Any predators looking to get a taste of some chicken are going to have to taste the rainbow instead. Meet Percival, a three year old peacock and protector of chickens.
When faced with the dilemma of protecting your fowl, most farmers default to a trained dog or even a shot-gun. Not Queensland farmer Mark Burgunder. He enlisted the help of a peacock named Percival (or Percy to his mates) to watch over his prized poultry.
SEE ALSO:6 ways climate change is threatening food security — and what we can do about itPercy not only protects the chickens, he's pretty fond of their company too, though the egg-laying birds aren't that impressed by his colourful plume. "It didn't take long for the chickens to realise that he was no danger at all. Now they mostly ignore him, in spite of Percival showing them his wheel of feathers quite a lot," Burgunder told Mashable.
Excuse me why don't you love me?Credit: Mark S BurgunderOriginally acquired keep the snake population down on the Sunshine Coast farm, Burgunder noticed a reduction in bird of prey-related chicken deaths since Percy's arrival.
Speaking with ABC RuralBurgunder said it was only when he realised that there hadn't been an attack from a carnivorous goshawk bird for a while, that he put the pieces together. "We think it's just because of his size, the goshawks see a big bird like a peacock in the pen and they say 'Nope, not going in there,'" Burgunder said.
via GfycatThough Percy's presence deters the goshawks, the peacock is apparently finicky when it comes to other types of pests he's willing to take on. "He doesn't do the foxes or the feral cats, because we had a feral cat attack recently," Burgunder told the ABC, adding that the colourful bird likes to spend most of his time with his chicken friends.
As for the bond between peacock and chicken, Burgunder toldMashable "Some of the chickens have become a bit cheeky around him, especially when he's showing off. Some chickens like to sneak behind his 'love radar' to peck at his long large feathers."
Percy puffs out an impressive plume when he's on chicken guard duties. He's certainly one bird whose feathers you wouldn't want to ruffle.
Lovely plumage
(责任编辑:娛樂)
Give your kitchen sponge a rest on this adorable bed
The D.C. march for science will be the most wonderfully nerdy demonstration ever
Good in small doses: The book that may make you want to take LSD
These barbed wire dreamcatchers help support the resistance at Standing Rock
You can now play 'Solitaire' and 'TicGive your kitchen sponge a rest on this adorable bed
Our kitchen sponges do a lot of work. Don't they deserve a good night's rest?"Sure," said design stu
...[详细]Cutest puppy in the land gets his very own Photoshop battle
Fact: Puppies are the cutest. Corgi puppies, even more so.
。SEE ALSO:Gather round and be blessed by t
...[详细]Lucky rocket just left Trump's America behind
The day Donald Trump was sworn in as president, this rocket was busy ditching Earth.。 The rose gold-
...[详细]Tinder founder responds to Muslim ban: CEOs have a 'responsibility' to speak out
Like so many other Americans, Tinder founder Sean Rad is the child of immigrants.。His parents are or
...[详细]Visualizing July's astounding global temperature records
July set a rare temperature record during a year that is featuring off the charts warmth. The month
...[详细]Popular Twitter account that rates dogs now has a cute mobile game
WeRateDogs is a great Twitter account to follow because it recognizes a basic truth about life: all
...[详细]Is swallowing gum bad for you? Asking for a friend (Sean Spicer)
It sounds like an "alternative fact": Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, apparently swall
...[详细]Tinder founder responds to Muslim ban: CEOs have a 'responsibility' to speak out
Like so many other Americans, Tinder founder Sean Rad is the child of immigrants.
。His parents are or
...[详细]Twitter grants everyone access to quality filter for tweet notifications
Twitter introduced two features Thursday in an effort to give users more control on what notificatio
...[详细]President Donald Trump complained to the CIA about the media
There was a clear theme of the Trump administration's first full day in power, and it wasn't "Make A
...[详细]