My unusual visitor.

Wow! That's a bird I'd also love to see. Peacocks, well, peafowl are in the pheasant family. That's one of those interesting little facts I've recently learned about them as I was trying to find out what they eat and what they need as far as shelter goes. There's no way I'll ever order pheasant under glass now! Nope. No way.

He was beautiful..but big and a little scary in the wee hours of the morning alone.

I've since learned that they are omnivores and eat everything. Guess that's why he likes it here because I have plenty of everything out there. He actually ate birdseed right out of a bag that I was holding! That really surprised me. I'd much rather have a loud, obnoxious bird visit me than a raccoon! Did it do any damage? I know they can destroy quite a lot of things if they know food is inside.

No, I would not use kerosene either. I believe one of their donkeys kicked it over. Your discussion just suddenly triggered a memory. This was parents of a disabled adult who was in my care about two years ago.

I recall we had a kerosene heater at home when I was younger..then when the fire risk got publicised,by then we'd moved where mains gas was available...I'd always prefer having some kind of alternative heating source as a backup...I saw an article online about someone who'd constructed a solar powered heater using drinks cans in a network inside a glass covered box..they claimed it produced a good heat just sat in the sun...

Kerosene heaters scare me, no matter how carefully they're used. I've known more than one person who had a fire because of one of those dangerous heaters. I've been doing a lot of reading about solar heaters which are extremely safe as well as reasonably easy to make and have thought about using them to heat our basement in the winters but, with my marriage being as bad as it is, I just don't know if I'll be staying here or if he will. If I do, I'll definitely be building these solar heaters and give the garage to the bird... or birds. He's been desperately calling for a female today, out front under the oak tree. I wouldn't be surprised to find a female or two out there with him one of these days, assuming there are any within hearing range of that loud, obnoxious cry of his. That would actually be very cool!

WOW! That's gutsy!!! Well, maybe the wild turkeys felt the same about your sister-in-law as stray dogs and cats (and apparently peacocks and cows) feel about me -- safe. They all know I'm a sucker for all life. Is your sister-in-law like that? I'd love to see some wild turkeys in my yard but have only seen them in wooded areas as I was driving by. I get plenty of geese around here, though. This peacock is in my yard again for the third day in a row. He's nesting, all comfy cozy, after wandering around eating his breakfast. I'm not sure now whether he's spending the nights in my oak tree or if he's going home, assuming he does belong on the farm. I haven't heard any other peafowl answering his cries when he's here and the neighbors haven't come by looking for him. (They've come to get their dog and a cow so far.) Maybe they're happy he's not there anymore since they are SO LOUD! But, maybe he just likes it here because he doesn't have all those chickens, goats and cows pestering him.

Thank you! So, they're omnivores! Well, there is plenty of peafowl food around here! I hope he sticks around, then, because we have waaaay too many bugs around here, not to mention little rodent-type critters (moles, voles, chipmunks, field mice). Maybe I should invest in some peahens because he's here for the third day in a row now. (May as well make him a very happy peacock as long as he's eating bugs and rodents from my property, huh? lol) I didn't notice if he had flown into my huge oak tree out front for the night or not. I'm going to check on that tonight. If he's not in the tree, I know he'll just be across the road and I'm sure I'll see him tomorrow.

Aren't they gorgeous? I love this bird! He ate birdseed right from a bag I was holding! He started strolling all around the yard yesterday, following my son and I around, probably because he wanted more birdseed. So, he's already being spoiled. He spent the night in a big oak tree in my front yard and was at the door this morning, waiting for his breakfast. This is the fourth day that he's been here so I think he's here to stay. The neighbors haven't come looking for him or to pick him up so I think he either didn't belong to them or they're glad he's gone. (They are awfully loud and he may have been bothering their chickens.) Whichever, I'm glad he's here and intend to build a heated coop for the winter. (I'm in Virginia and our winters get pretty cold.) I have a pretty large deck that is about 8 feet off the ground and that area could be enclosed for a coop and easily heated. Even if this bird disappears one day, I could always raise chickens for the eggs and they could use the coop.

