Hi everyone I need advice please regarding a male peacock that’s been roaming around since May this year and my house and the surrounding ones for over a week. He’s not injured so no one will come out to try to catch him. I’ve posted on social media and no one has claimed him, I’m really upset as there are cars around and he’s wandering in the car park. Peacocks U.K. can come but it’s catching him. He’s a frequent visitor to my garden. I hate to see him out in the rain it’s so upsetting.
Hello Suzanne and welcome to the community. We also had a male peacock arrive in our garden (several years ago now in October) which originally belonged on a nearby large estate/mansion that was put up for sale and 2 pairs of peacock were abandoned to fend for themselves; this male found his way to us and although very nervous when he arrived I gave him mixed bird seed each morning and evening in a ground dish where he helped himself as I backed away; he was very tatty when he arrived in October, he roosted in a tall oak tree and often wandered around the neighbourhood during the day, returning to our garden each evening for another feed of seed before he went up into the tree overnight. He became very trusting of us over the months but we always remembered he was a wild bird so kept that in mind. They can live for many years and like most birds will forage for insects/worms and take any easy food on offer; this peacock liked grapes !! he stayed with us for 6 months and went from a very disheveled looking bird to a magnificent peacock in breeding plumage (May) which then led to him to a final display of his fantastic feathers fanning them out and circling before he departed in order to do what nature intended and for him to find a female. It was an unforgettable and special encounter and although we missed his presence when he left we knew he was saying goodbye and were happy for him as he went in search of a mate. I would not worry too much although they do not have much road sense, however, they are capable of foraging for themselves and nature will take its course, hopefully with a happy ending. As these were introduced birds from many years ago a lot of centres are not interested in taking them in, males can be noisy too so not always wanted in neighbourhoods. Depending on how suitable your garden is, I would provide him some mixed seed, even seed suitable for poultry with corn in it and the odd grape if you have some !! Good luck and hope the peacock eventually finds its mate. As for rain or inclement weather don't worry, the peacock we had visit endured one of the coldest winters on record with minus 10 degrees and he survived just fine.
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Regards, Hazel
As Hazy says Peacocks are remarkably robust - we have a number of feral ones on the Island (I'm on Jersey) and they do remarkably well and the males can wander over quite a wide area - back in the day (80's ) I remember going to buy some hay and there were over 30 peacocks roosting in the trees - it was a little eery tbh. They can also be a bit irritating in the spring when they decide their selection in car paint work is a rival - they are not the most intelligent of birds at time
Cin J
Thank you!!! Your replies have eased my heart and my mind and i‘m so incredibly grateful as i was getting so upset about the coming cold weather plus bonfire night is approaching . I live in a neighbourhood but the gardens are quite large and some overgrown, there’s an abundance of grass and plenty of foraging for insects/worms.There are trees, especially in my garden and next few houses for him to roost in. However I have been leaving out food also for him. I will keep you updated on how he is and if he ventures out to greener pastures, it seems he’s already a seasoned traveller !