I had to decline the offer of a small flock of domestic, bronze turkeys and a small flock of mature peafowl. The owner was looking to get rid of them to a good home and they were offered for free.
Peafowl make WAY too much noise for my neighborhood.
I need to be able to retire and buy a few dozen acres of sub-rural land. Then I could plant a few acres of trees for coppice, a few more for timber, plant some large gardens/small fields, and some wildlife plots. Then I could have peafowl and exotic pheasants for fly-tying. Thus equipped I could live the life of Jack and Warren and tie flies everyday and fish 3 or 4 days a week. While I’m at it, I should have some ponds and a couple of horses. If I had horses, I’d need a couple of burros to run off the coyotes. My, how dreams do grow.
I didn’t realize that donkeys (burros) were good guard animals until recently when some scumbucket shot one of a family’s animals a little further out in the country from where I live.
Llamas are death on coyotes too, as well as bobcats, and have heard of them running off mountain lions. As far as the flocks, and not being able to take them from the guy? That is another use for hatchets.
There was the caveat of “good home” for the birds. They would have been great for fly tying material. You can easily use the shed feathers without having to kill the birds, especially the peacock tail feathers for herl. Oh well, maybe someday I’ll have the space.
The peacocks and bronze turkeys produce excellent feathers for fly tying.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear enough. The idea of having a dozen peacocks in my backyard means I would never have to buy peacock herl, eyes, or swords again. BTW, peafowl are also great for eating ticks. Around here, some bird hunters keep a few peafowl near their dogs to eliminate ticks.
