What Do Peacocks Eats & Drinks: List of Food They Like/Dislike

If you are farming peacock in your backyard you probably found that they’re not picky and consume most types of foods. 

In a short note, Peacocks are omnivores, meaning they eat vegetables and meats. In the wild, they mostly consume forage of seeds, grass, flowers, insects, and small Reptiles. 

Hence, the captive peafowls generally eat different vegetables scraps, fruits, seeds, insects, fresh meats. 

 That means you can feed your Peacock with different types of foods. But, you are here because you want to know about what food and drinks they like to eat? And what types of food are recommended to ensure greater health? 

Here is a list of foods that a peacock eats and a complete guide to ensure a healthy diet. Later, we will provide a diet chart of their daily feed. 

What Do Peacocks Eat? 

Do you know cocks are happy to take advantage of A natural easy meal?

What Do Peacocks Eat?
What Do Peacocks Eat?

Habitually, Peacocks are omnivores because they eat any kind of food like meat, vegetation, etc. However, Peacocks are happy with an easy meal. In the wild, they move here and there to search for food. The wild peacocks like to consume foods like – insects, different fruits, seeds, berries, brownish, etc.

When you are rearing them inside a case, they must need to provide healthier foods. Here is a List favorite foods of peacocks-

  • Ants and Armpits
  • Cat feeds & pet feed with bone and low fat, 
  • Cheese and Nuts, 
  • Scrambled eggs, 
  • Cooked rice, 
  • Grains mix with vegetable or incests,  
  • and kitchen scraps, etc.

Now, If you are raising them in your backyard, ensuring a balanced diet is key to good health.  During the time of captivity to gain better health,  peafowl is fed supplemented feeds.  We will discuss it later in this article. 

Insects

Insects are one of their favorite foods. They are not fussy and will easily consume ants, flying insects, grubs, or almost any other bugs. There are different types of insects or other foods that are included in the peacock’s diet, somethings are not insects but are often listed in the same category. Generally, peacocks will scratch the soil in search of worms and other little creatures and that is uncovered.

  • Ants, 
  • Centipedes,
  • Crickets,
  • Locust,
  • Millipedes,
  • Mice
  • Scorpions and 
  • Termites, etc

Vegetables & Fruits

In the wild or captivity, they consume green lots of green vegetables & fruit and seeds. They prefer to consume seeds, herbs, and some flowers.

The beans, peas are also included as food items. Peacocks may spill tomatoes, bell peppers or fruits aside to get to the seeds bounded.in peacock’s diet, cantaloupe and watermelon have large seeds that contain necessary nutrients. Usually, they are doing so in their search for seeds. 

  • Green grass, 
  • Grass seeds
  • Papaya,
  • Watermelon, 
  • Cabbage,
  • Flower petals,
  • Pineapple core,
  • Leafy greens
  • Scrambled eggs, 
  • Bananas, 
  • Celery,
  • Cooked rice,
  • Carrots tops,
  • Kitchen scraps etc.

Legumes

The list of legumes is huge. However, these birds are fond of most of them. Likewise, Beans, Peanuts, and Peas are the common foods for capacitive peafowls.

Berries

Berries are one of the favorite fruit of peacocks. But they do not only eat fresh berries, although they also eat the insects that assemble around little ripe fruits. Besides blackberries, raspberries and grapes are consumed whole, along with such wild variants as huckleberries, gall-berries, and muscadines

Amphibians and Reptiles

They like to eat small Amphibians like frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts. Reptiles like snakes, lizards, and other small animals. Besides, snails and slugs are one of the most favorite foods of peacocks. They have affected many people to believe that sometimes peacocks pick flowers. In the traditional reptile sects, historically connected with that of modern amphibians is called herpetology.

Grain

Grains are referred to as the crops that came from cereal grains. Besides, the cereal grains are the food produced from the grass seeds like rice, burly, wheat, sorghum, corn, etc. Like most other birds these kinds of crops are a common food source of peacocks.  They love to eat corn, wheat, and other grains. Though you can also include commercial granary feeds for poultry or cat in their diet.

Pet Food

During the time of captivity, peacock prefers a supplemental diet of pet food or livestock feed. In the state of livestock feed, they are only eating stored grains, grapes, and bread. while pet food such as dry cat food or dog food includes additional minerals and nutrients that may not be readily available through ordinary scavenging.

However, don’t provide pet food that is too salty and fatty.

Commercial Bird or Poultry Feed 

In captivity, you can be fed them commercial bird or poultry feeds. Most of these feeds are grain. They like to eat cracked grain such as oats and corn etc. However, they also need to consume insects and vegetables.

