Las Vegas park rebuilding its peacock population as chicks grow up

LAS VEGAS ( KLAS ) — Eating a mix of mealworms and grain, 10 adolescent peachicks flouted their feathers in the face of a subsequent danger sidestepped thanks to contributions from the community.

With a bucket of feed in her hand Janna Hudson, Floyd Lamb Park Facility and Event Coordinator, crouched to meet the next generation of an 80-year bloodline of peafowl only found in Las Vegas.

“The peafowl have been at Floyd Lamb Park since the 1940s when the Goumand family came out here,” Hudson said. “They have a loud squawk, and they have a tendency to sense predators in the area, and we do think that is one reason why they might have been here.”

However, following the death of the female peahens last year the six remaining discouraged male peacocks’ mating calls went unanswered.

Following a report from 8 News Now regarding the danger posed to the historic peafowl the community called Las Vegas City Councilwoman Nancy Brune for an intervention from the city.

“There was some concern about our beloved peacock population,” Brune said. “Thanks to your news story people across the valley heard about the situation and turns out we have a lot of peacock lovers.”

Heeding the birdcall, Henderson residents Scott and Carmen Coates reached out to city staff and offered their three peahens which were, apparently, well-received by the bachelor peacocks at the park.

“We do have 10 baby peafowls,” Hudson said. “Little mix of boys and girls, we’re not quite sure exactly yet, but we do have 10 juveniles.”

The exciting news for visitors is paired with a message of caution according to Hudson who watched as park guests walked nearby with an unleashed dog.

“We ask the visitors to keep a healthy distance from the peafowl,” she said. “They are likely to come up to if they think you have food, but we ask you refrain from feeding them, maintain a safe distance, and not pluck their tail feathers.”

The diet for the peafowl is also a team effort as leadership from a local sanctuary helped assemble the meal plan for the peachicks.

“We’ve been working with Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary,” Hudson said. “It’s a combination of scratch and grain and when they were smaller, we had the crumbles for that particular age group of peafowl. Then when the hens are laying, we also supplement their diet with a little bit of layering feed.”

Hudson said Floyd Lamb Park boasts more than just peafowl, pointing to the other amenities and animals nearby.

“We have over 200 birds, and they’ve coexisted peacefully,” she said. “We predict that we’re going to have peafowl in the park for years to come, and we really do want to maintain that historic legacy.”

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