Bringing Home Your New Peafowl: A Guide to a Smooth Transition

Welcoming a new peafowl into your home is an exciting adventure, but it requires some careful preparation and patience. From setting up the right environment to gradually getting your peafowl comfortable with their new home, this guide will help you ensure a smooth transition for both you and your new feathered friend.

Preparation & Acclimation:

To properly introduce peafowl to a new environment, start by providing a large, secure enclosure, such as an aviary or pen, to allow them time to acclimate. It’s important to give them 6-8 weeks to adjust before moving them to their permanent living space. The enclosure should include adequate roosting areas, with perches at least 3-4 feet off the ground, as peafowl prefer to perch high for both safety and comfort. After the adjustment period, gradually release the peafowl to roam outside their enclosure, observing their behavior and giving them the freedom to explore at their own pace. For the first few months, it’s wise to bring them back into the enclosure each night for security, as they may still be vulnerable to predators before their wings fully grow back. Additionally, ensure there are trees or high perches available at night for added predator protection.

Feeding & Watering:

To properly care for your peafowl, feed them daily while they’re in their enclosure. This consistent feeding helps them become accustomed to your presence and food supply, which can encourage bonding. You can also offer treats like lettuce trimmings, raisins, grapes, tomatoes, or white bread to build trust and help tame them. Make sure they always have access to fresh, clean water, and check it regularly to ensure it’s not contaminated. Peafowl have a varied diet and will thrive on a mix of good-quality dried dog food, corn, grains, seeds, grass, greens, table scraps, and some chicken rations.

Training & Socialization:

To tame your peafowl, spend time talking to them and handling them gently. Consistent interaction is essential for building trust and helping them feel more comfortable. Once they are more at ease, you can gradually introduce them to free-ranging. Start by allowing them to roam for short periods, and as they become more familiar with their surroundings, you can increase the time they spend outside. It's also important to learn how to herd your peafowl back into their enclosure, particularly at night, to keep them safe from predators. If you have dogs, take extra precautions, as peafowl and dogs can coexist, but it’s crucial not to let your dog chase them. Keep the two separated, especially when the peafowl are still young, to ensure their safety.

Breeding

The breeding season for peafowl typically occurs between November and February. Peacocks are polygamous, meaning they mate with multiple peahens. To attract a mate, male peafowl display their vibrant, long tails, dance, and strut in an elaborate courtship display. Peahens are more likely to choose males with the most colorful and healthy plumage. Once a peahen is ready to mate, the peacock will swiftly approach and mate with her. For nesting, peahens prefer thick shrubbery, where they lay eggs every other day in clutches throughout the breeding period. If eggs are removed from the nest, peahens may lay additional clutches. A peahen can incubate up to ten eggs, and the incubation period lasts between 27 to 30 days before the eggs hatch.

Important Considerations:

Peafowl are highly social animals and thrive in groups, so if you have multiple peafowl, it's important to provide them with plenty of opportunities to interact and socialize with each other. Keep in mind that peafowl are strong flyers, so your pen or aviary should be covered and secure to prevent them from escaping. They can also be quite noisy, particularly during mating season, so be prepared for their vocalizations, which can be loud. If your peafowl do manage to escape, they usually won’t fly too far away, so check the local area, and you’re likely to find them nearby. Finally, ensure that your peafowl don’t cause disturbances for your neighbors, whether it's wandering onto their property or creating excessive noise, to maintain good relations with those around you.

Check local council regulations

Before bringing home a peafowl, make sure that keeping them is allowed in your area. Familiarize yourself with any local regulations to stay compliant.

Description:

The male of this species is a true masterpiece of color! With green wings and back, a blue rump, and striking blue upper tail coverts, his long black tail adds to his stunning appearance. His crown and ear coverts can be black, red, or yellow, creating a beautiful contrast. His chin and throat are black, leading to a lilac breast and a bright yellow belly. His eyes are a deep brown, while his ivory beak is tipped with red, and his legs are a cheerful yellow. It’s a truly magnificent bird with a coat of many vibrant colors.

The female, while still lovely, has a more subdued color palette than the male. Her beak also turns black during the breeding season.

Juvenile Gouldian Finches are less colorful than adults, with dull olive coats, pale heads, and light-colored beaks.

Care:

In the wild, these breathtaking birds build their nests in hollow tree branches. In an aviary, it’s important to provide nesting boxes or wire rests at various levels. Ensure there are plenty of thin perches and non-toxic tree branches for the birds to roost on or chew as they please.

The aviary must be kept clean, and fresh water should always be available. In addition to a good quality seed mix, millet sprays, cuttlefish bone, grit, and greens are essential to their diet.

Diet:

These birds thrive on a varied diet. A good quality finch mix, niger, fresh millet sprays, and germinated seeds are key staples. In the wild, they feed on insects, termites, and grass seeds, but in captivity, they enjoy maggots, ant pupae, egg food, and small mealworms.

In summer, they relish summer grasses and the seeding heads of rye grass. They also enjoy a unique mix of grit—one-third cuttlefish bone, one-third charcoal, and one-third baked eggshell ground to a fine powder—which they often use for dust bathing.

Breeding:

Each mated pair typically raises two to three broods during the breeding season. Both parents share the responsibility of incubating the eggs, which take 12-13 days to hatch. Gouldian finches breed between January and April, though breeding can occasionally happen later. They build their nests using fine grasses inside boxes or logs and typically lay 3-8 eggs.

Call:

Their call is a subtle, almost inaudible high-pitched hiss, often mixed with soft whines and clucking sounds.

Personality:

Often called the most beautiful of all Australian finches, this bird is not only stunning but also very sociable. It’s a bird that thrives in a community, and bird lovers often fall in love with its gentle and charming nature.