There’s a peacock in my yard

[Ann.without.an.e]

It seems to want in my chicken coop.

That’s all. It’s so pretty. I wish I could get a good pic but it’s shy. 

[fairfarmhand]

So cool! I want one! Any idea where it came from?

[Kassia]

Wow!  That is really cool! 

[Miss Tick]

Are peacocks in the wild where you live?

[Ann.without.an.e]

6 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

So cool! I want one! Any idea where it came from?

No idea! I don’t know any neighbors who have one at all. There are only a few houses on our street and we all have land.  I walk our road every day and I feel like I’d know if someone had one. It came from the woods. At the end of our road there is a farm and people are bad about dropping animals and birds there so maybe someone dumped it? Who knows. I put a bowl of food and water out for it. It is shy of me and stepped back in the woods and watched me but it came right back to the food and water when I left. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

1 minute ago, Miss Tick said:

Are peacocks in the wild where you live?

I don’t think they’re native to the US (India and Sri Lanka, i think?) but I know they have become feral in some places like Florida and the Carolina’s and repopulated so it’s hard to know. 

[Indigo Blue]

We had 3 of them to come from a petting zoo nearby. They wanted to be with the neighbors chickens. I was worried about their safety. Also, I read online that they can be aggressive if you get too close. Be careful!

[Katy]

I’ve seen them sold by hatcheries. Chances are it’s from someone’s coop. 

[stephanier.1765]

They have a very distinctive call, so if you haven't heard it previously, it's likely a new escapee or a drop off. It's so sweet of you to give it some food and water. Poor thing.

[Terabith]

Poor peacock.  

[Ann.without.an.e]

38 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

They have a very distinctive call, so if you haven't heard it previously, it's likely a new escapee or a drop off. It's so sweet of you to give it some food and water. Poor thing.

Yes we actually think we heard it last weekend in the woods but we didn’t know what it was and we never would’ve guessed peacock. 

27 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Poor peacock.  

I know, I feel bad for him. I think he’s probably fairly young. He seems a little lost and he definitely wants in with the chickens. He’s still hanging out by the coop. 

 

[kathyl]

Aww he's beautiful.  We had several peacocks when we lived in VA.  They can be very aggressive, so be careful.  I think they're fairly territorial. 

They're easy to take care of though.  Just feed them.  They roost in the trees and nothing ever bothers them.

The neighbors, however, didn't particularly like their very LOUD calls.  I loved hearing them, but it is quite loud and carries a long way.  Our nearest neighbor was a mile away through the woods.

Dd's once got some of the white peacocks.  They were gorgeous but even more aggressive.  And the female claimed dd's garden to lay her eggs and hatch her chicks.  None of us could get near the garden for fear of being attacked.

Good luck with him. 

Oh, and they live a long time, unlike chickens. 🙂

Edited April 23, 2023 by kathyl

[MEmama]

Now that's a better choice to find in your yard than an egg eating snake! 
 

Seriously, it's beautiful. We saw peacocks at a castle in Portugal--I'm pretty sure they were the highlight for everyone 🙂 I hope it gets along with your chickens and that you find its home soon! 

[Arctic Bunny]

38 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Now that's a better choice to find in your yard than an egg eating snake! 
 

Seriously, it's beautiful. We saw peacocks at a castle in Portugal--I'm pretty sure they were the highlight for everyone 🙂 I hope it gets along with your chickens and that you find its home soon! 

Hear! Hear!

[Arcadia]

Many peacocks where I am from in SE Asia. They are pretty much fight or flight when they see people unless they are “residents” of a bird park and used to people taking photos of them. We just take photos from a distance and sometimes they would open up their tail feathers and it is gorgeous 

The peacock and its feathers have significant in hinduism.

Where I am from, we would tease very vain guys as peacocks in a good nature way. 

[MercyA]

How beautiful! Thanks for looking out for him.

We saw a peacock last weekend at our local zoo. At first he was in a pig's pen, trying to intimidate the pig by fanning and shaking his tail feathers. The pig was completely nonchalant about the whole thing and ignored him. After a while, the peacock wandered over the chicken co-op and stayed there watching them for quite a while. 

[Tap]

While beautiful…They can be quite destructive so I would think twice about inviting him to stay. They can roost on roofs and due to their weight, if they launch iff a gutter, they can rip it off. They are scratch up the ground as well and can be hard on landscaping. They are feral in my hometown and while beautiful, they are not welcome guests. Oh and the poop!!!! They are soooo messy. I would try to figure out who it belongs to now, before it is a problem and they don’t want to claim it. They are considered livestock here, so animal control is reluctant to do anything. Here is an article about a local areas problem. 
 

https://www.polkio.com/archive/monmouth-ponders-peacock-problem/article_efc1b347-1217-5bfc-b907-cfb3983b517f.html

Edited April 23, 2023 by Tap

[mathnerd]

They are very aggressive when they feel threatened. You might want to call your county's animal control organization about them because they are not native to your area and might have a hard time surviving for any length of time in the wild and might need to be rescued. There is one peacock in a very small children's zoo in my county whose enclosure had a sign that said that it was dumped by someone and was rescued and bought to the shelter/zoo.

