Samson's Shimmering Locks

Samson was one of our first white peacocks. I was thrilled to finally have a white peacock as I find their bridal fan of tail feathers to be magical—they bring to mind a fairytale. Of course, it takes a peacock three years to grow a full train but it is worth the wait. And, believe me, Samson knows he is special.

Peacocks mate in the spring and early summer; they use their long magnificent tail feathers to attract a mate. The male will vibrate his tail and turn left and right to attract the female even though she will pretend that she does not notice him.

This is Samson’s specialty. He performs his ritual dance for every female on the farm no matter what species—hens, cats, dogs, llamas, guineas, sheep, donkeys and me. I am sure he does not feel threatened or that he is trying to threaten the onlooker because he twirls around. I am confident that he would not turn around if he did not trust you. We all stand mesmerized as we watch his complete dance; the fantastic spread of his feathers into a fan, a turn to either side, a shimmy and shake of his feathers, and then his slow majestic twirl as he shows the complete spectacle of his train. He always looks quite satisfied with his performance. In fact, sometimes he will repeat it several times, if you seem appropriately awed. Predictably, the peahens seemingly pay no attention to him at all. And, this year I have noticed that the chickens no longer pay any attention to him. I am not sure whether he no longer impresses the hens or whether they are playing into the mating ritual. Meanwhile, the female donkeys are still impressed.