Planning to bring peacocks to your farm or just curious to know the diet of these interesting birds? Peacocks can add an aesthetic advantage to a property or an artisan shop, so it’s no wonder that you might be working on the plan, but you must know about the dietary requirements of the peacocks before bringing them home. So, what do peacocks eat?
Despite being omnivorous birds, peacocks predominantly eat plant material, such as young shoots and leaves, seeds, and flowers. Other favorites of them include plant seeds and grains like oats and wheat and insects and worms.
In addition to insects, they occasionally catch rodents, reptiles and amphibians as snakes such as frogs, mice, and snails. They can be adventurous enough to kill a deadly cobra if they really want to feed themselves.
That was it about the peacocks in the wild, when raised in captivity, peacocks can be fed gamebird mixes used for other pheasants such as quail and partridge. Let’s dig into more details in the next section:
What Does The Peacock Eat?
Peacocks consume a diverse mix of insects, fruits, vegetables, leaves, reptiles and amphibians. Their diet is particularly apt for the kind of growth they require.
Here, let’s look at their food choices in detail:
Insects
Insects rank the first among peacock’s food choices. Peacocks rely on a variety of bugs and insects including grubs, ants, worms and maggots for their nourishment.
They even attack cobra and spiders if they are famished.
Peacocks have been often observed scratching the ground looking for insects and worms.
Pet Food
Pet food is just concentrated grains that are consumed by animals and birds that are raised in farms and barns.
Pet foods have additional minerals and nutrients that may not be easily obtained via limited foraging in the farm.
Peacocks should not be fed pet food exclusively; fresh or dried fruits, vegetables, and grains should also be included in their diet.
Berries and Other Fruits
Fruits and vegetables and berries are essential components of a wild or domesticated peacock’s diet.
Peacocks enjoy any appetising fruits that are readily accessible, and they also like to consume local plants like leaves and vegetables.
The majority of peacocks grow to like whatever fruit is in season and readily accessible.
Grain and Vegetables
Peacocks are largely granivorous and tend to prefer grains of various kinds to all other sorts of diet.
Actually, peacocks are drawn to grains, particularly rice. According to a survey, millet and maize were the two grains they enjoyed most.
When offered the choice, the millet was chosen by the peafowl 41% of the time, while the maize was consumed 47% of the time.
Only 12% of the time did domesticated peacocks choose poultry feed, another significant food source for farm peacocks, indicating that it was unquestionably their least preferred diet.
Peacocks also enjoy eating a variety of vegetables, including lettuce, spinach, cabbage, peas, and beans.
Amphibians and Reptiles
Peacocks love the protein-rich reptiles and amphibians and devour them with great interest.
Many people mistakenly think that peacocks eat flowers but the fact is that they are spotted near flowers because they are actually looking for snails and slugs which is one of the many protein-rich foods preferences they relish.
Peacocks often descend on the ground to attack frogs, snakes, lizards and salamanders with their pointed beaks which they later consume.
What Do Peacocks Eat In The Wild?
Peacocks in the wild mostly feed on plants, leaves, insects, berries and seeds as they are easily accessible among the flora and fauna of the wild.
However, they prefer to eat insects as they are rich in proteins that are crucial to their plumage formation and development.
Peacocks rummage among piles of leaves in search of food. They can eat practically everything that can fit in their beaks and be digested; peafowls are not discriminating eaters and will consume whatever they find available in the wild.
The vision and sensitivity of peacocks are exceptional. Now, if you are wondering how they find insects and worms to feed themselves, to discover little creatures to consume, they employ their better senses.
They may use the tops of tall trees as observation platforms from which to detect prey. They will dive in, attack, and consume their food once they have found a prey.
Peafowls utilise their razor-sharp claws to murder their prey when they are searching for snakes and lizards.
Additionally, their lightning-fast reflexes and quickness are particularly helpful when hunting.
What Is A Peacock’s Favourite Food?
Insects are one of the common preferred diets of all peacock species.
When it comes to insects, peacocks are not selective; they happily consume a diverse lot of ants, termites, beetles, grasshoppers, grubs, and even scorpions.
When given the opportunity to roam freely in captivity, they will continue to explore for bugs throughout the day.
They are frequently observed scratching in the ground in search of worms and termites.
What Do Peacocks Eat In The Winter?
Peacocks maintain a consistent diet throughout the year, as they do not migrate or venture far from their territories, ensuring their safety.
They thrive on a plentiful supply of nutritious, protein-rich foods, which contribute to their overall well-being.
Despite being hardier than commonly perceived, peafowl still require adequate warmth and nourishment in colder winter climates.
During this season, they rely on the abundance of grasses and grains to supplement their diet.
