# Neighbor to freerange peafowl



## wontyoupeamyneighbor (May 11, 2017)

I am in the process of buying a house, and the inspection turned up several torn-off tiles... which, when I asked the current owners about it, turn out to be caused by the neighbor's peafowl. Indeed, I've already seen the peahens on the roof in the visits to the new house, and abundant evidence of their presence on the porch in the form of poop (which is also not a great situation due to my having very young children). 

I am wanting to know about how to best proceed. I want to repair the roof ASAP, but I also want to make sure that the repairs are not immediately undone by more damage. I also want to be a good new neighbor. 

I respect that the neighbor would like to freerange her fowl, but are there ways to discourage them from ranging onto our property? The property I am moving to is fenced, and we will make sure that the fences are in good repair... but obviously, the peafowl can fly which is how they get on the rather tall roof roof. 

Does anyone have other any ideas for how to manage the peafowl in a humane, friendly-neighbor sort of way, or suggestions on how to take this up most diplomatically with their owner?


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## aart (May 11, 2017)

Funny screen name!

OhBoy. Peafowl are very cool....and very loud. 
Any poultry/fowl can be destructive.... and 'foul'.

I'd ask the owner if they'd ever approached the neighbor about keeping their birds on their property. IMO a good neighbor keeps _their_ animals on _their_ property.

You may have to resort to 'humane' harassment to make your roof inhospitable.
Motion sensing sprinklers come to mind,
not sure how'd you mount them on the roof but I'll bet there's a way.


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## wontyoupeamyneighbor (May 11, 2017)

I agree that the best case scenario would be the neighbor making efforts to keep their birds on their property, and us just providing some deterrents for reinforcement in case the birds slip through their home defenses (which I understand is a thing that can happen in spite of best efforts). 

I guess what I want to know is, do motion sensing sprinkler system actually effectively deter peahens? Or is it easier to just aim kids with water guns?


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## Turtle Rock Farm (May 11, 2017)

I can't offer any other advice on the pea situation, but I wanted to say I do love your username. Hilarious.


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## MikeLM (May 11, 2017)

My free ranging peafowl went onto my neighbors house so I sold them. That's my only experience with this situation.


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## genuck (May 11, 2017)

Uggh, I will say the only reason I don't have peafowl is because I know they would bother my neighbors. Try talking to the neighbors, ask the current owners if they've talked to the neighbors about the birds. The birds are used to going there so it will be hard to break the habit. It will take some work and cooperation on the neighbors part to break the habit. Otherwise it will lead to you being unhappy and taking legal action.


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## aart (May 11, 2017)

wontyoupeamyneighbor said:


> I agree that the best case scenario would be the neighbor making efforts to keep their birds on their property, and us just providing some deterrents for reinforcement in case the birds slip through their home defenses (which I understand is a thing that can happen in spite of best efforts).
> 
> I guess what I want to know is, do motion sensing sprinkler system actually effectively deter peahens? Or is it easier to just aim kids with water guns?


I've read they've worked with chickens....so do garden hoses/squirt guns.
There are some downsides, like cost and being in places where humans frequently trod.
Squirt guns, or garden hoses, would be easier...and definitely more fun for the kids or whoever. Probably need frequent application at first but don't think it would take long to convince them this is not the place they want to be.
How the neighbor would feel about this is an unknown variable.
They might be fine with it as opposed to them having to keep the birds contained.....
....or they might call 'animal cruelty'.


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## Ol Grey Mare (May 11, 2017)

aart said:


> I've read they've worked with chickens....so do garden hoses/squirt guns.
> There are some downsides, like cost and being in places where humans frequently trod.
> Squirt guns, or garden hoses, would be easier...and definitely more fun for the kids or whoever. Probably need frequent application at first but don't think it would take long to convince them this is not the place they want to be.
> How the neighbor would feel about this is an unknown variable.
> ...



I suppose if the owner objected they could always keep the birds contained and safe from the "cruelty"


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## aart (May 11, 2017)

Ol Grey Mare said:


> I suppose if the owner objected they could always keep the birds contained and safe from the "cruelty"


True Dat....key is neighbors attitude......tough situation for prospective home buyer.


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## wontyoupeamyneighbor (May 12, 2017)

My kids are loud, too, so I'm totally on-board with loud peafowl noises, I just don't want them shredding up a roof... or frequently defecating on surfaces that I hope to let my freerange baby crawl around on. (In spite of a general freerange policy, my kids are usually confined to my property and certainly aren't allowed to go climbing on other people's houses without express permission.)

Squirt guns would indeed be the easiest/cheapest course of action. I'm envisioning a gentle spray, not waterboarding or turning a hydrant on them... just enough to convince the peahens that other roofs and porches are more enticing. But I'm hoping this is only a secondary backup for a primary defense of neighborly cooperation.


