Fayoumis Crosses

[davemonkey]

Thanks for the feedback Veer67. I'm thinking the same thing as you except that last one on the left of the bottom pic. It's behaving like a boy. But, I AM hoping it's a girl...I need more girls!

 

[Veer67]

Thanks for the feedback Veer67. I'm thinking the same thing as you except that last one on the left of the bottom pic. It's behaving like a boy. But, I AM hoping it's a girl...I need more girls!

The comb isn't screaming rooster right now, but I figured that since Skylark was the same coloring this chick was probably a rooster as well.

 

[davemonkey]

The comb isn't screaming rooster right now, but I figured that since Skylark was the same coloring this chick was probably a rooster as well.

Probably. RATS!

Oh well, at least I know I've got an AWESOME cockerel who hopefully will be just as good a Roo later on!

I mean, he just up and adopted 18 babies and has been raising them since he was only 4 weeks old. That is SO cool!

 

[LilRedRoo]

Well in that case, congrats on a very protective rooster-to-be. He may end up as quite the hero for the flock as he grows up.

I agree on Sunset and the Australorp-cross being pullets. Watch sunset closely though. When Little Red Roo and the red pullets were chicks they all looked the same regarding size and comb development until around 10 weeks. That's when Red starting to get just a touch of comb. He's beginning to mature nicely by the way. When he gets closer to a year old I'm going to have to change my avatar...he's becoming very showy lately.

 

[davemonkey]

Skylark, now our new Roo, at 7.5 weeks. Note the sheen on the replacement tail feathers and how great they look. His tail feathers, up to this point, have looked rather ratty, despite a particularly healthy diet. It's paying off now. The older he gets, the more I realize I have no idea what he'll look like when he's grown.

Oh, and he started doing the "roo dance" today, where he lowers one wing and struts in front of the girls in a half-circle. Yeah...at the ripe old age of less-than-2-months. I think it's time to put him with the big girls.







4 of the chick at 4 weeks*. (*They'll be 4 weeks old in 2 days.) A Leghorn mix at top, 2 Fayoumis/BR's, and a Fayoumis/Australorp OR BR...not really sure. I think it'll be eaier to tell once I know if it's a cockerel or pullet because so far, the ones I know are cockerels have taken on more of their mothers feathering. The ones I'm pretty sure about being pullets look more like "dad". Take it with a grain of salt though...because I also was certain that Skylark was a pullet until last week.

 

[racinchickins]

Here's a pic of my fayoumi/welsummer pullet and then one of my full Fayouni hen.

 

[davemonkey]

Here's a pic of my fayoumi/welsummer pullet and then one of my full Fayouni hen.

Very nice! The cross looks much like the Fayoumis Hen, only with an even coat of brown color spread throughout. Have you noticed anything particular about her behavior? Or is she just about the same as the other hens?

Please post updates as she matures. I am very interested to see how her patterns and overall color end up. Very pretty pullet you've got there!

 

[racinchickins]

The cross was actually Fayoumi Roo x Welsummer Hen. I think it is interesting how the pullets coloring is mainly Fayoumi with some extra brown.

As far as personality goes, I haven't noticed anything that stands out with the pullet. As for the Fayoumi hen, she is independant with a Capital "I". She is the hen that is always willing to come check something out first, and is willing to range far even without a roo near her. The other hens tend to cluster near my Fayoumi roo. However, if he gives his 'I found food' call, she is one of the first in line to see if she can snag some. And she is not afraid to give a peck or nip to assert her right to the food.


Also - she has definitely been a seasonal layer. She stopped probably about a month or so ago. Before that, it was an egg every day or two.

 

[davemonkey]

I've got lots of pics to share today. These will be divided by breed mix, and I'm going to post a pic of each "Fayoumis x" chick and then a couple of the Leghorns. At the very end I'll post an update of Skylark who has gone through some major changes the past week.

Fayoumis x Australorp* 3 chicks, 2 photos each. They are numbered in the order I was able to catch them. (*They might also be Fay x BR females...I can only make an educated guess, but don't know 100% for sure. You might notice some brown along the backs of these, but these are NOT the EE mixes. I know that because the EE's still have some of the sable-colored down on the heads. By next week, I don't think I'll be able to tell a difference between them though. I tried putting legbands on them, but they thought they were worms and, well, funny as it was, it just wasn't not very nice to leave them on, so....)

Number 1





Number 2





Number 3

 

[davemonkey]

Next up are the Fayoumis x EE. There are also 3 of these, and 1 is MUCH smaller. I have been watching her and she is constantly in the feeder eating. I think she may have a problem actually getting food into her mouth, or she has some digestive disorder...hard to tell. I thought she might just be a "runt of the litter", but her feathering is not as filled in as the others'.

Number 1






Number 2 (my favorite so far)





Number 3 (the tiny one)





Comparison shot of the tiny girl next to her same-age siblings. (I used this dog-crate to trap them so I could take all these photos. She slipped out through the cracks, then back in, then back out, like it was nothing.)