The peacock snack buffet

[RosieNW]

Good morning! This is my first post asking for advice.

Question:

What is the best way to approach a neighbor whose pet is coming into your fenced backyard and causing damage?

Details:

Yesterday evening I looked out to my backyard and saw a peacock sitting in the middle of a raised vegetable bed, chewing on my lettuces.  I shooed it out of my yard (it hopped over the fence to the next door yard).

They are either free roaming,  or escape artists, as I have seen them often in the last year. It didnt bother me until now,  as this is my first garden since I bought my house 2 years ago.  Although they are lucky my Kitty is indoor only, as she very vocally wants to go out and defend her home from the intruders

I have a vague idea where their home is, a street over. I would need to knock on a few doors to get the right people.

What I want is for the neighbor to keep them contained and out of my yard.  I've spent a lot of time and money on this project and whatver it eats/destroys is less food I will have to eat/more money I'll have to spend on groceries.

[NotTheNarcissist]

My first peacock-related post! Cool!

Have you met this neighbor before? Do you know if they are friendly at all?

[WillyNilly]

I think you can approach your neighbors and ask, but honestly you are talking about free roaming birds - there might not be much they can do.  Heck the birds not be official pets even, they might just be free roaming birds your neighbor took to feeding and welcoming but the neighbors might officially consider them wild animals and not owned pets (like so many people who feed birds and other critters in their yards).

[bopper]

Even if it wasn't peacocks, other critters could eat your lettuce. Hve you considered putting a net fencing over it?

I would ask other neighbors who owns the peacock and then say to them "Your peacock is so pretty...however I noticed it in my backyard eating my lettuce. I am growing my own food and I was wondering if he is escaping wanted to let you know so maybe you can fix his pen.

[wheeitsme]

Oh, I hate peacocks.  I'd use my scarecrow motion detecting sprinklers.  And laugh maniacally. 

Can you call animal control?  Then they could figure out whose peacocks were decimating the neighborhood gardens.

[WillyNilly]

Even if it wasn't peacocks, other critters could eat your lettuce. Hve you considered putting a net fencing over it?

Oh, I hate peacocks.  I'd use my scarecrow motion detecting sprinklers.  And laugh maniacally. 

I have heard Mylar reflective ribbons hung so they blow in the breeze are great for warning off pests from gardens as they move as well as reflect light.  They look pretty too, and keep the garden "organic".

[magicdomino]

I guess a peacock is too big to be intiminated by the usual shiny things put out to scare birds away.  Bird netting on frames might annoy it enough for it to move on to someone else's yard.  Perhaps one of those motion-activated sprinklers would work?  Stealing its tailfeathers if it is a male?   

Most urban and suburban areas have rules about wandering livestock and poultry; you could check with Animal Control.   

[SPuck]

You might want to find out if the peacock's are from a feral population before you go knocking on your neighbor's door. Depending on where you live they could just be from an expanding feral population and no anybodies pets.

[Sheila Take a Bow]

Call animal control.  They may be able to help you.

When I was a kid, our neighbors had peacocks.  They were always in our yard, and they were not terribly shy.  One day my mother left the front door open when she went to get the mail and came back in to find a peacock in our living room.

It was an incredible sight to come home from school and see a peacock running out of our front door, followed closely by my mother shooing it with a kitchen towel.

After a few calls to animal control, the peacocks went away.

[Betelnut]

Since peafowl are not native to Portland, Oregan, I would call animal control.  Even if the bird "belongs" to a neighbor, they are being completely irresponsible to allow it to roam.  It may not even be legal to own peafowl in that area.

[RosieNW]

To answer a few questions:

I have met the neighbor once. About 1.5 years ago he came to my backyard while i was doing yard work, asking if I had seen his peacocks, I guess they had gotten out. He was an older gentleman,  seemed nice enough,  but had a heavy accent and was a bit hard to understand. Eastern European maybe?

I have 5 4x8 beds. That would be a lot of netting,  but I will look into it.

They are not skittish of humans at all.  They come right up on the back deck and look in the glass door. Startled me a few times when I've come around the corner and here's a giant bird staring at me.

They can clear a six foot fence, which is what surrrounds the backyard.

[LadyClaire]

I guess a peacock is too big to be intiminated by the usual shiny things put out to scare birds away.  Bird netting on frames might annoy it enough for it to move on to someone else's yard.  Perhaps one of those motion-activated sprinklers would work?  Stealing its tailfeathers if it is a male?   

Most urban and suburban areas have rules about wandering livestock and poultry; you could check with Animal Control.

Hanging shiny things is just likely to result in the peacock puffing himself up and prancing around the yard in an attempt to scare away the thing that startled him.  We had peacocks when I was a kid..they came with the house. They were not shy birds at all, and were very difficult to startle or intimidate. I saw one of them go after a neighbor's dog, once, when the dog got into the yard...a peacock with his tailfeathers in full display chasing a dog is quite a sight.

[doodlemor]

I saw one of them go after a neighbor's dog, once, when the dog got into the yard...a peacock with his tailfeathers in full display chasing a dog is quite a sight.

I too think this is a case for animal control.  Suppose the things get cranky and go after a child.  You shouldn't have to waste your time tracking down the owner.  According to your post they have known for at least two years that the creatures can get loose.

[PastryGoddess]

This may be more work than simple netting, but you could build a box out of MDF and chicken wire to cover your planting bed.  I built one for my aunt's vegetable garden and it only took about 2 hours or so to cut and build.  It's also very lightweight to move around which is good because my aunt is a bit frail

[Jocelyn]

My parents live in a town that has peacocks in their city park. Which means my parents have peacocks in their yard.
At least in that town, they're considered wildlife. They don't roam too far from the park, but you can't call the city and tell them to get the peacocks back where they belong, any more than you'd call about squirrels or rabbits.  They can be annoying, but it's up to the gardener to protect his/her garden. (at least in that town).