Tui the peahen very kindly clambered up on top of one of the Car Carcasses so I could get a better shot of her for you. (Crouching down is still out of the question for me). I was asked the other day whether the pea fowl are noisy. Not really. In fact from late summer and through the winter we seldom hear anything at all. Except the odd honk of warning if a dog gets too close to a peahen. Or the call they make when they fly down from the barn which sounds more like a goose actually.
When Kupa’s tail is full and he begins to try and attract the girls we expect more noise from them. In fact in early summer it sounds like they are all shrieking from the bottom of very well lined wells. Or drums. Or being very rude and bad tempered with each other. With brightly coloured megaphones. Resonant. Huge. And maybe when they are more mature they will make more noise for longer. But so far the winters have been very quiet. The noise is only seasonal. The loudest birds on the property are actually the guinea fowl. None of it bothers me though. It is so quiet out here.
Boo went for a bit of elevation yesterday too. He has been getting very naughty since I have been a wee bit under the weather. He needs to get back into his 5 minutes 5 times a day training.
Sheila is about finished her housekeeping in the corridor paddock. It has been so damp and warm lately. Perfect weather for turning over the sodding sod. She has been looking longingly through the gate wondering if she could maybe house-keep another paddock. Um, No, Sheila. One a year is enough.
Big Dog walked all the way to the barn and then could not remember what he had come all the way out there for. I know that feeling.
Today the sun is due to come out. Which will be nice. Though it will be cold but it is time. I am still marooned on the couch for a few more days. Directing the troops. Literally.
Have a lovely day.
Your friend,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
69 responses to “Are peacocks noisy?”
Sheila can come and clear my paddock 😉
she wants to fly first class, maybe a piggie bank for christmas
I have an old record by the Pink Fairies and on the cover there are 3 winged pink pigs flying, wearing sunglasses (of course):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_of_Oblivion
I will put her on a diet.. maybe print out the cover and pin it to her wall as inspiration.. c
She won’t like the diet – it might make her sulk…
sulky little pig.. c
With so many peafowl here, I warn you that, once grown up (15 now), the noise will become deafening – hahaha!
is it the same in winter? mine are so silent now and in their third year old.. c
In Spring you will need earmuffs!
Last spring was noisy, but not for long.. I will borrow your ear muffs.. you have 15?..rowdy!.. c
as long as you are still in charge, everything will go well…Sheila is so cute!
I need to get back out there and get back in charge that is the problem..
Big Dog still looking good in his snazzy jacket! I think we all do the thing of going into a room and standing there wondering why we came. What gets me though, is that the minute you get to the furthest point from that room, is the minute when you remember what you went for!
christine
Sometimes i have to go all the way back to where i first thought the thought! I need to be able to bookmark my brain!.. c
Same for me Celi. Healing vibes being sent… X
Our neighbour at our first house here had peafowl, and yes, they were raucous. But far worse were the guineafowl, because their noise was constant.
I hope your pain is lessening, but don’t use that as a reason to do too much again. Bones take a long time to knit together again, specially as you are cussed about doctors and don’t have the magic stuff Jock injects into my tummy each morning which helps with bone restoration.
Love from bossyboots ViV x
How much do you have to pay for the hospitals and drugs and things in France, Is it like the UK? c
Jock is made of much sterner stuff than John, thankfully.
For most things I am on 100% reimbursement – anything to do with my heart, blood tests etc, hospitalisation is free except for a very small daily rate for meals and laundry. Ccosts for other ailments are re-imbursed at 70%. Doctors here do not get rich, and drug prices are controlled by law. Dental and eyecare are less well reimbursed, but every little helps! Our healthcare is paid for by our UK National Health Service contributions during our working lives, not excessive, and employers also contribute. On retirement, monthly contributions are no longer required.
ah, that is good, it would be terrible to be recovering AND worrying about the bills. Take care darling girl.. c
My contribution to the magic bone mending stuff is 119 out of the monthly cost of 500 euros, as the broken back is not part of my long term 100% heart condition. That is a bit of an ouch!
hmm, but it sounds like it is working, which is grand.. hopefully you will soon be over the ouch es..
18 months at a conservative estimate.
sigh, little steps Viv.. that must seem interminable sometimes but each little advance must feel like a victory..
Hang in there, Celi.
By my fingernails now, but I am trying very hard to get off the bone so it can heal, yet too much is sliding, not the house as much as the dogs and the cows and the sheep need moving, all stuff no-one else sees or thinks is important.. c
Your ‘voice’ is sounding more like you, as if you’re feeling a bit better and your optimism is returning. It’s lovely to see from the photos that you’re managing to hobble round the Farmy once more. I wish it could be warmer for you; injuries always feel far worse in cold weather.
well they do say ICE then HEAT! I am getting about more, esp in the mornings, after laying down all night I awoke pain-free (until I moved) this morning so that is a good thing. In the afternoons I take the pain relief. I am being a turtle.. c
I never considered having a peacock on the homestead. What are the advantages?