Bread: 

They seem to love cornbread. However, we will suggest to force it.  Besides, don’t provide wasted bread.

What Do Peacock Drinks? 

Freshwater: 

Like other animals or birds, it requires freshwater. In fact, you have to change the water daily and provide edible water. Use 3 or 4-gallon water containers. In the winter season, you need to provide warm water. 

Fruit Juices and Sauces:

You can feed them with different fruit juice and sauces. 

  • Apple Juice & Sauces
  • Barry Juice & Sauces 

What not to Feed your Peacocks? 

Here is a list of food that peafowl may consume but it actually does harm than good. Even it causes death. 

  • Too fatty foods – Chocolate and Avocado, 
  • Junk food- pizza, burgers, hot dogs, etc.  
  • Oily or fatty foods,
  • They dislike drinks like- tea coffee or alcohol,
  • Moreover, don’t provide rotten feeds and daily food wastages. 

Feeding Peafowl for Gaining Health and Weight

Feeding Peafowl
Feeding Peafowls

Mixed foods like 1) grain mixed with meats, 2) vegetables mixed with insets, or grain can ensure safer nutrition. The Wild peafowl, have an omnivorous diet. At that time, they eat seeds, green grass, pests, and little lizards. 

In captivity, Peacocks need at least 20% protein to be healthy and represent health. We have been seen some peafowl boosters recommend as high as 32% protein then some go with lower. In the middle ground above twenty percent appears to be safely agreed. However, dry cat food is a good source of it.

but it has less protein and some dog foods contain no animal protein. We can see, birds seizing animal protein to appear to breed better.

Feeding in Summer

In the summertime, these free-ranging birds have large pens with lots of vegetables. It will ensure most of their necessary protein from insects and other gnats that they eat.

On the other hand, when the weather is hot, they prefer to dring normal temperature water. 

Feeding in WInter

In the wintertime, they will need extra proteins. At this time you can choose to feed turkey starter and breeder pellets. However, in winter they will need shelter and edible water.

If you are rearing them, you need to focus on proteins. To ensure protein, fresh meats are recommended. However, when the situation is bad, you may include commercial protein supplements in their diet.

What do Baby Peacocks Eat?

What do Baby Peacocks Eat?
What do Baby Peacocks Eat?

Regardless of the age, they need to consume foods. As like other birds, the baby chick follow their mother. So, in such a case, you need to ensure a shallow or little depth bowl. Besides, make sure the waterer is easily accessible for them.

From the first week of their birth,  start feeding them insects, worms. They need special care for healthy growth. However, you have to ensure a good amount of protein in their diet. Therefore, it will be beneficial to provide cat foods or high-protein game bird starter.  However, I will suggest you to avoid pet foods as it is too fatty or salty.

Now, when they’re 3 months older, you don’t need to provide different foods for them. Instead, that can be supplied with adult bird foods.

The Best Feeds For Peacocks

There are different types of bird pellets and grains are some of the options. You can check around locally to see what is available. Moreover, here are some common commercial feeds that they seem to enjoy…

Here is a list of recommended peafowl treats:

  1. PICKY NEB 100% Non-GMO Dried Mealworms
  2. ZINFOD, Natural non-GMO Dried Mealworms
  3. Alpine Ingredients B0049HB3F6 Raw Shelled Peanuts 50 Lb
  4. Morning Song 11341 Cardinal Wild Bird Food, 20-Pound
  5. Manna Pro Gamebird Snowbird Starter Feed for Baby Peacocks

FAQ About Peacocks Food and Drinks: 

It seems that there’re many misconceptions about them. Besides, as they are omnivores and has different food habit than most other domestic birds, learning about them is difficult for most of the people.

Do Peacocks Eat Snakes?

Yes! wild peacocks prefer to eat small snakes. However, it is not the favorite one. But the fact is they are destined to be an anime of each other. The peacocks will not tolerate snakes in their territory. Moreover, they will choose to fight immediately.

Do Peafowl are Attracted to Garden Flowers? 

Yes! they are attracted to white flowers. Besides, their favorite foods include seeds. That means if the flower or plant produces edible seeds, it will be at a high risk. Therefore always try to keep them away from sunflowers, or soybeans.

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Final words: 

Growing peafowls are a bit challenging if you are in the beginner stage. Mostly due to their feeding habit and process. 

Now, at this stage, I recommend feeding mostly incests, meat, and vegetables. And later you can add or subtract foods to enhance their diet list. 

Now, if you have any questions, let us know by commenting below.

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