Would a peacock make a good pet?

[jaxonjix]

My family and I are purchasing another piece of land to add to our small farm, but we are not sure what type of animal to get! It is a little over an acre, and might not be completely fenced in. I was thinking of getting a few peacocks, but I had some questions about them...

-Are they very noisy? I have roosters and turkeys, but anything louder than that would probably upset the neighbors.
-Will they run away? My chickens, ducks, and turkeys tend to stay on the property, but I want to make sure a peacock would.
-How many should I get? Do they do well in pairs, or should I buy more?
-Can they protect themselves against predators (raccoons, possums, the occasional coyote)

Any other information would be greatly appreciated!


[admin edit: spam url removed, author deleted, moved to general, topic left cuz I think it's funny topic to be posted by a spammer]

[dakineguy]

They are louder than turkeys or chickens and they will run away. Not sure how well they do against other animals but they have the same weapons as a turkey or chicken (spurs).

[madeinhawaii]

The ones up in Ahuimanu were pretty mean and territorial.

[My3Cats]

Remember a few years ago when the lady in Makaha killed a peacock with either a baseball bat or piece of lumber because they are annoying and very loud? I think she was charged with cruelty to animals but I don't remember what finally became of the case. Imagine if she had to deal with coqui! How you going kill dem little buggas?

[uhwarriors]

Remember a few years ago when the lady in Makaha killed a peacock with either a baseball bat or piece of lumber because they are annoying and very loud? I think she was charged with cruelty to animals but I don't remember what finally became of the case. Imagine if she had to deal with coqui! How you going kill dem little buggas?

She was found not guilty.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/2011 ... =114410229

[Optimus]

Too bad you can't eat them. They would be quickly eradicated

[My3Cats]

Actually there are a few peacock recipes on the internet and they were used for eating before turkey became the fowl of choice. If that Makaha lady (thanks for the article link BTW) had decided to take that peacock into her apartment instead of tossing it into the bushes, then eaten it, she may not have even been charged with animal cruelty since it was determined that peacocks are feral animals. I don't know why people don't eat them. Get plenny chickens running around on Kauai and I don't know why the people there don't eat them either.

[dakineguy]

feral chickens are tough and I imagine feral peafowl are. When I was a kid though the old ladies of the neighborhood would pay us more per pound for feral chickens than the store bought ones because they could be put into soup without worrying that they would fall apart after cooking for a couple hours. Really you need to cook them for a couple hours before they are ready to eat, otherwise they have a texture like rubber and are difficult to eat. If you eat turkey you may realize there are thin bone like structures in the drum stick. These are ossified (boney) tendons. Wild chickens have those too. The chickens you buy in the store are very young.

[My3Cats]

No doubt that the meat of feral chickens and peafowl would be tough. After all, they are free range. But after thinking about it, when times are tough and people are hungry, you do what you gotta do to feed the family. A French recipe for Coq au vin (or similar dishes) would come in handy as this is basically for stewed rooster, a tough bird to begin with. Fried chicken, chicken katsu, teriyaki chicken and other preparations where the meat is not cooked very long would not work. Gots to stew the buggas till tender.