No, not a ranch but I do have 3 1/2 acres of land here. There is plenty of room for this bird to wander. He has recently realized that I have lots of room on the sides of my house as well as the back and has been wandering all over the place. There is a lake in the very back of my property and we have a deck that hangs partly over the water. The peacock has found that he loves that deck and spends quite a lot of time there just looking at the water. Maybe he sees an occasional fish jump up out of the water and he's wondering what that is or maybe that he'd love to get that in his beak. There are also a lot of frogs at the edges of the lake so maybe he's trying to catch a small frog. (Yuck!) Virginia is a very beautiful place and has everything, beaches, ocean, rivers, mountains, lakes, you name it. We're in the mountains so there are lots of trees and plenty of farms since we're out in the country. (The closest city is about 8 miles from here. Great place for big birds like peafowl.)

Sounds like your visitor is staying for good... The peacocks that briefly visited my back yard then probably soon realized that they were not in a familiar habitat and left. I had a swimming pool that pretty much took up the whole back yard then; so, there were really not much space for such large birds to stroll around at my place... Do you live in a ranch there in Virginia? I used to visit a friend's ranch in McLean back in the 80s there. Beautiful place...

No objections here! Please do. I'm Marti Ward on Facebook.

Oh, if there are a lot of Marti Wards, my link there is https://www.facebook.com/marti.ward.5?ref=tn_tnmn and this is NOT A REFERRAL LINK (just in case someone thinks it might be).

Thanks for accepting my request.I shall watch the video.

Up to you which way you go to get him some friends... but a male won't threaten him for a while and probably won't for a good long while, and if he leaves you'll have a flock of your own.

That's true. I've been doing a lot of research into these birds, what they need, keeping them safe from the elements and predators, etc. It looks like, if I decided to get more, I'll need a pretty large coop/pen. My land at my other house would be absolutely perfect since it's 3 acres of flat land. What we have here is mostly hills because of the lake (and the fact that the house is sitting on a mountain). It would be harder to build a peafowl house here but I don't want to live in my other house because the neighbors are, well, let's just say they're not well educated. Nice people but hard to have a decent conversation with, you know? Hopefully I can sell that place and buy something up here, maybe not as much land but even a half acre would work for me. If I do decide to start raising these birds, I'll have to add some chickens to the bunch because I've thought about that for a long time, having fresh chicken eggs every morning. If I'm going to be dealing with one kind of fowl, I may as well make it two although, hmmm, I've heard that duck eggs are much higher in protein. I think I'll just work on figuring out where I'll be living in the near future first, then work on what birds I'll be raising, if any.

I remember you mentioning the peafowl at Green Pastures. I've never seen any "wild" peafowl around here or in Maryland when I lived there. I guess they're more of a southern bird. Apparently, they are perfectly fine this far north but just not seen as wild birds. This one here is really entertaining. When he's not trying to find a mate, he's wandering around my property investigating everything. I watched as he checked out the deck I have that goes over the lake. He seemed quite intrigued by it. He's still here so it looks like he'll be a permanent fixture. He's been roosting in my oak tree out front. I haven't heard any other peafowl around here so I don't think there are any. I've looked them up and found a breeder in Maryland that I could drive to but it looks like it would be much cheaper to buy some eggs on eBay, although you never know if you're getting male or female. I'd love to get a couple of females for this guy. I used to raise other birds, much smaller but still birds, so I could hatch peafowl eggs and raise the babies. From what I've seen, they begin eating seed/vegetation almost from the moment of hatching. Very curious birds!

Ohh now he is really your new pet now.

Thank you, lyn. He has been staying here, even at night. He sleeps in my big oak tree in my front yard, then wanders around my property during the day. It's so nice to see him outside because he's so colorful, he brightens my day. I think I'm spoiling him, though, because he's always at my front door in the morning, expecting his breakfast.

Nope...it's not working. Its probably because I got a little laptop.

Okay, here it is: https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=3531895728835 *THIS IS NOT A REFERRAL LINK!* I posted it in an earlier comment so I think it's okay. I hate my voice so don't pay any attention to me when I'm talking but I wanted the audio because the bird does quite a lot of talking himself while I was filming him. The fella in this video (seen very briefly) is my son. The bird is roosting in my tree tonight so it looks like he's home. He ate birdseed right from the bag I was holding! The neighbors haven't said anything about him being here and I know that they know he's here (he's not hard to hear) so it looks like I have a new pet.

Uh oh, maybe the video is too large to open on your computer. It took 1 1/2 hours for it to upload to Facebook! Let me know if you can open it or not. I could edit the video to shorten it and upload it again.

That has crossed my mind, bb. If he does belong across the road, they probably have some kind of heated pen or coup for him. They raise chickens so I know they have one for them. I just don't understand why I haven't heard any other peafowl (meaning peahens) when he's over here screaming away. I'll have to talk with the neighbors to see if he belongs to them. I heard her -- the neighbor -- scream at the peacock once, don't know what else she did but he flew up to the roof of the barn. It takes a lot to make this bird fly. lol Maybe he was pestering the chickens or maybe he just doesn't belong to them. If he doesn't belong there, I'll definitely be building a heated coup for him (and getting some females for him as well. ). It might help me to decide whether to make my husband move out of here (which he'd love to do, he hates nature, dunno why he wanted to move here in the first place) and stay here myself or move out myself. If he doesn't belong to the neighbors and just got lost somehow, I'll do what I can to keep him comfy. I'm going to start feeding him some seeds today since he lets me get really close to him and maybe I can earn his trust, then take him with me if I'm the one to be moving first. Whichever it is, I'll make sure he's okay. I LOVE looking or going outside and seeing him there. He brightens up my day.

i imagine he does. since they are supposed to be let roam, its hard telling where he came from. maybe he was eating the neighbors flowers.

Oh my gosh, you mean over at Sahuaro Ranch Park, don't you? My aunt used to take me over there all the time when I was a kid! We'd stop at the gas station a few blocks over and pick up a bag of popcorn. Those peacocks loved popcorn... they'd mob us if we didn't share with them. The peacocks were still there the last time I went, but they were penned up. That was several years ago, though. I think the last time I got to go there was in like 2003.

They are so beautiful. I think that breeding them would be so much fun!

Thank you, marguicha. I've since learned quite a lot about these exotic birds. I'm surprised that they live this far north, though, because our winters get pretty cold but I suppose they're no different than chickens and the like. As long as they can get somewhere warm in the winter (like a heated coop) they're fine. I found a breeder in our neighboring state and, if they can breed them, they'll do fine here. I'm sure this one was a pet somewhere even if he didn't belong to the farm across the road because he has already eaten seed from a bag I was holding and they don't roam wild around here. This bird is used to people. He spent the night in my tree and was right at my front door this morning, waiting for his breakfast. lol I gave him more birdseed which he eagerly began eating. It sure looks like I have a new pet. Oh, I found out that they eat just about anything, small rodents, insects, seed and vegetation (which explains why he was eating my coneflowers yesterday). My son now wants to breed these gorgeous birds. I've written to the breeder I found, since they're not too far to drive to, in order to see what they have right now. If they have eggs of these Indian Blue Peafowl, I'm going to get some. I know how to hatch eggs and raise birds so that won't be an issue. I'll just need my son to build a coop but he's strong and intelligent so I'm sure he'll build a good one. (He'll probably want to add windows with little window boxes full of flowers for the birds. He's very creative. lol)

Your post is yet another example of all we learn here. I´m acostumed to believe that birds eat seeds and grains. I could never imagine that peacocks eat just about everything that is laying around. If yor son has the opportunity and is willing to breed them, it will be an awesome idea. Keep us posted and send pictures.

I posted it yesterday and the discussion is still here so I think it's okay. The link to my video is https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=3531895728835 if you'd like to see it. Just don't listen to my voice, okay? I really hate my voice. lol I kept the audio on because the peacock does quite a bit of talking himself. He spent the night in my oak tree and I just gave him his breakfast (birdseed for now). I found out that they will eat just about anything, small rodents, insects, vegetation and seed. He took some seed right out of the bag I was holding yesterday! Apparently, he likes it here and intends to stay, at least for awhile. My son loves the idea of raising peafowl so I found a place that sells eggs, chicks and fully grown birds. Since these birds are so expensive, I think we'll start with eggs. I've raised birds from eggs before, just nothing quite as large as peafowl. I have the room and experience with birds, all I need is a coop for the cold winter months and that's easy enough to build. I'm thinking now that I should add a few chickens to my menagerie since I love the idea of fresh eggs every morning. With them, my fruit and nut trees, berry bushes and annual veggie garden, I'll almost be self-sufficient as far as food goes. Oh, maybe I should invest in some ear plugs while I'm at it, huh? Those birds are LOUD!

