Husbandry of Indian Peacock, Pavo Cristatus

Husbandry: The husbandry conditions are the same for all species which are derived from the blue peacocks (mutations). They are hardy and territorial, which makes it very easy, because no special efforts for cot etc. is needed. But anyone who would like to keep peacock should first be worry about the following issues. It could probably avoid a lot of stress for him and the animals.       1. Free walk or aviary The animals can have a large radius of action it can also be problems with the neighbours when they leave their traces in his garden etc. Especially young animals can have a large action radius. Who has not just 500 m distance to the neighbours must always consider that they will visit them. Our recommendation is to build a permanent aviary, no matter whether they are allowed to have a free walk or not afterwards. This will bed useful again and again over the years for:  - the settling of new animals  - the hen (s) as a safe breeding ground without fox  - the breeding of the chicks in the first weeks  - the treatment of sick animals.  These are only the most important issues that occur regularly. So you will always have the opportunity to react quickly to it.       2. Closed cot for the night Because the animals are hardy, a closed stable is not necessarily required. The animals a rain and wind protected place which is save against the fox would be enough. But a closed  cut would still has some advantages such as:  - Disturbance of neighbors by animal noises in the night can be avoided or minimized  - Hen and chicks can be the dry cot during a bad weather period, which decreases the death rate of chicks a lot.  - Treatment of a sick animal can best be done in the cot where it is protected.       3. Space and situation at home Due to the loud animal noises and the required  large space required, for sure it get problems if you will keep Indian Blue Peacocks in a purely residential area. We are advising everyone not to keep Indian Blue Peacocks in such an area. Even if you spoke about it with the direct neighbours, always it ends up that one will come who feels disturbed. Then an aviary and a closed cot don’t helps. Indian peacocks are the largest part of the year very quiet, of whom it is hardly to hear something. The problem is the mating season between April and into July. During this period the cocks are very talkative. Especially in the early morning and evening hours, you can hear the typical peafowl cry very frequently. Even then, any noise or any disturbance is reported immediately by a loud cry. This cannot be prevent by a closed cot. That’s the reason why problems will come up  in purely residential areas sooner or later and then you as the owner are in a very bad position.       Generally, prior to the acquisition of Blue Peacock once inform the neighbours about it, so they are prepared for what will come up then. If you will have in advance already  great resistance or reluctance to, then it is better to forget it. It will be no favour for you and your animals.

Cot: Since the Indian blue peacocks and all derived mutations are hardy, there are no special requirements for the cot. It only has to be draft free and dry. The floor should be solid for a good and easy cleaning. It should be as bright as possible that the animals go into in the evening. You have to consider that the peacocks are looking for the roost during the twilight period. If it is inside darker than outside, then they will not go in. A light that  automatically switch on/off via a timer at the evening helps that they will go in reliable.       When you are installing the perch make, make sure that the animals at night not can be achieved predators (fox). Peacocks like to sit high, the perch should be minimum in 2 m height. During the night the cot has to be locked if they could be reached by the fox from the floor. It should be considered, they are always get up, but there has to be enough space to fly down there too, otherwise it can lead to accidents, which can seriously injure the animals.       The greatest danger comes from the windows. You should always make sure that they do not have the possibility to fly from the perch with high speed into the window. This happens quickly once when they are in panic. Not seldom such a strike will be fatal. So you should put protect the windows with a Casanet. Due to this the animals will see, that it does not go out there, and in extreme cases, it dampens the impact a little bit.

Feed: The composition of the feed of course depends on the husbandry conditions. In general, it is important to note, peacocks are no broiler.       Free walk: If the animals are in free walk, they are searching the most of the food themselves, there are plenty of grass and insects. To ensure that the animals have no shortage of vitamins and nutrients, it is recommended that you provide them all the time the following: - Small vessel with a mixture of minerals and grit - Something laying meal or wild poultry feed to supplement the needed vitamins and proteins In winter it is advisable to adjust the food a little towards aviary keeping, because the food choice in the nature is not is not very comprehensive.       Aviary: In the aviary the birds don’t have the same opportunity to find so many feed by themselves. Generally the aviaries should be sized so large that there is always a green sward. Peafowls are eating much grass and it should be always available in the aviaries. For this the size of the aviary should be for one couple min. 50 - 60 square meeter. As feed you should also offer the animals the following:  - Small vessel with a mixture of minerals and grit  - Wild birds feed in pellet form  - Streptopelia feed (many seeds) so that the gizzard has something to do  - Regularly some fruit and vegetables       Of course you can also always offer the animals a few treats. This they should get directly from the holder. This strengthens the trust and makes the animals more trusting. As it is with any animal it is also the same with peacocks, the trust must be earned. As treats we use:  - Mealworms  - Peanuts  - Pancake  Here you can experiment a bit to find out what your peacocks are really like.

Breeding: The Hens laying 5-6 eggs into a ground dell and are  hatching them steady in 28 days. Peafowl hens are good mothers, they are leading the chicken nearly one year until to the next hatching. Already after few weeks you can see the sex of the chickens. The hen chickens will loose more and more the juvenile plumage and will come equal as the mother. Breeding in the nature is very dangerous for the hen. We are always preparing inside of the cot a hatching box. At the front side we are covering this box with twigs. Up to now they always have taken this  simulated spinney. If you are interested in more details regarding breeding and hatching, please follow this link.