Pedigree and native lands of the bird of paradise, characteristics, features of behavior in the wild, advice on care at home, feeding, diseases, price. Common peacock, blue or Indian peacock (lat. Pavo cristatus) - this fabulous representative of the world fauna has been known by everyone for a very long time. The stories, myths and legends that soar over this beautiful bird date back to ancient times from the period of ancient Greece, the Roman Empire and even Babylon.
In those days, it was not just a poultry, it was believed that it was the peacock that was a symbol of indescribable luxury, power, honor and wealth. It was given as trophies, some people used such exquisite peacock meat for food, the Romans considered this bird sacred, as in Greece, and this is not strange, because according to historical information, no one else but the peacock himself was a favorite bird of the Greek goddess Hera in vain it was called the bird of paradise.
For many years, rich and wealthy people bred these amazing birds for eating their meat and eggs, later they were replaced by turkey. Today, these living creatures are kept exclusively in the form of decorating their site.
The origin of the Indian peacock and its homeland
The interest of scientists in this bird has always been great, and although the peacock is a representative of the animal kingdom that has been living on our planet for a long time, people of science have classified it relatively recently. According to the scientific classification, the peacock belongs to the class of birds, the chickens order, the pheasant family and the peacocks of the same name.
The largest populations of the blue peacock inhabit the territories of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Mostly these beautiful birds settle at an altitude of over 1500 m above sea level, they also feel quite comfortable in the jungle and in the forests, on the earthen plots that are cultivated, they can also settle down nearby agricultural estates. Usually, the Indian peacock inhabits areas surrounded by shrubby vegetation, sometimes it can live in forest clearings and even on the coastal zones of rivers and lakes.
Description of the appearance of an ordinary peacock
Looking at this dazzlingly beautiful living creature, probably, no one will have a grain of doubt in the statement that this is the most beautiful bird in the entire globe. And indeed it is.
This representative of the world fauna is not particularly small in size. The length of the graceful body of a male individual reaches approximately 105–125 cm. The tail along the length of the tail ranges from 40 cm to 55 cm. Moreover, in the structure of the peacock's tail there is also the so-called upper tail, which is represented by long feathers, their size varies 115– 150 cm. There are also some individuals, in which the length of these feathers is about 165 cm. The body weight of an adult male reaches about 4–4, 5 kg.
These cute birds have a beautiful, long, graceful neck, on which a relatively small head flaunts, a peacock's head is decorated with a small crest. In representatives of the stronger sex, it is painted in blue tones, but the crest of the female is brown.
As for the color of this graceful bird, this, as they say, is a separate story. Peacock feathers are presented in the most varied colors and shades. The dorsal side of the body is painted in green-olive tones, which play in the sun with a beautiful metallic or golden sheen, the head, some part of the chest and neck are presented in blue, the sides of the head and the projection of the neck are painted in light colors, but the lower part of the body is black … The limbs of this amazing bird are blue-grayish. The beak is pink.
The tail can be said to be a "visiting card" of a peacock, it is formed by the main feathers and feathers of the upper tail. The main feathers are painted in grayish-brown colors, but the feathers of the upper tail shimmer with greenish shades, large rounded spots flaunt at their end, in the middle of which there is a black dot, these patterns are a bit like eyes. This is probably why they say that the peacock's tail is “ocellated”.
In appearance, without much difficulty, it is possible to find out which sex is in front of you. So female peacocks are more miniature, and their plumage is not as colorful as that of males, the main tone of their body color is brownish.
Peacock behavior in open nature
Despite their majestic tail, these birds are quite mobile; it does not prevent them from wading through the densest thickets at all. The diet of peacocks in the wild is not very diverse, they mainly eat grains of wild and cultivated plants, they can also eat berries and herbs. In addition, they can often feed on worms, and small rodents, and snakes. When it becomes problematic to get food on their lands, due to their absence, then these amazing creatures have nothing to do but raid the sown fields.
