Re: OT: Guess what strolled through our yard!

Deb Sieloff wrote:
"Hunter" <airstreamingypsy@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:9c0fd3t8fu8fr6gqvk3vv1l0o9rgkn43v6@xxxxxxxxxx
On Thu, 30 Aug 2007 22:46:40 -0400, "Fran Bragg" <fobragg@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

There was a white pea*** meandering
through the yard!
I've ever heard of a white pea***... albino?

Hunter

We had 2 of them show up here on evening so I locked them in with the chickens - they were quite happy to hang with them and went into the coop on their own. The next day I found a neighbor was breeding them and he came and got them.

For future reference, should you acquire another peafowl: Don't pen them with chickens..There is a disease which chickens carry that can infect peafowl and turkeys, it is commonly known as blackhead disease and the chickens excrete the spoors in their feces. This disease is benign in chickens, but will kill peafowl and turkeys. If you raise poultry it is best to pen the various species of birds you have separately. I currently have 7 resident peafowl on premises, they free range and during the winter they roost in the rafters of the barn 14 foot up. They require a high protein diet, and I usually feed them game bird feed. They also come to the deck when I feed the cats to scavenge dry cat food (which they adore.) The colors I have are dark pied, cameo pied, purple, and white and black shouldered., but there are many more color mutations than that.. They are gregarious/social critters, and will often follow me around while I am doing chores. Sometimes they even cling to the sides of the pickup truck bed while I am haying the herd. A small flock of wild turkeys has been hanging around the horse pens with them and I have seen the males display to female turkeys and actually breed them. I am keeping my eye out for strange looking hybrid chicks as I know that they can interbreed with some other galliforms such as guinea fowl..I think a turkey peafowl cross would be pretty strange looking, and no doubt would be sterile as are the hybrid guinea peafowl crosses..


Several years after that we had normal looking pea*** show up and he just decided to stay. He was here for 3 years when one January day when the temperature suddenly plummeted from the 40's to the teens, he decided to go into a stall wither the idiot paint gelding. Goofy horse freaked out and raced around the stall the pea*** flew out and at first I thought he was just shaken up but apparently he was severally injured by the horse and died 3 days later.

I sure miss Argus Peabody. He was one cool bird.

Deb Sieloff
SE Michigan


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