Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Accommodation
• Method 2 of 3: Feed
• Method 3 of 3: Health
• Tips
• Warnings
• Necessities

Peacocks are spectacular and fun pets and are best suited to farms and rural settings. It is always beautiful to see the males parading around and showing their tail feathers! The males are generally referred to as roosters and the females are hens. Regardless of gender, many people usually simply call the bird peacock.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Accommodation

1. Keep chicks warm. Keep chicks in a heated area for the first 4-6 weeks of life. It is usually a good idea to start with a temperature of about 35 degrees Celsius and lower the temperature by 5 degrees per week. However, this can vary depending on the time of year and your geographic location.
   • Monitor the chicks' body language to determine the best temperature. When chicks are cold, they will huddle together. When they are hot, they will want to be as far away from the heat as possible. The best temperature is that at which the chicks move freely without showing any signs of the above.
2. Build a large hutch. This is necessary if you want to prevent your peacocks from flying away. It must be at least eight feet high to ensure the peacocks can fly and expand their feathers without hindrance. Chicken wire is an excellent material for the walls and roof. The roof should be a dome or converge at different points where the roof is higher than the rest.
   • If you have a male, make sure the cage is wide and long enough for the feathers to fully expand when parading. Failure to do so will result in broken springs or other injuries.
3. Provide a wooden shelter, similar to a small shed. Make these inside or attached to the run so that your birds can roost and nest in it. It is good to place a heat lamp in this area and to cover the bottom with straw. Provides the peacocks with floors and perches. Make sure to check the entire cage for possible entry points for foxes and other small pests.
   • If you have an infestation, consider placing a radio near the run. Leave it on constantly. Predators are less likely to show themselves when they hear people's voices.
4. Don't let the peacocks roam free. While peacocks that came to you as chickens almost never go far from home, they do tend to become semi-wild if left on their own. So make sure they are kept in an enclosed area if you have strict property restrictions or are worried about losing your peacock.
5. Take never too many peacocks. Not only does this lead to an uncomfortable and unhappy life for the peacocks, but it can also lead to serious illnesses, making it a bad economic decision for you. You should have about 7.5 square feet of space per bird.

Method 2 of 3: Feed

1. Provides food and water bowls. The use of hanging food bowls (which hang from the ceiling by chains) usually prevents mice from getting into the food. Also keep the water elevated and protected in some way so that excrement does not get into it. You can also use a bucket of 11-15 liters for the water.
2. Feed the chicks. Peacock chicks should be fed a high protein diet for the first 3 months of life. Look for wild bird foods with 25-30% protein content. As they get older, you can wean off chicks from that feed; too much protein can cause seriously deformed legs in adult peacocks.
3. Start weaning the chick from the food. After 3 months, the chicks should be weaned and fed normal wild bird food or bird pellets (note that pellets are best for birds in wire-bottomed cages. Weaning can continue over a 6 week period, but you should be careful watch the chick's reactions. If they stop eating, continue feeding what they want to eat and try again on another day. The 6 week program is as follows:
   • Week 1: 3 parts protein food to 1 part adult bird food.
   • Week 2: 2.5 parts protein food to 1 part adult bird food.
   • Week 3: 2 parts protein food to 1 part adult bird food.
   • Week 4:1.5 parts protein food to 1 part adult bird food.
   • Week 5:1 part protein food to 1 part adult bird food.
   • Week 6: 0.5 parts protein food to 1 part adult bird food.
   • Week 7: full over or adult bird food.
4. Give your peacocks a treat every now and then. While too many treats can cause health problems, giving them a treat every now and then can help keep them from wandering and taking medication. Consider fruits, vegetables, bread, unsweetened cereals, dog food and cat food as a treat for your peacocks. Do not give them small bones, as they will choke on them.