[Ann.without.an.e]

He’s still here and after assessing it more he doesn’t seem feral? I think someone raised and dumped him or is missing him. He doesn’t seem afraid of us or even our dogs. I was able to go out and be fairly close and he was very chill. The only time he reacted is later when I was filling the bird feeder and he didn’t know I was there and I sneezed. He flew on top of the coop then. 
 

 

 

[Pippen]

3 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

He’s still here and after assessing it more he doesn’t seem feral? I think someone raised and dumped him or is missing him. He doesn’t seem afraid of us or even our dogs. I was able to go out and be fairly close and he was very chill. The only time he reacted is later when I was filling the bird feeder and he didn’t know I was there and I sneezed. He flew on top of the coop then. 
 

 

IMG_1533.mov 22.69 MB · 1 download  

 

He definitely sounds like he came your way because the coop looks/sounds familiar. Who could you contact locally who could rescue him or give you some direction?  Animal control? If you have a county extension office they likely give you some direction. A local wildlife rehabilitator would be another option.

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Pippen

[Terabith]

If I could pick, I would pick the rat snake over the peacock every time.  

[Ann.without.an.e]

He has definitely decided that this is his home. He was happily circling the perimeter of our open area (probably about 2 acres or so) just being curious and eating bugs. And where did he roost? Not in a tree but on our playset roof right next to the house. He’s definitely used to people. Zero aggression and he was standing by the back door for a long time as if he was expecting something. 
I’m not sure how I feel about all of this yet. I don’t think animal control here will do anything about it anyway. We had a loose pig digging up our garden and they came out and said “what exactly do you want us to do about it?” and left. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

3 hours ago, Terabith said:

If I could pick, I would pick the rat snake over the peacock every time.  

The verdict is still out for me. If he sticks around then I’ll let you know in a few weeks lol. 

[Terabith]

So now I'm watching YouTube videos on how to take care of peacocks.....

[mommyoffive]

I think you got a new pet!  How beautiful.  I hope he sticks around.

[theelfqueen]

When I was a little girl my grandparents lived next door to a very large property where there were peacocks. They'd strut along the fence line sometimes. I thought they were magnificent and fantastic. 

[katilac]

11 hours ago, Tap said:

 They are feral in my hometown  

The idea of feral peacocks is really amusing me, and for some reason I'm now imagining them in a gang, strutting threateningly down the street, West Side Story style. 

[Matryoshka]

36 minutes ago, katilac said:

The idea of feral peacocks is really amusing me, and for some reason I'm now imagining them in a gang, strutting threateningly down the street, West Side Story style. 

This is not that different from turkeys here. They hang out on the corner here and block traffic.  We've had whole gangs of them in our yard. They will definitely get aggressive, especially in mating season, so best to give a wide berth.

[katilac]

Warning: Inappropriate peacock content at the link. Please don't click if you don't want to hear some slightly dirty song lyrics. No chickens were harmed in the making of this video. 

 

 

[katilac]

8 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

This is not that different from turkeys here. They hang out on the corner here and block traffic.  We've had whole gangs of them in our yard. They will definitely get aggressive, especially in mating season, so best to give a wide berth.

Thank goodness they're in different towns, thus averting a Jets vs Sharks situation. 

I'm going to have to cast the turkeys as the Jets, and the peacocks as the Sharks. 

[Pippen]

8 hours ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

He has definitely decided that this is his home. He was happily circling the perimeter of our open area (probably about 2 acres or so) just being curious and eating bugs. And where did he roost? Not in a tree but on our playset roof right next to the house. He’s definitely used to people. Zero aggression and he was standing by the back door for a long time as if he was expecting something. 
I’m not sure how I feel about all of this yet. I don’t think animal control here will do anything about it anyway. We had a loose pig digging up our garden and they came out and said “what exactly do you want us to do about it?” and left. 

In that case, I'd call first and if they weren't going to do anything, I'd first list it on the Facebook lost and found pets group to see if anyone was missing their bird. After that I'd get in touch with the county extension office to see if a 4-H kid would be interested.

[Ann.without.an.e]

5 hours ago, katilac said:

Warning: Inappropriate peacock content at the link. Please don't click if you don't want to hear some slightly dirty song lyrics. No chickens were harmed in the making of this video. 

 

 

I think that’s about what he’s singing to my chickens right now. They’ve been in the coop and run and haven’t interacted with them yet but he was showing his feathers around them yesterday. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

As I’m reading, a lot of people give them a little something to eat in the evening to encourage them to stay and not wander off since evening is when they tend to do that.  I now think that’s why he was at my back glass door looking in a few times during the evening? He knows that’s where we came in and out and he thought I had a copy of the schedule? 😂 

[Navymom]

My daughter had one show up in their barnyard and named him Pete, they never did figure out where he came from.

