Checking In on My Peafowl

January 30, 2023

It's another mild winter day here at my Bedford, New York farm - cloudy with highs in the upper 40s, which means my peacocks and peahens will be out and about in their enclosure.

Peafowl are pretty tolerant of cooler weather - their feathering and ability to regulate body temperatures help them to stay warm. They also have a heated coop, where they can take shelter during unpleasant conditions. So many of you comment about how much you enjoy seeing the animals at my farm, so I thought it was a good time to share this update on my stunning peacocks and peahens. Currently, I have 13 peafowl - all of which live in a large pen just outside my stable. They’re all doing well and remain beautiful, active, and curious.

Here are some of the latest photos, enjoy.

: It’s always so nice to stop by the peafowl pen and visit with these pretty and often comical birds. They are kept safe in this enclosure with a comfortable coop in the center. How many do you see here? I think the photo was “bombed” by a peacock.

: Peafowl are happiest when living in small groups. All my outdoor birds have access to natural perches made from old felled trees here at the farm. This is a popular spot, where the peafowl can see all that is going on around them.

: Since last autumn, the birds are also protected by fencing that spans across the top of the enclosure. Some of you may recall I posted photos of the process on this blog.

: Peafowl are members of the pheasant family. There are two Asiatic species – the blue or Indian peafowl native to India and Sri Lanka, and the green peafowl originally from Java and Burma, and one African species, the Congo peafowl from African rain forests.

: Peafowl are ground feeders. They do most of their foraging in the early morning and evening. As omnivores, they eat insects, plants, grains, and small creatures.

: Peafowl are very smart, docile and adaptable birds. They are also quite clever. It is not unusual for peafowl to come running when the food appears. They are so curious and love to come up close when guests visit.

: Remember, technically only the males are peacocks with their long and lustrous tales. The females are peahens, and both are peafowl. Babies are peachicks. A family of peafowl is called a bevy.

: And, do you know… a group of peafowl is often called a party, a muster or an ostentation?

: Full grown, peafowl can weigh up to 13-pounds. The peacock is a large sized bird with a length from bill to tail 39 to 45 inches. A peafowl’s legs are very strong. They have three toes on each foot facing forward, and one facing backwards. They also have sharp, powerful metatarsal spurs that are used for defense. Also, as they develop, males will tend to have longer legs than females.

: Both male and female peafowl have a fan-shaped crest on their heads called a corona. It may take up to one year for a corona to reach full size.

: In the afternoon, flurries started to fall. All the peafowl walked into their coop one by one until the snow ended.

: I leave these doors open during the day, so they are free to walk in and out as they please.

: Inside, they also have several perches on which they can roost.

: In the wild, roosting up high keeps them safe from predators at night.

: This peahen is on the ground hoping for some treats.

: Peafowl have acute hearing, but can be poor at discerning from what direction certain sounds originate.

: Peafowl will also look at one in the eye; however, if one stares at them or seems aggressive in body movements, these birds will feel threatened. Talking softly and keeping eyes averted tells them you are not a predator.

: A peacock doesn’t grow its first train until three. And even then, it won’t be full grown or have showy ocelli. The train gets longer and more elaborate every year until five or six years old when it reaches maximum splendor. This is one of two mature males whose tail feather become more gorgeous every year. Mating season begins in a month – the males will be fanning their tails for all to see.