Because I’m very interested in having guinea fowl one day, I did a blog post about them (what little I know about them). Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with them.
Hope you’re healing well.
No advantage to peacocks really, except they are beautiful and in the old days of this farm there were peacocks in the barn, before they gutted it to fit a combine harvester in there that is. I am hoping they will breed so I can sell the chicks. The guinea fowl are meant to keep bugs and ticks down. But I am forever picking ticks off the dogs and myself so I don’t know about that. They are also meant to be good guard dogs but mine don’t do that either. But they do screech a warning when they see a hawk, they join the barn flock in keeping the barn clean, and you don’t have to keep them in a cage, after you have trained them to roost high up in the barn.. They are not as destructive as the peacocks. But I love to have both wandering about the farm. They add life, esp in the winter. Hope that helps.. c
How big is your guinea fowl flock?
How big is your property?
I wonder if there is some rule of thumb regarding the number of birds one would need per acre? Maybe I should do some research on that.
Of course now you have me interested in peacocks 🙂
We have had four old timers (Guinea Fowl) here for about four years now. There were ten but over the years the flock has shrunk.. They never bred. But nhave never been locked in either. The property I live on and off is about 7 acres, but we are surrounded in hundreds of acres of cropping land and they spend a lot of time in the fields. c
Do you really mean to tell us that you don’t eat the guinea fowl? They are much more tasty than chicken meat, and more expensive here as a result!
Um, no. in this case it really would be a case of boil with a boot then throw away the bird and eat the boot (something my grandmother, who was not known for her sense of humour, used to say!) c
Wait until your old birds produce the babies.
It would seem that you ain’t heard nothing yet … the boom boxes and tweeters will be installed in due course.
Why is Boo neglecting his kittun?
Not the kitten, he is neglecting to do as he is told! and is being very dominant with Ton, forgetting who is boss.. c
Sheila is such a sexy, robust diva! I love her photos! And, someday I will have some guineas and maybe a peacock. I understand your impatience in healing. I had a similar bout with a dead tree limb falling on me two years ago, and it took 3 weeks to get back into the swing of daily life. Take time and be good to yourself. I found myself in bed a lot, reading and watching movies. I actually came to enjoy the reading part. I think it was a month before FD didn’t have to help me put my socks and shoes on!!
I stand on one foot and raise the other high to put on a sock, because of the bending down. John was patient for about one day with me. But I have devised new ways of doing things. I feed the cats on a top step so i do not have to bend down to put their bowl on the ground. Flick the dishwasher door up with my foot. Wearing gumboots a size too big so i can step in and out without reaching down. And Ton is excellent at picking things up off the floor for me as long as we have locked Bad Boo Boo outside first. But slowly I am improving, I know I have to take it slow, but you know how it is.. c
Peacocks can become damn noisy… but then any bird noise is acceptable to me.,….
I feel the same, it is not as if i have neighbours who can be bothered by them.. and I like the sounds they are so alive and strident.. c
Having a time trying to determine the differences between a guinea fowl and pea fowl. Wait! Tui is a pea hen and Kupa a peacock. I knew that! Guinea fowl are much smaller, almost the size of chickens, right?
It’s the word fowl that’s fouling me up!
yes that’s right, i will take a photo for you today, they are about the size of chickens and mine are black and white..very ugly birds.. c
We have four inches of snow with more on the way…the storm is to stay in here until Sunday night sometime. I wonder if you will get it…lets hope not-makes for slogging of chores although very beautiful.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Four inches is a lot!..anything slippery or sloggy at the moment would not be welcome here, though we had a wee snow shower a few minutes ago, nothing to speak of really though,..c
Maybe while you are recuperating you could start a book! I just got finished reading Chickens in the Road by Suzanne McMinn. I really enjoyed it and with your talent for description and word-crafting, I’m sure your book would be awesome! I absolutely adore your posts and it would be great to read your words for an hour or two at a time. Just a thought–not sure how you would have time to squeeze it in though with everything you do in a day, but you did that other writing challenge so maybe….. poke, poke, prod, prod.
as soon as i can sit, I will get back to writing. i am pecking with one finger whilst lying on my side at the moment. A good idea though, one i am certainly working on.. c
Yay! 🙂
TTT timed his visit home just in time to help out…plus he’s probably stronger now for big chores! 🙂 have they assigned him anywhere yet? Hopefully he will be home till you are much more mobile!
Keep taking it easy on your couch Cinders! It will all be better in the end! Literally! 🙂
pun intended… laugh.. c