He lived there for probably 3-4 years before he was hit by a car. He never caused any problems.

I didn't realize they could live outside through an IN winter.

When my grandson would come up to the patio door, if Pete was nearby, he would come up to the door and wiggle his tail feathers!

 

[Ann.without.an.e]

29 minutes ago, Navymom said:

My daughter had one show up in their barnyard and named him Pete, they never did figure out where he came from.

He lived there for probably 3-4 years before he was hit by a car. He never caused any problems.

I didn't realize they could live outside through an IN winter.

When my grandson would come up to the patio door, if Pete was nearby, he would come up to the door and wiggle his tail feathers!

 

That’s funny that you said this, I was just wondering how he’d do in the winter?? NC is a lot milder than IN. Did he sleep in a tree there ? Getting hit by cars is a huge risk for them. Thankfully we live on a calm, dirt road. I hope that helps his chances. 

[Ann.without.an.e]

So this morning he decided that he was going to walk with DS and the dogs on their morning walk in the woods on the trail. He just followed along 🤣

Edited April 24, 2023 by Ann.without.an.e

[Kassia]

28 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

So this morning he decided that he was going to walk with DS and the dogs on their morning walk in the woods on the trail. He just followed along 🤣

that is hilarious!  

[Miss Tick]

Thanks for keeping us updated on his antics!

[MercyA]

1 hour ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

So this morning he decided that he was going to walk with DS and the dogs on their morning walk in the woods on the trail. He just followed along 🤣

I think this is the best thing I've read this week. ❤️

[Ann.without.an.e]

10 minutes ago, MercyA said:

I think this is the best thing I've read this week. ❤️

Oh DS was delighted. DH isn’t fond of random animals and isn’t usually keen on keeping anything around of this sort but he was the first one to be enamored by it and seem to want it to stay. We both love birds of all kinds though. 
I hope we have a situation like @Navymom‘s dd (minus getting hit by a car of course). He seems awfully friendly and I would think a friendly non-feral peacock would be very different than the situations people face with a whole herd of feral ones. 

[Dmmetler]

9 hours ago, katilac said:

The idea of feral peacocks is really amusing me, and for some reason I'm now imagining them in a gang, strutting threateningly down the street, West Side Story style. 

Here, the roving gangs are Canada Geese...

[Matryoshka]

9 minutes ago, Dmmetler said:

Here, the roving gangs are Canada Geese...

We have those too, but their territory is golf courses, open fields and parks; the neighborhood streets and woods are definitely turkey gang territory.  

[Farrar]

This reminds me of when I see the deer standing at the gates to the zoo. I'm like, oh, they wish they could go in and be taken care of!

I want to know if the peacock and the chickens make friends. It could totally become one of those animal pals childrens books.

[MEmama]

50 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

We have those too, but their territory is golf courses, open fields and parks; the neighborhood streets and woods are definitely turkey gang territory.  

Turkeys: The Peacocks of New England!

[fairfarmhand]

So does he have a name?

[Ann.without.an.e]

16 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

So does he have a name?

Not yet although younger DD keeps sending me Hindi name ideas lol

Peacocks were originally Indian so he really does need a Hindi name 😊

She wants Aakesh which means Lord of the Sky.  It is an awfully noble name for a bird who is roosting on the top of a man made playset 🤣🤣

Edited April 24, 2023 by Ann.without.an.e

[Matryoshka]

41 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Turkeys: The Peacocks of New England!

They do also strut about fanning their tails... came home the other day to this...

Just hanging out and practicing his strut all by his lonesome... 

 

[Matryoshka]

16 minutes ago, Ann.without.an.e said:

Not yet although younger DD keeps sending me Hindi name ideas lol

Peacocks were originally Indian so he really does need a Hindi name 😊

She wants Aakesh which means Lord of the Sky.  It is an awfully noble name for a bird who is roosting on the top of a man made playset 🤣🤣

Those birds are dressed for the royal ball whereever they go, so a noble name seems apt...

How about Rama, the divine prince who got exiled to live in the wilderness?

[Terabith]

Congratulations on your new peacock!  I hear they need more protein and less calcium than chickens….

[dirty ethel rackham]

5 hours ago, Dmmetler said:

Here, the roving gangs are Canada Geese...

Here, too.  God forbid you happen to walk by their nest (which, of course will be by the entrance to a building, in a median in a parking lot, next to a common walking path, etc.  I've been attacked many times as I unwittingly passed by an ill-placed nest.  One tried to attack our car at the ATM the other day.  

OP, it would be so cool to have a peacock as a permanent resident.  Not sure how my dog would react.  I do like the name Rama.