College Welcomes new additions to the Animal Management Unit  

The department is also home to over 60 species, the new additions are a very welcome addition to the College’s menagerie and is a large fowl that the College has never had the opportunity to house before. 

The peafowls came from Norfolk and will eventually live with the Guernsey goats and chickens outside and will be free to roam in a dedicated area for them. The peafowls currently have no tail trains due to them still being adolescence but will develop and grow a beautiful plumage of around 200 feathers with each one containing eyespots. The peafowl will however malt their feathers every year and re-grow their train as they are looking to mate. 

Students will get to name the peafowl which have been in quarantine due to restrictions. The second year Level 3 students will conduct yearly health checks, behaviour observations, breeding behaviour and restraint techniques.  

Dee Band (Animal Management Technician Instructor) said, “This is the first large species of fowl that we have on campus and we are looking forward to working with the students and teaching them skills with a larger fowl that they have not had the opportunity to work with before.”   

Billy-Jo Todd (16) is looking to become a veterinary nurse and helped set-up an enclosure for the peafowl. Billy-Jo said, “It’s always nice to work with new species and learning new skills and knowledge. I am looking forward to working with new species and watching their trains grow.”  

Significant investment has been made over the last few years and the area is constantly striving to make improvements and additions to the growing facilities and to accommodate the student numbers that continue to grow. Many students progress onto university after leaving the College with many aiming to go into veterinary nursing and work with animals around the country in zoos and with animal welfare organisations.