Method 3 of 3: Health

1. Keep your peacocks healthy. Health checks (with research if necessary) are appropriate when you buy your new peacock and every year thereafter to check for and prevent common diseases.
2. Deworm your peacocks. Cage-dwelling peacocks should be wormed at least every second month (but more often if necessary). Free-roaming peacocks should be wormed at least every three months. There are several products that can be used for deworming. However, most of these are for dogs, cats, chickens, turkeys or cows. Here are some you can also use for your peacocks:
   • Piperazine. This is a general wormer that is available in liquid or pill form. The liquid can be put in the water and used to deworm several young birds at the same time. The pill must be taken orally.
   • IVOMEC. IVOMEC is also a very effective general wormer. However, it is not effective against capillaria worms. If you choose to use IVOMEC, it is recommended to use IVOMEC and Panacur alternately (Panacur is particularly effective against capillaria worms). Mind you, these two are allowed never are given together. Change your product with each deworming session.
   • Ivermectin deworming for livestock. This medicine is usually used to treat breeding livestock. It can be put in a treat and fed to the peacock, or pushed down the peacock's throat.
3. Keep an eye out for external parasites. In addition to worms and internal parasites, external parasites, such as lice, can also cause a problem in the flock.
   • Lice. These insects live on a host their entire life, they live on the skin, scales and dead feathers. If you come across lice on a bird, all birds in the flock should be treated with a safe pesticide.
   • Mites. These bugs are more resistant to pesticides than lice. If you find mites, treat the birds every 10 days for 4-5 weeks. It is recommended to treat the flock monthly afterwards until you are sure that all mites are gone.
   • Trombiculidae. Trombiculidae feed on the thighs, chest, wings and vent, resulting in red, scaly patches on your birds. To treat you have to treat the entire run / area where the birds live.
4. Watch for protozoan diseases. Protozoa are single-celled organisms that can cause infections and other diseases in various animal species. Some important diseases to be on the lookout for in peacocks include:
   • Coccidiosis. This is usually only found in birds 3 to 12 weeks old. It's not contagious. The most prominent symptom is black, watery feces. To improve the condition, treat with a coccidiostat or sulfa medication, which is added to the feed. It is a good idea to add preventative medication to your peacocks' food when they are of susceptible age.
   • Histomoniasis. Chicks between 5 and 14 weeks old are most susceptible to this. Symptoms include watery, yellowish feces, drowsiness, and weakness. It is contagious. For the treatment you use Metronidazole or copper sulphate.
   • Leucocytozoonosis. This protozoan attacks the bird's white blood cells. Symptoms include severe anemia, fever, weakness, loss of appetite, and difficulty walking. It is usually transmitted by mosquitoes and midges, both of which reproduce in fast-flowing rivers.It is recommended that you keep your birds indoors during the seasons when these insects are active. If a problem does arise, treatment requires sulfa medication or clopidol.
   • Bird malaria. Here the bird's red blood cells are attacked. Symptoms include weakness, loss of appetite and possibly death. Like leucocytozoonosis, this disease is transmitted by midges. To prevent this disease, the insect population must be controlled and the birds given a low dose of an anti-malarial drug, clopidol, if you are concerned that they could become infected.

Tips

• Don't scare your peacocks. They are very scary birds and can injure themselves by repeatedly flying into the walls or ceilings of their enclosure.
• Prepare the food yourself. If you can't find special food for wild birds or prefer not to use it, you can also make your own food for your peacock. To do this, feed the peacocks a mixture of chicken pellets and mixed grains (barley, wheat, rice). Corn food is also acceptable. You can add some dog food (for large dogs) to that.
• Make sure the cage is large enough for the males to parade (show all feathers) and fly. Provide high perches in every part of the run.
• Watch out for predators, such as foxes. These can kill your peacocks and eat the eggs.
• If you have a brooding female, provide a large, clean car tire with the center filled with straw. This must be placed in the wooden shelter. She will then lay her eggs in it. If you don't provide this, she will just put the eggs on the floor where you can step on them and they can be eaten by predators.
• Be aware that a peacock rooster can mate with up to 6 hens per mating season.
• When entering the rest you have to be careful that the peacocks cannot get out. Bring a broom if necessary. Take a lock that can be unlocked without a key and close it behind you when you have the door closed. If your peacocks break out, they will likely fly up a tree or fly away completely. They can also join a flock of wild turkeys, as these are the peacock's closely related cousins.
• Peacocks parade when it rains, so provide rainwater by creating permeable roofs.

Warnings

• Do not keep two males in the same run. They can and will fight each other, usually followed by death.
• Avoid access to metal objects, such as coins, toys, nails, solder, or loose wires.
• Avoid feeding your peacocks with chocolate, coffee or alcohol as these can be poisonous.
• While peacocks can be kept with chickens, blackhead, which is caused by a bacteria transmitted by roundworms, is common in peacocks kept with chickens. It is better to classify the two types separately.
• Because the wings are almost never cut, it is good to keep your peacock in a large run.
• The loud call of the peacock is problematic when kept in urban areas.
• The hens are susceptible to attack by foxes, especially when caring for their chicks. The males are better able to defend themselves and will fly up a tree faster, so there are usually many more peacocks than hens.

Necessities

• Chicken wire
• Wood
• Nail
• Chicken pellets / seed
• Dog food
• Fruits / vegetables
• Straw / hay / or similar bedding
• Raised food and water trays