What feed is better to give peafowl in normal times?
Peafowl are omnivorous animals, mainly feeding on plant-based feed. They mainly eat the fruits of Pyrus pashia and Rubus ellipticus, young branches and leaves, rice grain and other plants and crops, and they also eat moths, termites, frogs, lizards and other animals. At present, peafowl can be raised artificially as a special breeding project. Below is an introduction to its breeding methods.
How are peafowl raised?
1. Early preparation
On a semi-hillside with plenty of trees and shade, a slightly sloping terrain, and half sand and half soil, the environment should be secluded. Plant shrubs and sow pasture grass so that the activity area is covered in green grass. The facilities and feed for raising peafowl are basically the same as those for domestic chickens, and preventive vaccination should be done well before breeding.
2. Introducing peafowl
Before peafowl enter the pen, group combinations should be made well. When selecting breeding stock, choose those with beautiful feathers and colors, strong and thick legs, and toes that are not bent. Also pay attention to preventing inbreeding. The ratio of males to females should be controlled at 1:5; do not use a 1:1 ratio, otherwise the peahens will be injured or disabled due to excessive mating, and the utilization rate of the pen and the male peafowl will not be worthwhile. However, do not exceed 1 to 5 either, because in that case the conception rate will decrease. One group is one production group, and each group must be raised in one pen. After entering the laying period, peafowl begin to go into estrus.
3. Daily management
For artificially raised peafowl, first of all, make sure the breeding environment is clean and hygienic, and carry out disinfection and cleaning regularly. For the first disinfection, choose an alkaline disinfectant; for the second disinfection, spray with a conventional concentration of chlorine preparation, or oxidants such as surfactants; for the third disinfection, fumigate with formaldehyde.
4. Estrus management
The reproduction of peafowl is strongly seasonal, but under artificial raising the breeding period can be advanced and can also be extended. Generally, each bird can lay about 30 eggs a year. The annual collection season is from March to August. Check from 5 pm to 9 pm every day; one egg is laid every other day, and sometimes only one egg is laid after several days.
Although the profit from peafowl breeding is high, the risk is also relatively great, so it is recommended that breeders must do their research in advance and find a sales channel before considering the scale of breeding.