Beautiful pied peafowl can be bred in your backyard with some preparation.
Pied peafowl get their name from the patchy colors that occur throughout its body, even in its tail feathers. Males are referred to as peacocks while females are known as peahens. These domestic birds are related to pheasants. Peafowl will start to breed in April, laying eggs through September, and they can start breeding between two to three years of age. The males are known for their extravagantly large tail feathers that are used during the process of attracting their mate. With some preparation you can keep and breed these beautiful birds in your backyard.
Instructions
1. Purchase several peahens and one peacock, all at least two years old. One male can mate with as many as five females. Depending on what color pied peacocks you want will determine which colored peafowl you should breed together. For example, dark India blue peafowl can be bred with white peafowl to get 100 percent India blue pied offspring. If you breed dark silver pied white-eyed peahens with all white peacocks, you will get 100 percent silver pied peacocks.
2. Construct a pen and shelter to keep the pied peafowl. The pen for breeders should be at least 6 feet high and 10 feet wide to allow enough room for the peacock to spread his tail. The length of the pen should be determined by how many birds are kept. A pen for three breeding peafowl should be at least 20 feet long with a shelter at one end. Surround the pen with sturdy wire mesh to prevent predators from getting in. Dig the wire mesh into the ground at least 12 inches deep on all sides to prevent foxes and raccoons from digging underneath. Attach wire mesh to the top of the pen to prevent predators from climbing in, and to keep peafowl from flying out. Provide a shelter at least 6 feet high, by 8 feet long and 8 feet wide. Install removable perches made out of 2-by-4 lumber, positioned 4 to 5 feet off the floor. Place the perches with the 4 inch side facing up for the birds to sit on.
3. Provide nests for the eggs. Pied peacocks make their nests on the ground with tree branches and leaves. Put leaves, tree branches and straw into the pen for them to build their own nests. Often ground-built nests are not adequate and eggs may become damaged. Assist them by placing a wooden nest box filled with straw or hay inside the shelter. If you are allowing the peahens to incubate their own eggs, provide one nest box per hen. Peahens can lay up to10 eggs in one clutch. The peahen will incubate her eggs for 27 to 30 days.
4. Feed the pied peafowl twice daily, leaving the food out in bowls. Adult peafowl eat shelled corn, sunflower seeds, pelleted rabbit feed, and insects. They can also be fed a game-bird feed. Leave several bowls of water in the pen. Provide fresh water daily.
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