As for the peacock's voice, then we can say that it is simply unforgettable and this does not in any way imply that it is pleasant. Many people compare the voice of the peacock with the cry of a cat whose tail has been pinched. But birds do not emit such sound signals very often, mainly in case of danger or in the time before the rain.
Continuation of the genus of peacocks
Individuals of the beautiful peacock become sexually mature at the age of about 2–2.5 years. The beginning of the mating season for these representatives of the bird class falls in April and lasts until the beginning of autumn. In general, male peacocks are considered polygamous birds, most often they live with several females. In order for the female to pay attention to the male peacock, he first spreads his delightful tail, as if demonstrating colorful plumage, and at the same time slowly shakes it. As soon as the male notices that the female has turned her attention to him, he turns away and waits for her decision.
Usually there are about 5-10 eggs in one clutch, the incubation period lasts approximately 27-29 days. Peacock chicks grow quickly, so after about three to four weeks it is possible to find out the sex of a peacock.
Before reaching puberty, both females and males have feathers identical to the maternal color, therefore, sexual dimorphism is expressed only in the size of the body. It is the riot of colors of plumage that testifies to the ability to reproduce in males.
Peacock maintenance, home care
Despite the fact that this superbly beautiful chick comes from distant overseas countries, over the years the peacock has fully adapted to our variable climate. Keeping this bird at home is not very troublesome, it is enough to follow a few rules and a living decoration of incredible beauty will live and flourish on your site.
Arrangement of the cell. By their nature, peacocks are very friendly creatures, they quickly tame and get used to humans, if you keep several individuals - this is not a problem, but to other animals they can show not just aggression, but also peck to death, for this reason, their personal space just necessary. Housing for a domestic peacock should consist of two elements - an aviary and a poultry house.
An aviary means a fairly spacious area of the site, fenced off with a net, for one adult, the width of such a site should be at least 5 m. Most of the peacock holdings must be sown with grass, sprinkled with sand.
In this cage, it is necessary to install feeders and a container with drinking water. It would be nice to make a canopy, just they don't need to cover the entire area of the enclosure, just cover some separate area so that the bird has the opportunity to hide from rain or snow.
A poultry house is a kind of house, it is usually constructed from wood, or from any available building materials. This room should also be large enough to accommodate the nest and roost. It is good to lay a fairly wide layer of straw on the floor surface, it maintains heat well, only it will have to be replaced periodically, since it tends to dampen, and in such an environment all sorts of parasites often start. Drinkers are also placed in the house.
It will be good to insulate the walls with some kind of material, for example, glass wool or foam, but if this is done from the inside of the house, then this insulation should be covered with plywood, otherwise it will simply be peeled off by a peacock.
It is recommended to install the roost along the entire length of the house and at a height of at least 150 cm from the floor, for this it is best to use a softer tree, linden or pine is well suited.
To arrange the nest, you can use a regular cardboard box or a large basket. These "frames" are filled with large amounts of straw or large sawdust.
As for wintering, such conditions for housing will be enough for your pet, but if the winter is too harsh, then additional sources of heat are needed. If severe frosts are common in your region, then it is better to carry out heating in the room where the bird will live.
How to feed a domestic peacock? In principle, this comrade is not very picky about food, however, in order to avoid problems with the digestive tract and health in general, it is necessary to correctly formulate a peacock diet.
Of course, it is important that your pup with a gorgeous tail is not hungry, but you do not need to overfeed him either. It is best to feed the peacock twice a day, at the first meal the bird can be given all the feed, but in the evening it is better to give preference to dry foods. The fact is that food with moisture content can go bad overnight, and your chick can eat it at dawn.
The main product in the diet of peacocks should be grain food, it can be wheat, oats and corn. In addition, products such as meat should be present in the peacock menu. In pet stores or on the market, you can buy a variety of insects, larvae or worms, but this will not be enough - at least once every 10-14 days your pet should eat minced meat.