I have never seen them around here, at least not wild ones. This one must have been ordered by someone or given as a gift, then he found his way here. I don't think he belongs to my neighbor now because he's been here for almost a week now and they haven't come looking for him. They've come to get their dog and a cow in the past so I think they would at least come by to make sure he's okay, at least if he belonged to them. Maybe they just got tired of his loud cries and are happy he's gone. I don't know what kind of climate they prefer but there are a few breeders this far north so they apparently can handle cold winters. They are seen wild down in the southern USA so apparently they don't mind the warmer climate. I don't know how hot it gets there but some places in the south in this country can get up around 120 degrees fahrenheit and that's plenty hot! The female India Blue Peafowl are brown and not very pretty at all, at least not like their male counterparts. The males are colorful in order to attract the females to mate. Funny, in humans, it's usually the opposite.

I did see the video in an above post after I posted this. I think your voice is fine. I do not like my voice on video either, it sounds weird to me! I think most people feel the same way. Yes, ear plugs could be a good investment if you plan to raise them. I am curious as to what climate they live in now so I will have to look into why they are not in this area. Must be too warm for all those feathers. I also find it fascinating that in certain types of birds the males and females look nothing alike!

Well, it almost sounds like he ran away from home and he has adopted you. He seems pretty friendly to you, too! So, maybe he has found his new adoptive home. btw: the tail display is usually to scare off predators, to make themselves look bigger, or to show off to a female. So, maybe ignore my original post, eh? lol

I found out that they're omnivores, meaning they eat just about anything. That's fine with me since we have too many insects around here and also those pesky little rodents like chipmunks, moles, field mice, etc. I think he really has decided to live here because we had some thunderstorms roll through and he flew up into our big oak tree out front. I would think he'd fly home if he lived on the farm across the road. I hope to see him fly up in the tree one of these days just because I want to see that wingspan up close. I saw him fly to the roof of the barn at the farm after the owner yelled at him. She must have chased him because I've followed him all over the place and he hasn't even flown a few feet. It apparently takes a lot to scare him. I had a bag of bird seed so I took it outside today. This peacock walked right up to me and started pecking at the seed from the bag in my hand! He sure isn't afraid of much or maybe he just likes me. I know he likes my son because every time my son goes outside, the bird starts calling and that's when he displays that tail of his. Well, if he does live on the farm, the owners there know where to find him if they want to because you just follow that loud cry of his.

I bet he ran away too from the woman that yelled at him. You are so lucky MW to have him. It makes me well up with the love you have and your son has for him. He feels so secure to eat almost out of your hands! I love that.

I suppose it's a definite plus that they'd be roosting at night and wouldn't be disturbing your sleep,otherwise He'd not be quite so welcome a visitor!

Yes, that cry of theirs is definitely something I could do without. He does cry throughout the day but I've never heard him at night so that's a plus. Still, he's here every day now, right in my front yard, so he's even louder. I'm going to check the big oak tree out front tonight to see if he's roosting there or if he's going home. My neighobors do have plenty of land as they raise cows, chickens and goats. I can hear them all but none are too obnoxious except the stupid rooster who crows whenever he feels like it. The peacock is just as loud but, for some reason, I don't get annoyed with it, maybe because as soon as I hear his cry, I see his beautiful colors in my mind and that smoothes the edges off that screeching. When my sons were young, I'd take them to our local SPCA because they were set up like a small zoo. They had peacocks and guinea hens wandering around free. That's where I learned what a peacock sounded like. He's nesting in my yard right now, third day in a row. He was wandering around earlier, eating whatever he could find and now he's resting. No doubt about it, he likes it here. Maybe I should buy some peahens and some earplugs.

Hmmm, well, in that case, https://www.facebook dot com/#!/photo.php?v=3531895728835 Hope it works. I THINK my Facebook page is not available to the public but I specifically checked "public" for this video so everyone can see it. If this doesn't work, https://www.facebook dot com/marti.ward.5?ref=tn_tnmn is my home page there and the video is on it. "NOT REFERRAL LINKS" I agree with these being beautiful birds. I'm surprised, though, that I haven't heard any other peacocks. Do the females do any crying? This guy talks all the time but I've never heard a response from another. He must be a pest at home because I heard his "mommy" (the same person who came to get her cow from my yard when it visited here) yelling at the bird and saw him fly up and perch on top of their barn. Maybe he was trying to get frisky with the chickens.

