By Ken Koock
September 29, 2010


    The Peafowl flock at Green Pastures has been there since
1968.  Before the pea fowls, there were other birds.  My grandparents
lived at what now is Green Pastures since the 20’s when it was a family farm, with pigs, cows, chickens (mainly Red Island Reds), and there was a horse during that time.  In fact, I rode Ole Red to high school every now and then.  I attended St. Edward’s High School a few miles away.  St. Ed’s had a large amount of land, so I would stake out Red and head to class.  He liked the abundance of green grass.  I would retrieve him at noon recess and take him to water.

    There were also plots of corn, potatoes, green beans and tomatoes.  My grandmother loved figs and peaches which grew on the farm.  Some of the trees are still there.  The chickens provided fresh eggs and, on very delightful occasions, delicious Sunday dinners.  A small flock of guineas also roosted in the live oak trees.  The chickens roosted in the chicken house, which was protected by wire fencing to protect them from the foxes and other varmints.  Gathering eggs, milking cows and feeding the animals were ongoing daily chores. 

    But after my mother, Mary Faulk Koock, bought the homestead from her mom and began serving meals, farming diminished.  The old barn was torn down but the chicken house remained because we did continue to raise chickens for
a number of years.  That was in the 1950’s. 

    We also catered to a number of our patrons, one of whom was a grand lady named Mrs. Gladys Pearson who lived on a ranch near Georgetown.  She hosted lavish affairs for her friends at her ranch for which we provided the food.
After her husband Col. Pearson died, she sold the ranch to Westinghouse.  And today the plant is still there, west of IH-35 just south of Georgetown.

    Mrs. Pearson called one day and said she wanted to give the peacocks
to Green Pastures because she believed they would fare well on the 10 acres given the abundance of live oak trees for roosting.  I did some research and discovered that if the fowls were kept caged for thirty days with plenty of food and water, when released they would stay close by. But the Pearson peafowl were wild and before we moved them to Green Pastures, we had to capture them first.

    I drove to the Pearson Ranch with two kitchen helpers. The trick to catching them was to walk up very slowly behind them and slowly herd them toward a fence.  Upon seeing the fence, the peafowl would attempt to fly up and over.  When that happened the peacock would extend its feet out and that was the moment to grab the hind legs, wrap them in tape and put the birds into the van totally unharmed.  Nonetheless it took us most of an afternoon to catch six of the flock.  Two were too wild for us to catch.  But we had captured five hens and one cock so we considered it a mission accomplished.  Mrs. Pearson was pleased to know most of her cherished birds would be well cared for.

    We caged them for a month or so, feed them well and sure enough, they have been around every since, some fifty years.  We try to keep the flock at around twenty or so.  The flock produces forty -some chicks every year, so we give the surplus to a game rancher who takes very good care of them.  But they do stray around the neighborhood from time to time.  Neighbors call and let us know when we have to come and pick up a wonderer.  We have since added a few white, pied and black shouldered birds which restaurant guests really seem to like.  Every night about dark, they hop, fly and scramble up the trunks, sometimes to the very tops of the trees.  It is really fun to watch the little ones who by the end of their first day (they are born shortly after dawn) scramble up with their moms to sleep in the security and warmth of mom’s wings.

There is a great misconception concerning the naming of the peafowl species. Most people call both male and female peacocks, but the correct term for them is peafowl. Only the male is actually a peacock, the female is a peahen, and the young are peachicks Peafowl belong to the same family of birds as pheasants and chickens, which is phasianidae. There are three types of peafowl, the Indian Peacock, the Green Peacock, and the Congo Peacock.

The peacock and the peahen vary greatly. When the species is thought of, the male always comes to mind. The males have long feathers which they spread, or fan out to attract the females.  These feathers are beautifully colored. The color differs between different breeds and individuals, however the feathers are usually iridescent. Most of these feathers have circles of color near the top, and are often called "eye" feathers. In the center is usually a deep blue color, known as peacock blue. The body is also colored, depending on the species. Peahens are less brightly colored, and lack the tail coverts, although some Green hens develop tail spurs. They do, however, occasionally spread their real tail feathers. Both males and females have crests or "crowns" on their heads, although the males' are brighter.

A male is fully mature at three years old. However, all peafowl may begin to mate at two years. Usually at least one mature bird is needed to produce fertile eggs. Breeding takes place during spring or early summer. Throughout this time the peacock spreads and vibrates his "tail" and makes a loud mating call.

The peahen usually lays between 6 to 12 eggs, although this varies between birds. The eggs hatch after 28 days. Peachicks are born fully feathered and can fly within a week or two. Since peacocks roost in trees if possible, they must learn this to survive and stay with their mother. They must be taught to eat, which the peahen teaches them through a variety of sounds.

Indian Peafowl have become common in most parts of the world because of domestication. They are found in the wild in India, where it is the national bird, and the surrounding areas. The Congo peacock is found in Africa. Wild and free roaming peafowl have an omnivorous diet of worms, insects, small snakes, mice, seeds, berries, snails, frogs, grain, juicy grasses and bulbs. They need significant amounts of protein to be healthy and reproduce well.