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## aart (May 12, 2017)

wontyoupeamyneighbor said:


> My kids are loud, too, so I'm totally on-board with loud peafowl noises, I just don't want them shredding up a roof... or frequently defecating on surfaces that I hope to let my freerange baby crawl around on. (In spite of a general freerange policy, my kids are usually confined to my property and certainly aren't allowed to go climbing on other people's houses without express permission.)
> 
> Squirt guns would indeed be the easiest/cheapest course of action. I'm envisioning a gentle spray, not waterboarding or turning a hydrant on them... just enough to convince the peahens that other roofs and porches are more enticing. But I'm hoping this is only a secondary backup for a primary defense of neighborly cooperation.


Great Post-haha!

You may need more than a gentle shower(they may _like_ that), but not to the point of waterboarding. Good 'tap' or two with the 'sharp stream/jet' setting on garden nozzle should do the trick.

Good Luck!


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## newmarch2014 (May 12, 2017)

We moved into a neighborhood with closeby free ranging Peafowl. "Oh aren't they pretty" I said.....until after a few years they were so plentiful they were a road hazard. They were forever wandering the streets. The owners did erect a very large, very tall scaffolding platform in their back yard to entice them to stay home but they preferred the roof of a newly built 2 story house instead. After multiple birds got hit by cars and the rumor that the home owners of the chosen roost complained the peafowls dissapeared entirely. Everything is fun and games till poop is running out of your gutters......


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## DwayneNLiz (May 12, 2017)

@wontyoupeamyneighbor  love the attitude you are approaching this with and the humor in your posts!!
may need to get some of those bird-be-gone roof strips







Good Luck!!


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## BYCDebiD (May 12, 2017)

I must be a horrible person because my first thought was that if the yard is already fenced, why not get a dog? I'd expect that would discourage peafowl trespassing.


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## Frazzemrat1 (May 12, 2017)

So, out of curiosity....  why keep peafowl?  only because you like the display on the males? or is there more to it?  Do people still eat them?


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## wontyoupeamyneighbor (May 12, 2017)

How do the roof spikes work? Do you just install them on the perimeter of the roof, where the peafowl would land? So far I've seen them only fly onto the porch roofs from the ground, so that would hopefully be a doable amount.

Thanks for the tip about the fine line between providing a fun shower and discouraging them.

Finding out that one appears to have bought Malfoy Manor, complete with resident albino peafowl, is pretty hilarious, so I'm trying to maintain a sense of humor as we negotiate this situation!

Do you recommend things like owl statues and reflective tape as a part of a super-terrifying peafowl haunted house?


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## DwayneNLiz (May 12, 2017)

the spike strips go on the edges and peak of the roof to prevent perching


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## wontyoupeamyneighbor (May 12, 2017)

Would one want to do the bird spikes around the 2nd floor roof as well as the porch roofs? Or would just the lower roofs be enough?

I'm imagining this would be regarded as an act of outright peafowl war by the neighbor, so I think we'll try this only after other approaches are exhausted, but thanks for the photos -- the roof spikes look much less ugly than expected.


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## DwayneNLiz (May 12, 2017)

wontyoupeamyneighbor said:


> Would one want to do the bird spikes around the 2nd floor roof as well as the porch roofs? Or would just the lower roofs be enough?
> 
> I'm imagining this would be regarded as an act of outright peafowl war by the neighbor, so I think we'll try this only after other approaches are exhausted, but thanks for the photos -- the roof spikes look much less ugly than expected.


you would put them anywhere you have seen them perching


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## Phage (May 12, 2017)

I had peafowl and loved them. I knew I had to keep them (3) penned so that they would not damage  neighbors' (or our) property. In the end I rehomed 2 of them them as  IMO I could not provide them all with enough space. That was my choice, and it was determined by not wanting to detrimentally affect the birds or neighbors' property or sanity.

I also had a lot of "abuse" including mail box egging, from a very cranky neighbor who objected to the peacock call during spring. He lives across the canyon from us so it is not even like he is next door. The same neighbor complains about my rooster despite the fact that I am allowed 2 due to the size of the property, I catch him and put him in the garage every evening, and there are about 20 other roosters around. He also complains about children "playing noisily" in their own back gardens. I think he just likes to complain but he has destroyed much of my joy of having birds over the years. 

So what I am trying to say is:
People with peafowl do tend to love them A LOT. 
Peafowl WILL damage your property. 
I don't think hoses will stop that unless you are on hose duty day and night to shoo them away. 

I would talk to the potential neighbor before buying the property. See how reasonable they are. If it seems like they are going to be unhelpful I would seriously reconsider buying that house as bad neighbors can make your life just stressful and miserable.


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## Kyanite (May 12, 2017)

In addition to the other suggestions, namely speaking to the neighbor, I'd let the seller know that it's a potential issue with buying the home. Perhaps it's something that the agents (if you have them) can discuss together, but if you are seeing this issue, other potential buyers did too and if things don't go through with your sale, it will be an issue for other buyers too. Hopefully the  current homeowner/seller has a good relationship with the neighbor and can say "hey, your peafowl have damaged the property and their frequent presence is a problem for me selling the home."


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