In addition to being a more sustainable dietary choice, these foods provide them with additional sustenance during the colder months.
Peacocks also benefit from an array of essential vitamins and minerals which are found in fruits and insects.
These nutritional sources help maintain the overall health of the species and provide them with an extra boost of energy.
Finally, peafowl can also benefit from a wide variety of leaves, seeds, and nuts throughout the year for further sustenance.
All in all, proper nutrition is paramount to ensuring that peafowl remain healthy and content with their surroundings.
Do Peacocks Eat Snakes?
Peacocks do eat snakes. In fact, wild peacocks also consume a variety or rodents and amphibians such as rats, and frogs if they can fit them in their mouth, these high-protein reptiles and amphibians give peacocks the nutrients they need.
If there are sufficient amounts available, they will account for a sizable component of their diet. Slugs and snails behave similarly. Even while they do consume flowers, peacocks primarily rip them apart in pursuit of snails.
Do Peacocks Eat Rats?
Peacocks won’t spare rats if they happen to be hungry.
In desert climates, rats constitute a major food source for peacocks where they can’t look for snails and other worms.
Peacocks are even known to use their pointed beaks to destroy ant hills and rat holes to feast on them.
Can Peacocks Eat Bread?
In general, peacocks shouldn’t be fed the majority of human foods such as breads and loaves.
The majority of commercial meals contain a number of unhealthy components for peacocks, including sugar, wheat, preservatives, colourants, and others.
Additionally, the majority of these feeds are lacking in total nutrients, which might disrupt your domesticated Peacock delicate digestive system.
What Do Baby Peacocks Eat?
A wild peachick generally consumes insects, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals in its diet. Furthermore, berries, nuts, and seeds are also favourite edible choices. They benefit from this diet by growing swiftly and developing their stunning plumage.
However, if you are raising peachicks yourself, feed your peachicks a protein-rich diet to keep them healthy. You may feed the peachicks turkey or gamebird feed.
In addition to mealworms, you may give your peachicks a variety of different insect larvae. Black army fly larvae, housefly larvae, and grub worms are a few examples.
Do Peacocks Eat Meat?
Although peacocks and peahens held in captivity will eat meat when served as food, it is ideal to provide them with their other sources of food such as their favourite grains, millet and maize, to maintain your peacocks healthier and keep their plumage shiny.
Since there are no known naturally occurring alternatives in nature that peacocks would ordinarily eat, meat is a terrible food choice for peacocks in your farm because of the high quantity of fats that it contains and peacocks do not require.
What Do Peacocks Drink?
Peacocks do drink water but they do not need it as much in the wild where they are already consuming enough worms to take care of the water content in their bodies.
You will often see farm peacocks drinking off the ground using their beak.
It is advised to only offer your peafowl clean, safe water to drink, even if peacocks can consume other beverages like juice or cola and will show affinity to these when served along water, owing to their artificial flavourings and sugar content.
Peafowl adults require 2 to 3 cups of fresh water every day on average. Have a constant supply of freshwater on hand, particularly chilled water as they can drink even more in warm conditions.
Peacock Diet and Nutritional Needs
A domesticated peacock’s food should closely resemble its natural diet and provide as much variation as possible.
Feeding peacocks only grains or seeds, like you would with other birds, is incorrect since they require the nutrition that insects, reptiles, and amphibians give.
Your peacock will probably have access to a wide range of delectable and nourishing insects as well as some frogs, rats, or lizards on its own if it is allowed to roam freely about your yard.
But if this isn’t constantly the case, you’ll periodically need to give them more insects to make sure they’re receiving the protein they require.
Additionally, they will require commercial food that is tailored specifically for the species.
If peacock food is unavailable, a diet designed for other pheasants will do.
They should be able to get around a quarter of their daily calories from this commercial food, probably even more in the winter.
Can Peacocks Eat Cat Food?
Cat food is designed to be nutritionally balanced for cats, so it provides the necessary vitamins and minerals that peacocks need for a healthy diet.
However, it’s important to remember that peacocks also require large amounts of calcium in their diet and since this mineral isn’t always found in cat food, they should be given foods that are specifically designed for them as well.
Final Thoughts on What Do Peacocks Eat
Peacocks are indiscriminate eaters who consume nearly everything they come across while roaming the wild. They have no particular food preferences.
Anything and everything that fits in a peacock’s beak is perfectly acceptable for it as a source of food, including seeds, insects, rats, amphibians, and even reptiles.
If you are planning to raise peacocks in confinement, you should try to mimic this diet as closely as you can, with almost a third of their diet consisting of high-protein game bird mixes. Protein is extremely essential for peacocks to grow a beautiful and shimmery train.
