The Carrot and the Stick

Peacocks can be friendly birds if you treat them right.  One of the neighbor's biggest peacocks hangs around my apartment all the time.  He is usually laying in the carport or looking in the sliding glass door almost every day when I come home from work.  Then, he gets out of the way when I pull the car into the carport.

He usually walks off to various places in the yard while I unload food and belongings from the car.  Then, I turn on the computer, get on the internet, and start eating my fast food supper.  It never fails that my supper gets interrupted, though.  I'll hear a noise in the carport and look out the sliding glass door to see the 40-pound peacock perched on the engine hood of my car.

It used to be that he pooped on my car a lot whenever he flew up there.  Then, I bought a big water pistol from Academy Sports figuring that peacocks don't like to be sprayed with water just like dogs, and I was right.  After the peacock got a few doses of water, he did not hang around on the hood of my car as much.  Now, I can usually stand at the sliding glass door and tap on it with the water pistol, and he gets the message.  He will then hop off the car without me having to open the door and spray him.

That is the stick part of training my peacock friend.  The carrot part is feeding him daily. He loves crackers and bread.  The more food I give him results in less time for him to think about hopping up on my car.  He is too busy eating.  Then, as the night settles in, he will fly onto the carport roof and out of my hair.  After that, I can usually get some sleep.