AIBU to want a peacock?

[Velvetdarkness]

First post but I'm a long time lurker and know the etiquette is to explain if your first post is in Aibu, especially in the holidays.



I love peacocks (peafowl really I suppose). You only see them at stately homes or estates but I'd really like one.

I've been reading up on it and apparently they roam a bit hence not usually being in built up areas, but they come back home like cats do.

I think having a peacock would be amazing, and there are ways you can stop them screeching (not cruel ways). You can also buy a cock for £55, or £115 delivered. (Hens are more expensive.)

OH thinks I'm mostly joking and that next door's cats would kill it.

AIBU to be seriously considering this? I live in a town but it's a quiet road.

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

Oh they also get attacked a lot by birds of prey. You've never seen mess like it.

[Velvetdarkness]

:( it sounds like they're not really going to be suitable. OH would be furious if his car were damaged. And there are birds of prey round here.
Such a shame. I don't feel the same about other birds. Just peacocks.

[AlfrescoBalconyWanker]

specialsubject possibly but I meant labs as well as offices. It's all flats now though

What about running ducks?

[specialsubject]

Sounds quite possible - but lets preserve our aliases 😀

Pet peacock is, im afraid, not a great idea unless you do live in a stately home.

And there is at least one person called chris peacock because i worked with one such...he had a very thick skin . parents - think !!

[BarbaraofSeville]

Wouldn't one peacock all by himself be lonely? Most places I've seen (country houses etc) tend to have a few.

I'm sure you've been put off by now OP. They aren't really pets. What would happen if he got sick - can you imagine taking him to the vet?

Just find the nearest country park, bird sanctuary, stately home type place that has them, get a season ticket and make a point about going regularly?

[P1nkP0ppy]

Yes, get a pooping, belligerent, racket-making peacock by all means but don't expect your neighbours to tolerate it for long and I hope you can afford to recompense people for the damage they can do.
You'll also be unable to grow anything in your garden, or your neighbours unless you can confine it with a very high fence (in Corsham they easily fly up on the top of the 16' walls).
Glad I don't live anywhere near you!

[madgingermunchkin]

I know one local keep them alive no matter how ill they are family run no kill "animal charity" who had a few.

The cock was obsessed with the chickens and could quite often be found chasing one, pinning it down and raping it.

[yearofthehorse]

My parents used to have some. They were very beautiful and noisy but didn't last long with the foxes.

[SpecialAgentFreyPie]

Madging I feel like I'm betraying my feminist values because I'm laughing hysterically DH keeps saying WTF but I can't stop laughing!!

[madgingermunchkin]

Don't worry, I saw it happen more than once and I would crack up every time. Even the cockerels got it, so he wasn't just after the hens!

[frogmore]

Get a white one (pure). They are rare and hardly make noise.
Not cheap though

[VanillaSugar]

Just asked DH of we can get some peacocks and he said "Yes, that's a good idea."

We don't have a garden so they can dig up the neighbour's lawn.

Win win!!

[VanillaSugar]

Shit. Just read the post about birds of prey. We have an abundance of red kites and ospreys around us 😨

[HatePaperDoll]

A childhood friend of mine had a peacock that adopted them. It's preferred perch was on top of her mother's BMW. It absolutely destroyed the paintwork.

[HatePaperDoll]

Hadn't RTFT when I posted but I see now that car vandalism is pretty common. They are just attractive thugs, really.

[seagulllady]

I am unpopular enough with the neighbours because of my birdy pet (who has lived pretty much full-time in my garden since he fell in there as a chick, even though he'd be perfectly capable of flying off and being independent if he wanted to).

The worst things he ever does are nocturnal loud calling, occasional dive-bombing, some mild bin-disturbing, and a wee bit of shitting on cars. Nothing, really, compared to the tales of peacock-wrought carnage described by PPs.

(PS - the clue's in my name.)

[justilou]

They are loud, aggressive, pushy and they shit everywhere. Piles of shit like slimy sandcastles.

[VanillaSugar]

Will someone please solve an argument for me? Duck poo. I say it looks like geese poo, i.e. green and slimy. Dh says it looks like a small dog poo. Who is correct?

[madgingermunchkin]

It's like geese. Trust me I've slipped in more than enough of both!

[sunshinehitme]

No peacocks in York anymore, thankfully. Used to roam the museum gardens when I was little and I was absolutely terrified of them, no idea what happened to them all. Plenty of geese holding up traffic and shitting everywhere though.

[AlmaMartyr]

My DSis lived near some peacocks, they were terrible. Would roam into her house. They're bigger than cats and much messier - they particularly liked pooing on her bed. They were very noisy as well and quite aggressive. She absolutely hated them and they were a complete menace. Don't do it!

[villainousbroodmare]

Could you make a peacock tail wig for a more amenable bird?

[MiddleClassProblem]

Lol like a pimped out pigeon?

[Piratepete1]

My parents own a large Manor House and have a peacock called Percy who appeared over 10 years ago now so he must be ancient by now. He has a succession of girlfriends from the estate across the road and has fathered many babies. He does make an absolute racket most mornings, like a 'waaaaa, waaaaa, waaaaaa' which goes on for half an hour or more all year. No way could you keep him in a normal street without falling out with the neighbours. They seem to survive dogs, foxes etc quite well by flying into tall tree, another thing that probably wouldn't be so abundant at a regular house. I can understand why you want one though, he is beautiful and very friendly. We had a lovely feather display in the house the one year my mum accidentally parked on his tail 😳😳

[villainousbroodmare]

Exactly.