Another favorite and essential food for your pet is boiled potatoes, which can be given either separately or mixed with steamed grains or herbs. You can also share with the bird some products from the table, it can be dried bread, crumbs and various cereals, especially oatmeal to his taste.
We must not forget about greens, it must be given in plenty, alfalfa, nettle, dandelion and yarrow are great for these birds, besides it, these comrades happily eat young shoots of plants, vegetables, fruits and berries.
They also include in the diet of these birds such products as grass flour (the best option is alfalfa), grain waste, flour mixtures, meat and bone meal, dairy products (milk and cottage cheese), hay dust.
How you will compose a daily menu for your feathered pet is, in principle, your business, but some rules should be taken into account when doing this. During the day, one adult should eat at least 550-650 grams of food, if we talk about a percentage, then about 10% of the total feed falls on grain products, 25% on roots, fruits and vegetables, grain flour - 10%, green feed - 10%, all that is left are flour mixtures and animal products.
An equally important attribute of the good health of a home peacock is additional feeding. Be sure to have small amounts of table salt in your pet's feeder, and the bird should also have a source of such an element as calcium in constant access. At home, you can arrange small containers of chalk, slaked lime, wood ash, or fine gravel.
Do not forget to monitor the quality of the food offered to the peacock, this bird of paradise should in no case be given food with mold, rot, contaminated or even poorly dried grains. Mixed feed should have a maximum shelf life of two days if stored refrigerated. It is categorically impossible to feed the peacock with cold food, if you took the food out of the refrigerator, it should be warmed up to a slightly warm state (15-18 degrees).
It is also important to monitor the quality of water in drinking bowls, in the hot season it quickly stagnates and deteriorates, and these are the most suitable conditions for pathogenic microorganisms, so in summer it is better to change the water at least twice a day. Unfortunately, nature has deprived these amazing birds of the body's defenses, so they are susceptible to a large number of various diseases and pathological conditions.
Probably the most dangerous not only for peacocks, but for the whole bird in your yard are infectious diseases, as they are contagious. In the event that you notice lethargy, diarrhea, loss of feathers in your pet, it is better to immediately isolate the unwelling bird from everyone else and rush to the veterinarian's consultation.
Also, these birds often have problems with the skin, namely dermatitis. The main warning signs of skin inflammation are rash and hyperemia of the affected areas, dry skin, itching, the formation of yellow crusts, inflammation of the skin around the eyes, in addition, the bird becomes lethargic and refuses to eat.
Dermatitis responds well to treatment, the main etiological drugs are antifungal and broad-spectrum antibiotics. You can also add vitamins for the speedy recovery of the peacock from illness.
These beautiful creatures are very inclined to neoplasms on the body, this pathology is rarely diagnosed in the early stages, until it shows itself outside. The main symptoms of tumors are swelling of the skin, thickening of the skin, the formation of lipomas, inflammation or suppuration of the affected area. The solution to this problem is the same - a radical cutting of the formation, and the sooner you turn to a specialist, the greater the likelihood of your pet for recovery.
One of the most common ailments that affect birds of paradise is foot inflammation. The main cause of the disease is the long-term presence of the bird on hard (asphalt or wooden) surfaces. This pathology is easy to notice, in a peacock, motor activity is noticeably reduced, they can keep their legs in an elevated state for a long time, the limbs swell, sometimes they can bleed.
Treatment should be immediate; it is based on regular treatment of the paws with a low-concentration chlorine solution. It is necessary to exclude walks until complete recovery.
Parasitic diseases can occur in the common peacock quite often, they can be infected from other birds, and in the process of feeding. It is better to simply avoid this problem; for this, courses of antiparasitic therapy should be carried out every three months.
The cost of an ordinary peacock
The average price of a beautiful exotic depends on the age of the bird. So a peacock cub, already adapted to independent life, will cost about 6,000 rubles, a one-year-old individual - about 16,000-17,000 rubles, but an adult sexually mature peacock will cost you about 18,000-20,000 rubles.
Learn more about the common peacock from the video below:
