Farm Friend Friday #6-Thank You Tess! Plus: Peafowl/Muscovy Q&A

Hi farm friends. I hope you’ve had a wonderful week. This is one of my busiest times of year with my job, and I have a lot of visiting and catching up to do over the next few days. I look forward to seeing what you’ve all been up to. We have a big thank you to share and answers to your peafowl and muscovy questions. So, here we go...

I met a great blog friend the last couple of months at Idlyhours blog. Julie Marie lives in the countryside and loves her french roots, cottage gardens and her wonderful home. But even more than that--she loves her Tessy. Tessy is a beautiful, stray English Pointer that was blessed enough to find Julie Marie who is now her forever mommy. 

Tess has been so happy with her new home that she celebrated last month with her very own giveaway. My chihuahua, Gracie Allen, heard about it and asked me if she could enter this great contest for the furry, four legged friends in blog land. Wouldn’t you know that Gracie won one of Tess’s wonderful prizes and has been anxious to blog about it since the package arrived. The package included a beautiful red doggie blanket with little black paws, and a bag of her favorite treats, too. It was wrapped so beautifully, and came with a special doggie card we loved. 

Gracie took right to her new favorite blankie and even lets her beloved, George Burns, one of our papillons, enjoy it too. Tessy, Gracie thanks you so very much and George does too.  

Now, onto peafowl/muscovy Q&A. We had a great response to our muscovy and peafowl posts with a lot of good questions. Please note, we are not experts in muscovy or peafowl but will share our experiences with you.

Dog’s mom asked

Q: How do I keep the ducks from going to the river or leaving home? 

A: Well, that is a good question. You can clip one of their wings so they can’t fly, but they will still     wander toward any water source. We have a pond across the street and our muscovy sometimes go over there. However, we decided their really isn’t anything we can do except hope for the best.  The good news is that some, not all, do venture out farther than we would like, but they come home every evening on their own. They know where their bread is buttered. 

Matty asked

Q: Where in the world did you find your peacock?

A: I found him at an Ohio chicken swap. It’s a unique event which happens three-times a year in Lucasville. I’m sure other areas of the country host chickens swaps, but this event had much more than chickens including a wonderful peafowl breeder who has several beautiful varieties. He is from Indiana and knowledgable and caring about his birds. He raises quality peafowl. I went to the swap last April knowing I would come home with a pair of peafowl. 

Dreaming asked

Q: How long do they live? Do they lay clutches of eggs and will you keep them if they do?

A: Muscovy can live to be 15 years or older. Some have lived well over 20 years. They do lay clutches of eggs and we have had two clutches in the past with one on the way. We have kept them all and will be selling the pending hatch.

Mary Ann asked

Q: Can you keep peafowl with chickens? Some people don’t think you can.

A:  Mary Ann, I asked the breeder this question when I bought my pair and he said you could as long as your peafowl have their own area to roost. I wouldn’t put peafowl in a tight space or coop with chickens because they will dominate them and it’s not good for their health, but they can definitely free range together, eat near each other and live on a farm together. At least they do here at Verde Farm.

Bee Lady asked

Q: Do you clip your birds wings? Do you have to?

A: We clipped the peafowl wings when we first got them to ensure they didn’t fly up in the trees or fly off when we first got them home. We haven’t clipped them since because they’ve learned where to roost and have never strayed off the property at all. 

Phyllis asked

Q: How is their temperament?

A: We find our peafowl to be domineering but not over the top. They definitely use their size and tails to show other animals they are in charge. They know what they want and they will likely get it but we’ve never had any fighting or ugliness. The other animals just acquiesce to them.

Farmer’s Wyfe asked

Q: Do you have trouble with owls? Do you collect the feathers and put in vases?

A: We have been fortunate and haven’t had any problems with owls, yet. I do collect all the pretty feathers I find and used many in my Christmas decorations this past year. They are wonderful!

Thank you all for your questions and interest in our little farm and blog.

Now, let the farm fun begin with our 6th edition of Farm Friend Friday. Just click below to enter your post. Please, be sure to link back to Verde Farm so others can find Farm Friend Friday and all the great posts shared.