I just looked out front and, yep, he's back. I'm not sure if he likes the attention he gets here or if my flowers are tastier than they have at home. (I caught him eating my coneflowers in the video.) Maybe he just needs to get away from the chickens OR maybe he doesn't live there but hung around until they shooed him away. Whatever the reason, he definitely seems to like it here.

Just been really busy trying like he11 to make a living farming since the hubs is still disabled and WSIB is such a CROCK! Anyway, it seems to be paying off, as I am now supporting the place for the most part. Been doing some export deals, exporting sheep to other countries. Anyway, I am so glad you have such a pretty fellow gracing your yard. I bet they just got tired of him. So, everyone is happy now.

Uhh, is WSIB like our Social Security Disability? If it is, I sympathize! You know how I struggled with that for seven years! Man! I'm happy to hear that your efforts are paying off. It makes it all worthwhile, huh? I know how hard you work and just wish I could do half as much as you do. You are an amazing woman! My new bright buddy spent the night in my oak tree and was waiting for his breakfast this morning. It's apparent that he likes it here. He doesn't cry too often so I can handle his noise. Maybe he'll help to keep the other birds at bay so they don't devastate my fruit trees and perhaps even keep the rodents away from my veggies. (Just so HE doesn't annihilate my veggie garden, all is well. lol) I'm trying to come up with a name for him, at least something to call him other than "Dude" or "Hey, You!". Haven't come up with anything yet. I thought of 'Peck' because of the way he eats birdseed... it goes flying everywhere so he has quite the, uhh, pekker. (I can't spell it correctly here; myLot seems to prefer we misspell things like that.) If you have any suggestions, I'd be grateful.

Thanks, Annie! Long time, no see! Where've you been hiding? This is the only peacock I've heard so I'm kinda doubting that they're raising them on the farm across the road. I can clearly hear everything they have over there, even the chickens when they're collecting eggs. If this bird belongs to them, I have no doubt they know where he is because he hasn't kept quiet for any long periods. Maybe he does belong to them but they're tired of his screaming. They'd come by if they wanted to bring him home, I have no doubt of that. They've already had to come and collect one of their cows and their dog from my yard. Maybe they've been hoping he'd adopt a new home. He's been here all day today. I haven't noticed before if he was flying up on our oak tree out front to roost at night before this but he's there now and it's quite dark out. Apparently, this is home now. Even if he's just visiting for awhile, that's cool. It's so nice to have such a gorgeous visitor.

Hi bing. Sure, you can add me as a friend on FB. A person can never have too many friends! I am Marti Ward there, or https://www.facebook.com/#!/marti.ward.5 or you can just check out the video of the peacock: https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?v=3531895728835.

Thank you, shibham. I've since learned what they eat, including some things that weren't on the list. The bird is letting me know what he likes. He tried to steal some food that I was eating a few days ago. He walked right up to me and grabbed for it. (He got a little bit of it but I hung on tight. lol) I saw on Facebook that you love birds, also. I used to raise smaller birds, cockatiels, lovebirds and parakeets. They are such fun and so amusing! My peacock always fans out his tail whenever my son walks outside. I'm not sure if the bird likes my son or if he's warning him to stay away. He seems to like my son so I get a good laugh whenever the bird fans out his tail when he sees my son. We have both been feeding the bird and he is getting very spoiled.

I have thought about doing that, aritahime. I just need to make an account with them first. Maybe today is the day I finally do it! I never thought I would ever see a peacock in my own yard, especially since it gets very cold here in the winter. I'm not sure now if he belongs to my neighbors because he is outside in my yard right now for the third day in a row. Maybe someone nearby had bought him but he decided to go wandering to see what the world has to offer and decided he likes my yard. I haven't heard any peahens answering his cries so that makes me think that my neighbors aren't trying to raise them. Being farmers I would think that would be the only reason they would have a peacock in the first place. They raise chickens, cows and goats but I've never heard any other peafowl. I'd love to keep him and build him a heated coop so he can stay warm in the winter. Seeing him with his bright colors every morning makes my whole day a bit brighter. I'll let you know if I post this to Youtube.

That must be the best experience ever in life to see peacock in your own yard everyday. hahaha.. Yeah, let me know if you've uploaded it. I'm gonna watch it for sure :D