The Peacock Pages:The Peacock Pages:Friday, May 9, 2008
A
male peacock in full plumage is surely among the most beautiful
and spectacular pheasants in the world, particularly the green
peacock which we receive a lot of questions about at the Gazette
magazine offices. This gorgeous peacock is a larger, higher standing, and
brighter bird with a long, straight crest. See a beautiful picture of the Green Peacock featured in the Game
Bird Gazette magazine. 
Each issue of the Game Bird Gazette has
detailed information on how to feed, house and care for peafowl. You will also find reliable
and reputable peacock breeders where you purchase adults, chicks or eggs at the cheapest prices and have them mailed to you). Listings
are found in the Gazette for the common India Blue Peacock and
there are countless mutations and breeds that have become incredibly
popular and available to purchase.
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Because of their
gorgeous appearance, the peacock has long been famous outside of
its native countries of Southern Asia and Malaysia, and was kept
for centuries by people first in China and then in Europe. The
Phoenicians brought the peacock to Egypt more than three thousand
years ago. Historical records indicate that Solomon kept several
peacock species, among other pheasants, with the India Blue being
his favorite peacock. Peafowl were extensively raised by the
Romans for the table as well as for ornamental purposes, and
medieval Europe carried on this practice as well. It is only
after the XVI
Century, when turkeys were import
ed from Mexico, that the peacock
was discarded as a table bird for the more fleshy American birds.
Peafowl were also considered a delicacy in these cultures for
centuries. Fortunately, few of peacock speciesare used for food
today, except in some of the more remote and less civilized
places where they are found in nature. See the printed magazine
for more information on man's long held fascination and cultural
aspects of the peacock.
There are but two
naturally occuring peacock species, the Indian peafowl Pavo
cristatus from India, often called Blue
peafowl (shown on the cover of the Game Bird
Breeders Gazette magazine and child with
feathers, upper left), and the Green peafowl Pavo
muticus which lives farther east in Burma,
Thailand, Indo China, Malaya and Java. It is curiously absent
from Sumatra and Borneo. The latter peafowl has three subspecies:
Spicifer in Western
Burma, a duller, bluer race; Imperator
in Eastern Burma, Thailand and Indo China, much brighter wid
greener: and muticus
in Java, which is still more brilliant. The last two are usually
kept in America at present, and probably mixed, but for practical
purposes they are just the same, the differences being noticeable
only on close examination. There are many mutations and breeds
that have been developed and are commonly available from peacock
breeders.
The India Blue Peacock is commonly kept and bred in captivity by people across America and around the world. They are not expensive and thousands of them are bought and sold each year (see classified ad section of the GAZETTE). They are hearty and easy to keep, even in cold districts. The Green species is not bred as often as the India Blue and is therefore more expensive. You can see that the tail of the green peacock is exceptionally beautiful! The Green is more susceptible to cold and needs to receive adequate protection from the cold. Peafowl can be quite sociable and often display their feathers right in front of you in the springtime. Many also live and breed in parks and gardens. The male peacock in the spring not only displays his gorgeous tail feathers, but also utters its famous call which is always a delight to hear!
Peacock feathers are popularly used in unique crafts and decorations.
You can feed a
pea
cock the same as any other pheasant. The diet provided by many
people includes mixed grains, game bird crumbles (such as Mazuri
available at many feed stores), and a variety of greens. The
birds hardly ever become sick and we have a record of one peacock
that lived to be 40 years old!
When raised on the game farm and are well settled, many people find that peafowl don't stray far from home. They can, of course, also be kept in covered pens if you want to make sure they don't wander away, and they live and breed well in pens. There is some terrific information from one of the nation's leading peacock producers in the next issue of the GAZETTE on how house and general care for the peacock.
Peahens are excellent mothers, but peachicks can be reared just as well in a brooder. They are among the easiest birds to raise. One thing to be careful about is to give them good shelters in the autumn and winter following their birth, as they are not fully grown before eight or ten months.
The Indian Blue Peacock has produced several mutations in captivity. These include the Black-shouldered, in which the male has the wings blue, green and black, the female being very pale; the White; and the Pied, in which the normal plumage of the Indian Blue is irregularly marked with white. The so-called 'Spalding' variey is a hybrid between the Indian and the Green species (one of the green peacock races shown in picture at left). It is very beautiful bird, intermediate between the two parents in colors, in hardiness and in temperament.
If you are interested in keeping the peacock, the best place to find birds for sale is in the Game Bird Gazette! In this magazine you'll also find the most up-to-date information on how to care for the peacock.
More links:
Peacock & Game Bird Gazette Main Page