babies when they are a little older, with Indigo checking them out in the background.
Baby peafowl are biege for camouflage. Juveniles look very similar to adult females, with colorful heads and gray bodies. It takes many months for males to achieve their full color and even longer to grow their trains to full size.
I never meant the father of these babies, but I suspect he was a spalding - a hybrid cross of blue peacock and green peacock, based on their vibrant color and feather patterning.
When they were old enough, I found the babies new homes, because six peafowl is too many, even for me.
I was so tempted to keep them ... they were all so gorgeous.
My peafowl are "free-range" and have the full run of my property. They spend a lot of their time hanging out with my turkeys and chickens or out foraging in the orchard. And in the springtime, Indigo tries to flirt with everyone.
The chickens just ignore him. But he doesn't give up. Persistence is key.
.
Peacocks are omnivorous and excellent foragers. They are considered "optimistic feeders" which basically means they will eat whatever is available. In the wild, they eat insects, plants, worms, frogs, lizards, and even snakes!
Peacocks are confident birds, but not usually aggressive toward people. Male peacocks have a sharp spur on their foot and can kick or jump on prey or threats. You don't want to upset a peacock.
Indigo is not hand-tame but he is comfortable around people. I've never had any problems with his behavior. I respect his personal space and he appreciates my tasty offerings. Jade is more reserved and shy. She spends a lot of her time hanging out with our heritage turkeys.
Despite the huge tail, Indigo is quite a capable flyer. He sleeps fifty feet up in an old Douglas fir tree each night. Every evening, he jumps up onto the roof of my house, walks across to the corner and flys across to his chosen roost.
Jade prefers to sleep closer to the turkeys in a different fir tree, but she roosts significantly further up than the turkeys.
When we first got the peacocks I kept them in an enclosure to let them settle in and get used to our property. I used a large steel dog kennel with roosts made from 2x4s.
I feed them an exotic gamebird feed, as well as having full access to our chicken's feed and a variety of table scraps and garden products that go to our chickens and other poultry. Once released, they are able to free-forage for bugs, worms, frogs, plants, and whatever else they can find.
After the birds were used to being fed and shelter safely, I opened the pen and kept my fingers crossed that they would consider my property a suitable place to stay. Free-range peacocks are pretty notorious for wandering off, never to be seen or heard from again. Or hopping the fence and bothering your neighbors. My birds have been surprisingly good about sticking close to home.
I credit my large flock of poultry for providing the peafowl with a sense of safety and comfort. One thing about keeping fully flighted birds in your backyard. You know they must like your property and care, because if their needs were not being met ... they could just leave at any time.
This is Indigo sunbathing on a sunny day.
Notice the length of his tail feathers. Every year, at the end of the breeding season, he drops his train, losing all of his tail feathers during his annual molt. Over fall and winter, the feathers grow back, longer and fuller. Ready for spring, when he will start to display his glorious feathers. Every year, I gather up the long tail feathers, and display them in vases all over my house.
It takes three years for a peacock to reach sexual maturity. Older peacocks usually have bigger trains ... they can reach as long as six feet!
In addition to fanning for all the girls, breeding season also marks the "noisy peacock" season. Both male and female peafowl are capable of a rather impressive scream. And during the breeding season you will hear this scream a LOT and at all hours of the day or night. It has been described as sounding like a woman screaming for help, but I think it sounds like the background jungle sounds in a Tarzan movie.
Here's a short clip (not my peacock):
And one last piece of random peacock trivia. Did you know that peacocks can honk? When they are upset or startled, they honk just like a goose!
It shocked me the first time I heard it. I thought they only screamed. Never heard about the honking.
This is Indigo. He is a Indian blue peacock.
I got Indigo in 2015. He was roughly three years old at the time, so he is around eight years old now.
And this is Jade. She is an Indian blue peahen.
I got her in 2018, along with her four babies. Age unknown - possible around five years but she could be older.
Here are the babies when they are a little older, with Indigo checking them out in the background.
Baby peafowl are biege for camouflage. Juveniles look very similar to adult females, with colorful heads and gray bodies. It takes many months for males to achieve their full color and even longer to grow their trains to full size.
I never meant the father of these babies, but I suspect he was a spalding - a hybrid cross of blue peacock and green peacock, based on their vibrant color and feather patterning.
When they were old enough, I found the babies new homes, because six peafowl is too many, even for me.
I was so tempted to keep them ... they were all so gorgeous.My peafowl are "free-range" and have the full run of my property. They spend a lot of their time hanging out with my turkeys and chickens or out foraging in the orchard. And in the springtime, Indigo tries to flirt with everyone.
The chickens just ignore him. But he doesn't give up. Persistence is key.
.Peacocks are omnivorous and excellent foragers. They are considered "optimistic feeders" which basically means they will eat whatever is available. In the wild, they eat insects, plants, worms, frogs, lizards, and even snakes!
Peacocks are confident birds, but not usually aggressive toward people. Male peacocks have a sharp spur on their foot and can kick or jump on prey or threats. You don't want to upset a peacock.
Indigo is not hand-tame but he is comfortable around people. I've never had any problems with his behavior. I respect his personal space and he appreciates my tasty offerings. Jade is more reserved and shy. She spends a lot of her time hanging out with our heritage turkeys.
Despite the huge tail, Indigo is quite a capable flyer. He sleeps fifty feet up in an old Douglas fir tree each night. Every evening, he jumps up onto the roof of my house, walks across to the corner and flys across to his chosen roost.
Jade prefers to sleep closer to the turkeys in a different fir tree, but she roosts significantly further up than the turkeys.
When we first got the peacocks I kept them in an enclosure to let them settle in and get used to our property. I used a large steel dog kennel with roosts made from 2x4s.
I feed them an exotic gamebird feed, as well as having full access to our chicken's feed and a variety of table scraps and garden products that go to our chickens and other poultry. Once released, they are able to free-forage for bugs, worms, frogs, plants, and whatever else they can find.
After the birds were used to being fed and shelter safely, I opened the pen and kept my fingers crossed that they would consider my property a suitable place to stay. Free-range peacocks are pretty notorious for wandering off, never to be seen or heard from again. Or hopping the fence and bothering your neighbors. My birds have been surprisingly good about sticking close to home.
I credit my large flock of poultry for providing the peafowl with a sense of safety and comfort. One thing about keeping fully flighted birds in your backyard. You know they must like your property and care, because if their needs were not being met ... they could just leave at any time.
This is Indigo sunbathing on a sunny day.
Notice the length of his tail feathers. Every year, at the end of the breeding season, he drops his train, losing all of his tail feathers during his annual molt. Over fall and winter, the feathers grow back, longer and fuller. Ready for spring, when he will start to display his glorious feathers. Every year, I gather up the long tail feathers, and display them in vases all over my house.
It takes three years for a peacock to reach sexual maturity. Older peacocks usually have bigger trains ... they can reach as long as six feet!
In addition to fanning for all the girls, breeding season also marks the "noisy peacock" season. Both male and female peafowl are capable of a rather impressive scream. And during the breeding season you will hear this scream a LOT and at all hours of the day or night. It has been described as sounding like a woman screaming for help, but I think it sounds like the background jungle sounds in a Tarzan movie.
Here's a short clip (not my peacock):
And one last piece of random peacock trivia. Did you know that peacocks can honk? When they are upset or startled, they honk just like a goose!
It shocked me the first time I heard it. I thought they only screamed. Never heard about the honking.
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Love the pictures
