Are Peacocks Easy to Raise? A Detailed Guide to Peacock Farming Methods

Peacocks are presumably familiar to many people; they are animals that possess both ornamental value and food value. At present, they are kept in many zoos in our country, and now the state also allows private individuals to raise peacocks, though this excludes the nationally protected green peacock. But when it comes to peacock farming techniques, does everyone understand them?

Are peacocks easy to raise?

Whether peacocks are easy to raise mainly depends on one's own farming skills. Generally, if the techniques are well mastered, peacocks are still quite easy to raise. If the techniques are not well mastered, then many troubles will be encountered during the raising process, and they will seem difficult to raise.

How to raise peacocks

1. Brooding equipment: The brooding period is 2 months. Newly hatched blue peacocks have yellow-brown down feathers, slightly darker on the top of the head and back, lighter on the abdomen, and dark brown flight feathers. Artificial brooding is generally adopted, with net rearing or cage rearing used from 1 to 20 days of age. Each net frame is 250 cm long and 200 cm wide, with the bottom net 60 cm high. Perches are set both indoors and outdoors. Cage brooding should be advocated, and chick cages can be used.

2. Temperature and humidity: 34-38°C from 1 to 10 days of age, 28-26°C from 11 to 20 days of age, and 26-24°C from 21 to 30 days of age. Afterwards, as the feathers increase, the temperature can be the same as room temperature. Relative humidity should be controlled at 60-70%.

3. Feed and feeding: From 1 to 10 months, feed 4 times a day with hard-boiled eggs, powdered feed, green feed, breadworms, and supplementary feed. From 11 to 30 months, feed 3 times a day with hard-boiled eggs, minced meat, powdered feed, green feed, breadworms, and supplementary feed. From 31 to 60 months, feed 2-3 times a day the same as above. Add corn grits, sorghum, etc.

4. Stocking density: The appropriate number per flock is 40-50 birds, and the stocking density should decrease as the birds age. Free feeding and drinking water are adopted. Keep the environment quiet to prevent flock panic. Also establish signal-conditioned reflexes to facilitate management. Carry out regular disinfection, deworming, epidemic prevention, rodent control, and predator prevention, and promptly isolate and inspect sick chicks.

Four-season management methods for peacocks

1. Spring management: During the breeding season, activity levels are high and feed intake is also high, so the diet should be adjusted in time, paying attention to supplementing protein, vitamins, and mineral feed. Set up nest boxes in corners (lined with sand or soft grass).

2. Summer management: High temperatures, frequent rain, and high humidity cause feed intake to drop sharply, egg production to decline, and eventually stop. Increase the amount of concentrated feed, add more green feed, and prevent mold. Do a good job of cleaning, hygiene, and heat prevention and cooling.

3. Autumn management: Although the autumn sky is clear and crisp, temperatures drop, light duration shortens, and it is also the normal physiological molting period for blue peacocks. The oil-bearing feed in the diet should be reduced or stopped. Forced molting should be adopted during the molting period, which can effectively shorten the number of days of natural molting. In addition, high-quality and high-priced plume feathers can be obtained. By properly controlling water, feed, and light, and suddenly changing their living environment conditions, the purpose of uniform molting can be achieved. The content of animal and plant protein, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements in the diet should be increased to promote feather growth. Do a good job of preparing for winter.

4. Winter management: The weather is cold. In addition to doing a good job of cold protection and warmth, increase the amount of grain and oilseed in the diet. Some bedding can be spread on the ground, and while keeping warm, attention should be paid to ventilation. During the non-laying season, carry out epidemic prevention and parasite disease control work.

Disinfection work for peacock farming

1. Clean the peacock house frequently and promptly remove feces, dirt, and dust. This avoids reducing the quality of disinfection.

2. When spraying disinfectant, the nozzle must not be directed straight at the blue peacocks. The concentration and dosage of the solution should be controlled accurately. The degree of spraying should be such that the ground, walls, and roof are evenly moistened and the body surface of the blue peacocks is slightly wet. The water temperature should be appropriate to prevent the peacocks from catching cold.

3. Before disinfection, all doors and windows should be closed. After spraying for 15 minutes, open the windows for ventilation so they dry as quickly as possible. When disinfecting the brooding room, raise the room temperature by 3-4°C in advance to avoid the chicks being crushed to death due to the temperature drop from spraying. Alternate different types of disinfectants, rotating them once a month.

4. Stop spray disinfection 3 days before and after vaccination with attenuated vaccines in the peacock flock to avoid reducing the immune effect.

In fact, peacocks are very easy to raise once the farming techniques are mastered. When raising them, be sure to pay attention to temperature control, and humidity control also needs to be strengthened. When raising them, there should not be too many or too few, otherwise it may affect the growth of the peacocks.