kedreeva:

Their food is expensive and they throw it everywhere. On top of that, they need specific, extra vitamins in order to grow up right and to continue to function well, and those are expensive. I put a little over $3 (in vitamin costs) per gallon into the water I give to them, in order to ensure they get the appropriate vitamins, and it has to be made fresh daily.

They generate a lot of poop and it stinks and they cannot be litter trained. The only reason my Artemis and Stan have the option to come inside is because my mother is a quilter and she learned how to custom-sew diapers for them. Chicken diapers will not cut it. They are not made to fit the body shape of a peafowl, meaning they will be uncomfortable and you run the risk of having the bird catch a foot in it and strangle themselves, break a leg/wing struggling, or best-case they become immobilized until you can fix it.

They come from a huge, open jungle environment, so they are built with extremely powerful legs and wings!! They are literally so powerful that they can break their own legs or wings struggling if you hold them against their will. On that note, the adults weigh 10-12lbs, which is a very large bird, and they have very sharp claws. My arms, legs, and belly are covered in scars from birds perching or landing on me, or from fighting to hold them still for medication or exams or blood draws for NPIP testing. Their size and power also means that small spaces are bad for them; outside, a single male should not be kept in any pen less than 10×30′ and needs at least 8′ tall ceilings. and that’s a small cage for a peacock. That’s the bare minimum.

It is difficult to find a knowledgeable avian vet that knows anything at all about peafowl, and when you do, their vet care is expensive and some of their medical expenses, like de-worming routines, are not optional. It’s April 7th and I’ve already spent a couple thousand dollars on vet bills for routine visits and one emergency. I have to drive out of state to get to my vet every time because there isn’t another option. Which is fine, I’m able and willing to do all of those things, but most people aren’t or can’t.

And once you have them, you can’t go places unless you have someone available to watch them that actually knows anything about birds. When I had Gizmo and Beep and Stan and Artemis indoors 100%, I couldn’t go anywhere. I had to zip home from work ASAP to change diapers. There was no one that could change diapers (bless my parents for trying, but the couple times I had to leave Beep here, I came home to her diaper being all wonky and uncomfortably applied). Even if you don’t go places, even if you’re just going to work for the day, being alone stresses them OUT. I’m thrilled Artemis is finally able to go out to the barn with the other birds

And despite how cute they are, and the cute photos I upload here, you must understand that I have been raising and working with them for the better part of a decade now, I have a background in psychology (especially behavioral psych), I work as an animal care technician as my day job, and have hard earned my behavioral knowledge of peafowl. I’ve had my fair share of bad things happen, and seen the range of bird personalities. Some of you remember Beep; as much as I loved that little asshole, she was a monster behind the scenes. She was destructive and aggressive; she sent me to the eye doctor after nailing me in the eye one night. She chased people and animals alike. Artemis is a lot kinder, but there was no guarantee on that. If there had been nothing medically wrong with her, I wouldn’t have brought her inside in the first place.

I’m just getting folks in my inbox and on chat, after reading a post or seeing pictures, inquiring about keeping peafowl (and particularly keeping them indoors) and I do not want anyone to get the wrong impression. I showcase the good times here on tumblr, but basically all of my spare time and money gets dumped into these birds (cleaning, feeding, watering, interacting with), they are my life. They are my children. I do everything I do for them because I love them to hell and back, but it IS hard work to care for them.

I can’t condone anyone else giving anything less to these amazing animals than they need and deserve.