Ducks & Peacocks

JanO · #1 04/01/12, 01:38 PM

Hey all... It's been a long time since I've been on here. Actually I'm surprised that I still remember my password.

Anyway, I'm going to be expanding my poultry coop this year and want to add ducks & peacocks to the mix. However I have never had either and don't know the first thing about either one. I had a couple of peacocks that someone gave me once but as soon as I let them out they flew the coop, never to be seen again. I certainly don't want that to happen again.

Any advice you all could give would be greatly appreciated.

Backfourty,MI. · #2 04/02/12, 06:12 PM

We don't have Peacocks so I can't help you with those but we Do Love our ducks. We have Welsh Harlequins, Trout Runners, a couple Indian runners & a White Crested Hen.
Ours are all naturally non flyers & bred for eggs. We get plenty of eggs altough I don't give artificial light in the winter so no eggs in the winter.

Ducks are very messy but very comical. I lock them up in their house at night which they go in on their own so predators can't get them but I Do Not put food & water in the duck house. That's how we have always done it & they have always done just fine that way.
We free range them 2 or 3 times a week but we have a pond we swim in so I don't want them in their all the time is why I limit their days out of their pen. They go back in just before dark or if I want them in early I shake a feed can & they come running.

Bearfootfarm · #3 04/04/12, 01:54 AM

My neighbors have a Peacock they named Traveler because he never stays home
He spends about half his time at my house and much of the time roaming the area.

If they aren't kept FULLY enclosed at all times, you may never see them at all

chamoisee · #4 04/04/12, 02:26 AM

If you are going to be keeping ducks for eggs, you might want to buy a dozen duck eggs and try them before getting into ducks. I personally do not care for duck eggs; other people say they prefer them. It seems to be a matter of personal taste. Better to find out before investing in them! I do like ducks, however...

The peacocks I have seen are beautiful birds, a pain in the neck. They scream and holler all the time, sound almost human sometimes, wreak havoc in gardens.... I did not like them. However, you might!

Backfourty,MI. · #5 04/04/12, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chamoisee

If you are going to be keeping ducks for eggs, you might want to buy a dozen duck eggs and try them before getting into ducks. I personally do not care for duck eggs; other people say they prefer them. It seems to be a matter of personal taste. Better to find out before investing in them! I do like ducks, however...

The peacocks I have seen are beautiful birds, a pain in the neck. They scream and holler all the time, sound almost human sometimes, wreak havoc in gardens.... I did not like them. However, you might!

I'm not sure we'd have preferred duck eggs Over Chicken eggs but we prefer ducks over chickens & we liked the eggs just as well & now I think we have been eating them so long we don't notice a big difference, were used to them.

The yolk is darker, bigger & richer, the whites a little thicker & the shells very hard to crack but I guess I figure an egg is an egg.