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antipodi
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Fri Mar 10, 2006 11:30 am
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 Peacocks..Keeping and basic Care
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Peacocks..Keeping and basic Care
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Because of their wonderful 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 thousanpeacocksd 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 imported from Mexico, that the peacock was discarded as a table bird for the more fleshy American birds.
There are but two naturally occuring peacock species, the Indian peafowl Pavo cristatus from India, often called Blue peafowl, 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.peacocks
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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 . 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 peacock 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 sicpeacock in displayk and there is a record of one peacock that lived to be 40 years old!
When raised on the farm most 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.
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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
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