Legg's Peafowl Farm

Building Pens for Peafowl

The top of each pen has one of three things, 2”x4” wire, 1-inch poultry netting or 2inch top-flight nylon netting. Gate entrance is on the front of each pen approximately 3 ft. wide, made from 2”x4” lumber and 2”x4” welded wire. The gates or doors are 3 ft. wide so wheelbarrows can go in and out for cleaning.

All of our pens have galvanized tin as a divider/site barrier for breeding season. The tin is set on top of the 1”x6” bottom board so the tin will make the divider 30 inches tall.

Our chick barn has an entrance into each end of it, and then each bay has an entrance into the pen to cut down on a gate possibly being left open.

Roosts are made from 2”x4” lumber approximately 4ft. above the floor.

Feed pans are 2-½ gallon but do not hang from the ceiling, so a wing doesn’t get broke by a bird flying into the rope or wire.

A pair or trio of birds are in pen that are 10’x20’. The pens that are 12’x24’ with an 8’x10’ shed are used for the breeding of a cock bird with 3 hens. Pen that are 12’x36’ have a tin shelter on one end are used for the breeding of a cock bird with 6 hens.

It doesn’t take a very big pen to add up in dollars in building it.

We hope this helps you to build a pen that will work for you & for your birds.

Over the years we have built a lot of pens for our birds. Through trial and error we have come up with several things that work well for us.

Most pens have either a shed or a tin shelter attached on one end of a pen.

Most all the pens are built on 10ft. squares or 12ft. squares, 12’x24’ or 12’x36’. Some breeding pens are 10’x20’ for individual pairs of 2 years olds for the first year breeding.

The adult breeding pens usually have tree bark on the ground for easy cleaning. In the chick barn 2 inches of sand is used on the outside runs with wood shavings on the ground under the shed covering. The sand on the ground helps to keep the chicks clean after a rain, but also absorbs the waste for easy cleaning.

Sheds and buildings face the south with the pen out in front of it. Post for the pens are either 4”x4” or landscape timber. Around the top of the pens 2”x4”s are used with the base of the pen having 1”x6”s used. All of the lumber that is used is CCA treated to prevent rotting.

The wire that is used is 2”x4”x6’ galvanized after weld so rust is not a problem.

The top of the pen has a #9 guide wire that goes from a center post that is 8ft. tall out to the corners. This gives extra height throughout the pen for more flying room. Then 2inch top-flight netting is used to cover the large pen. The building on the end of each flight pen is 16’x24’. On each shed the back is 6ft. tall with the front being 7 ½ ft. tall. Each flight pen holds 25 to 40 peafowl. These pens make excellent areas for exercising of the birds and they are able to be on grass.

For watering a 3-gallon bucket is used in the pens.

Another pen that we have built that works well are the flight pens for growing yearling birds into maturity. These pens are 25’x100’. Highline poles are used for the corner post and landscape timber is used for the sides. Either 2”x4” welded wire or 6ft-chain link wire is used on the sides.

By Brad Legg