These Peachicks were finally let out last Tuesday, but what does that mean for them and future Peafowl babies?
I first found out about the Peachicks late last summer when the Zoo reopened from its first shutdown.
At first no one I talked to knew the specifics of how the Peachicks ended up at the Farm, only that they were brought there to be cared for in the renovated mini barn, in the area that the Turkey's used to live in. My most asked question was where is their Mama? I would eventually learn that these four babies hatched in one of the moats at Triple Grotto and were abandoned by their Mama when she couldn't get them out. They were then taken to the Farm to be raised in the mini barn.
In September I wrote about a situation that had unfolded in my presence. A Mama Peahen hatched babies in the old Patas Monkey Enclosure that had been vacant for two years. Their hatching coincided with the Zoo deciding to put the Bald Eagle in that exhibit. There was a conflicting detail, but the end result was accurate, as the Mama Peahen and her babies needed to leave that area.
I was outraged, but also frustrated as the Peafowl are not treated as part of the Zoo's Animal Collection, but as wild Birds. They are left to find their own food and fend for themselves, vulnerable to Predators. Up until a couple years ago when the Zoo had to remove them from public, because of the Newcastle Disease that was affecting Birds, they weren't even banded. Every breeding season, I think about this, as I watch the number of Chicks dwindle. I wonder Why aren't these Birds managed in a way that protects these babies? Why don't they have a place they can be contained in until the babies are a decent size? Why don't they have a place to go where they know they will be fed? Surely they should have a decent diet supplement to just foraging the grounds, and eating fries people toss to them.
I emailed all the Zoos that had free roaming Peafowl. I asked simply, How are your Peafowl managed? One reply read as if it was written to confirm everything I questioned about what was not being done to manage our SFZoo population.
I wrote about this and relayed it to some staff. There needs to be a better management protocol for the Peafowl, especially the Mamas and young Chicks.
Going off Peafowl for a notation, as writing about protecting the Peachicks, made me think of my feelings about the Cygnets (Swan babies), that I wrote about earlier in my previous post. I felt like my positions on these Birds presented at two different ends, but that's only because the Swans are essentially wild, since they live in an uncontrolled environment. That said, if you read my post, I noted that I made suggestions regarding breeding management, but one that I didn't note in the post as I just remembered while writing this, was that if they were going to continue to let the Swans breed, instead of kidnapping their babies, "they should relocate the whole Family (to the breeder's farm) while they raise their babies. Bottom line is that I think Families should stay together.
So, after seeing the Chicks at the Farm, I questioned if the evicted Family could also be brought there and protected. "No room." I questioned whether this or another place could be used in the future to house Mamas and Chicks, so the babies don't get killed. "Possibly." ... I guess with Spring ahead, we will see how that plays out.
So, time ticked on and the barn Chicks grew and grew and grew. At six months old, they looked near full grown size as we headed into the second shutdown. When I returned in February, I couldn't believe they were still in the barn. They were huge! These Birds are adult size. I think there are three males and one female.
Last Monday I took three video clips. The first one for some reason didn't save. Maybe because my commentary was really cranky. While this second clip shows the close confines they were living in, it doesn't show what the first one did, which was the Birds trying to fly and bumping into not only eachother, but the fencing. It was awful to see, as one repeatedly flew into the fencing and fell either on one of the others or on the ground, often hitting the perch in the process.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ0DKa1Dq38
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2xyTT1HBlg
These Birds were kept in this mini barn for nine months. I write in past tense, as coincidentally, the day after I took that video, they were released. In my opinion, it would seem that they could have been released earlier, before they grew to this size. The area they were being kept in, did not allow for them to be outside (except for a small fenced in patio), or for room to spread their wings. The barn looks to be about 5x9 and the patio the same size.
Last fall I asked what the plan for them was, as I was concerned they wouldn't know how to fly up to trees to roost or look for food on their own. I was told roosting should be instinct, and that they were going to train them to hopefully stay in the Children's Zoo and come for feeding. At nine months, again I wonder why it took so long for them to get out of what became a cramped living situation. If the other part of that area was aviary netted, there wouldn't really be an issue, but it's not, and these Birds needed more space some time ago. I also wonder what happens to them now? The barn looked closed up, so were they just set free and locked out of the only place they knew? I didn't see them in the area, so hopefully they are doing ok on their own. I hope they stay around the CZ and are recalling successfully for food.
So this all said, I wonder as I noted above, What will happen this breeding season? Has the Zoo now formed a Peafowl management protocol? Can Mamas and their Chicks be rounded up and brought to the barn for protection? Or like the Patas enclosure Mama, who ended up with only one Chick, will babies continue to be lost to predators? Because that is not a good breeding management plan for Animals in the Zoo Collection.
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