Ornamental Fowl for Parks and Gardens 



A MONTHLY TREATISE ON THEIR CULTURE. 



BREEDING AND REARING PEACOCKS. 



By John W. Talliot. 



Peacocks were Ijrought from the East Indies, where 

 they are still found in vast Hocks in a wild state. The 

 head of the bird most familiar to us is adorned with a 

 tuft of 24 feathers whose shafts are entirely bare, tipped 

 with eyes of green and gold. In the male the head, 

 throat, neck and breast are a deep blue, adorned with 

 green and gold. The greater coverts and bastard wings 

 are a reddish brown, as are also the quills, some of which 

 are variegated with black and green. The belly and vent 

 are black with a greenish hue. The distinguishing fea- 

 ture of this bird is its train which rises just above the 

 tail, and when erected forms a fan of the most splendid 

 hues. The two middle tufts are sometimes four and a 

 half feet long and the others gradually diminish on either 

 side, the shafts white and furnished from their origin 

 nearly to the end with parted filaments of different col- 

 ors, ending in a flat vane decorated with what are called 

 "eyes." The real tail consists of short, stiff, brown 

 feathers which serve as a support to the train. When 

 excited or in the presence of his female, the peacock 

 erects his train and displays its beauty. .\11 his move- 

 ments are full of dignity : his head and neck bend nobly 

 back, his pace is slow and solemn and he frequently turns 

 slowly around as though to catch the sunlight on every 

 side and show new colors of unequalled beauty, accom- 

 panied by a hollow murmuring sound expressive of de- 

 sire. The cry of the peacock at other times is oft re- 

 peated and is very strident and disagreeable. The plumes 

 are shed every year and while moulting the bird, as 

 though humiliated, retires from view. In the female the 

 neck is green and the top of the head is brown. 



The rearing of peacocks requires the care of the gentle 

 house holder. The bird wanders about safely without 

 a keeper and when allowed proper range acquires for it- 

 self the greatest part of its nourishment. The females 

 hatch, rear and feed their own young with very great 

 care and success. The eggs of the peacock should not be 

 hatched under other birds, nor should attempts be made 

 to raise them except w-here the raising is done by the 

 motlier bird. Anyone raising or keeping peacocks 

 should, by giving a signal at a certain time of day in- 

 variably call together the whole flock near the house and 

 throw to them a little barley or pieces of bread or cake, 

 corn bread or anything for which they develop a liking. 

 The birds in time will become accustomed to this treat 

 and will look forward to it and it will be found to keep 

 them tame and kindly. They should never be driven or 

 scared where it is not absolutely necessary, as this has 

 a tendency to make them wild. In the breeding time the 

 males sometimes become pugnacious and highly com- 

 bative. One male may be mated with five pea hens. 

 Their lodging places should hi: entirely free from moist- 

 ure and the perches should be made movable so that they 

 can be removed for the time when it is necessary to 

 sweep and clean the building and floor. The males do 

 not breed until fully matured and they do not mature 

 until thev are three years old. They may be fed any- 

 thing that is good for chickens. 



The young birds are a delightful table luxury. Many 

 complain that the peacock is vicious and troublesopie 

 where kept with other poultry and that he often chases 

 and kills voung chickens and even the older hens, and 



destroys eggs and eats them, but the writer"* experience 

 has been the contrary. We have never found that the 

 peacocks annoyed the chickens, although kept with them 

 constantly. In fact they were much kinder to the chickens 

 than turkeys. 



.'Xt the breeding season the pea hen seeks retired places 

 for her nest and avoids as much as possible the intrusion 

 of the male, who is apt to destroy the eggs and nest. 

 She lays from five to seven eggs of a whitish color. .Mr. 

 Wilson had one pea hen that laid at one clutch as many 

 as twelve, out of which he was so fortunate as to hatch 

 seven chicks. The young are easily reared, especially on 

 a dry fertile soil, where the pea hen can have the shelter 

 and range of a shaw, hedgerow or wood, as well as 

 pasture land. The pea chicks will thrive on the same 

 kind of food as young turkeys. When well grown they 

 should have a variety of grain, but about the breeding 

 season more barley, which has a tendency to make them 

 salacious and to increase the fertility of their eggs, as 

 well as the number. The young keep with the old birds 

 throughout the year, and are seldom driven oiT until 

 the next breeding season. The peacock does not obtain 

 his full adornments until the second year and is at his 

 best in the fourth, fifth and sixth. It is said to be a very 

 long lived bird, one hundred years a possible age, but, 

 although I have made many inquiries, the limit so far 

 has been from twenty to twenty-five years, and even that 

 has lacked proof. The flesh of the old birds is dark, 

 hard, harsh, dry and unless very fat almost tasteless, 

 while that of the peahen at about twelve months is good 

 and gamey, and the peachicks, when properly cooked 

 and served, are exceedingly palatable. As they are by 

 no means expensive or troublesome to rear, it is surpris- 

 ing that so few are ke])t for commercial purposes. 



The feathers of the peacock are of some value. The 

 quills of both cock and hen are still in demand for deco- 

 rative purposes. The utmost cleanliness is necessary for 

 these fowls, and fresh water must be given them at least 

 once a day. If kept in confined runs they require green 

 food daily, such as cabbage, lettuce, green oats and corn. 

 .Such weeds as cow parsley, etc., are good. 



THE BIRDS OF BROOKLINE, MASS. 



The town of llmokline, .Ma.--s., a suburlj ni lloston, 

 has given the whole country a lesson in the value of 

 birds. Its streets were lined with beautiful shade trees, 

 but the moths and beetles were destroying them. .Spray- 

 ing the trees did no good. .'Xnd then a man who knew 

 what he was talking about, said : 



"Let's bring the bird^ back : they'll attend to the worms 

 and bugs." 



He w'as allowed to have his way. The first thing he 

 did was to have ordinances passed imposing severe pen- 

 alties upon anyone who shot at or frightened a bird, and 

 appointing a bird warden to enforce those laws. He 

 put bird boxes in the trees, fed the birds regularly in 

 winter and enticed them in other ways and the birds 

 came, whole colonies and flocks of them. .\nd the tree 

 worms and beetles went. 



A report just issued says: "Last }ear the town's 

 sixty-five miles of streets showed no webs of the tent 

 caterpillar and no signs of leopard moths, gypsy moths 

 or beetles, though these insects were an abominable 

 nuisance in nearh' all sections outside." — Kansas C!lv Star. 



