Predator Resistant Breeds

[BekisarBengal]

As a novice on the Back Yard Chickens forum, I'd like to pick the brains of more experienced people and share some of my own experiences.

I've been raising chickens off and on for decades, and in the last several years, I've been breeding toward more predator resistant birds. Here in Central Florida, we have raccoons, opossums, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, snakes, various birds of prey and probably the most devastating predators of all - loose dogs.

Thus far, I've achieved some success with hybridizing red jungle fowl with domestic laying and dual purpose breeds. I've discovered that using silver spangled hamburgs, brown leghorns, and speckled sussex hens mated to rjf cocks produce birds quite capable of evading just about everything. When I breed back to the hens in the f2 generation, achieving birds that are one-quarter rjf, I have somewhat greater losses, but better egg production. In the f3 generation, the wild element seems too diluted. Egg production is excellent, but predation starts to hit pretty hard again.

By starting with literally dozens of breeds of egg layers and dual purpose chickens, I've found the best performance from silver spangled hamburgs, brown leghorns and strangely enough, the speckled sussex. Speckled sussex in my experience have an uncanny ability to make themselves scarce when there is danger, even though their flight skills aren't very good.

I'd be grateful to anyone who can advise me about their own experiences, particularly in regard to laying breeds that have proven abilities to evade predators.

I've also developed an interest in breeding long crowers and hopefully, one day, some laughing chickens in this hemisphere.

Thanks for any help you can lend.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! I've enjoyed reading this thread too, and the OP seems to have fallen off the earth, here.
I'd rather put up electric fencing, and eliminate visiting dogs, myself.
Mary

 

[Sch3Dana]

If electrical fence is a viable, effective option sure. Our problem is bobcats and coyotes. I might be able to hot wire around the walls and gates but visiting kids and neighbors might not like it and I think the bobcats at least would just climb around it. I would love to have some free ranging chickens with some smarts so I don't have to keep them cooped up so much.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

.... I've been raising chickens off and on for decades, and in the last several years, I've been breeding toward more predator resistant birds. Here in Central Florida, we have raccoons, opossums, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, snakes, various birds of prey and probably the most devastating predators of all - loose dogs.... I'd be grateful to anyone who can advise me.... particularly in regard to laying breeds that have proven abilities to evade predators....

Since you don't have leopards, and lions to worry about in Florida, perhaps if you gene spliced some ostrich DNA onto a brown leghorn you could breed a laying hen that lays the equivalent of a dozen eggs in only one shell yet flies like nobody's business. However when fully grown this hen may prove to be to heavy to roost on a tree limb.

 

[Naser]

From my limited experience with fox attacking at night, I found the white hens are more vulnerable probably they are easier to spot in the dark, common since; black and dark hens are better at night and flighty hens are better during the day.

 

[0wen]

Half of the predators you listed are likely to take your birds at night. In that instance, your birds are basically there for the taking. "Flighty" birds may have a better chance at avoid predators, but I suspect it's all going to be luck of the draw. All things being equal, I'd take a Leghorn, or Campine, or Hamburgh over an Orpington, Jersey Giant, etc just for the microscopic advantage they'd have at escape. Realistically, I don't think it matters at all. I don't think we can overcome, with a breeding program of even the most alert birds - the generations of perfecting survival and predator skills that various beasts and birds of prey have developed...

 

[Ole and Lena]

Our Americaunas have been very predator savvy. I live near a 600 acre wetland, my ranging area abuts it, and haven't lost a single Amc to any predator. Have lost some of the BOs, SLWs and BRs. The Americaunas, in addition to wearing pretty good camouflage, seem to exhibit more wild behavior. They stick to cover, put themselves in earlier, and know when to bunch up or scatter. Not that they are any faster or fly better, they just seem to stay below the radar better with less flapping, noise and running about. That being said, the AMC rooster is pretty worthless. Our Wyandotte was a much better sentinel. Also seems to help since we started keeping a couple of veteran dry hens in the flock. They are the first to sound the alarm and seem to train the younger birds.

 

[BekisarBengal]

It goes without saying that sheltered chickens need to be protected at night.

Over the generations I have definitely noted better survival rates in some breeds and hybrids that are statistically significant. It's too early to reach conclusions, but in just several years it seems clear that a breeding program improves the chances of birds living to reproduce in the next generation. This would make sense given the density of predators in my area. Essentially a genetic bottleneck is created every generation. I don't expect to breed 'predator proof' birds, but 'predator resistant' ones. I know carnivores and herbivores are adapted to make a living and will continue to do so. I only hope to achieve a bit more of a balance with nature seen in many landraces that can be found in developing countries, rather than a supermarket for foxes and dogs that our modern breeding programs have provided.

Although protection at night is essential, I have made some interesting anecdotal observations regarding night survival in two areas. First, nearly all of us have had coop breeches resulting in night attacks and sometimes the loss of many birds. Twice, I've had instances when every bird in the coop is killed except the single melanistic Indonesian chicken in the cage, once a Black Sumatra and the other time an Ayam Cemani. I've also observed that when I'm moving chickens at night, ordinary birds tend to wander and perhaps vocalize a bit when disturbed, while the Indonesian melanistic birds freeze. As I said this is completely anecdotal and I don't know if this is an actual adaptive behavior, but it is interesting.

The second exception to protection of birds at night is in slowly developing a semi-wild chicken for my specific area that can also be used for domestic purposes. In this case, some of the population would roost in trees at night. Each bird's success would depend on its instinctual ability to select a safe roost. I currently have a Rosecomb Brown Leghorn x RJF pullet that is semi-wild and I have no idea where she's roosting. If she continues in this way, she may become the maternal genetic founder for some landrace birds.

I've had experiences with Americaunas that are similar to Ole and Lena. Americaunas do pretty well. In fact, one of my ten or so surviving fourth generation hens has some Americauna genes, she even has whiskers. I have some primitive rumpless Aracaunas that I'm hoping to incorporate into my crowing and landrace breeding programs, so I'm continuing on the Americauna/Aracauna track. I'm also interested in other breeds raised by the Mapuche and Quechua speaking peoples (especially the Quetro), as well as Oceanic breeds such as the Ponape, Rapanui and Marquesas.

Please continue to pass on your ideas and experiences. Thanks to Owen, and Ole and Lena.

 

[FarmerTony]

First, you need to define those traits that make the wild types more predator resistant. Then determine if those traits are sex linked or autosomal (not sex linked).

Back of the envelope, I'd start with a foundation of Wild Type and throw in a leghorn rooster every couple years to get egg production up. I don't think you will be able to get a dual purpose breed that is highly predator resistant, the heavy birds just cant get high enough into the trees or run fast enough. One of the major advantages wild type has is its ability to escape by simply flapping to the next tree over, while the coons have to take the long route. Smaller birds have the advantage here.

 

[BekisarBengal]

Precisely, a solid approach Farmer Tony. The traits for which I select are the ability of sustained flight, wariness, high activity, good foraging skills, camouflaged coloration and perhaps that intangible something that adds more evasiveness as in the Speckled Sussex.

Of course the clearest sex linked characteristics among all jungle fowl are bright coloration in cocks along with a bolder and hence more self destructive temperament and usually somewhat reduced flying skills. This is one of the reasons I'm looking for breeds that have more "henny" cocks like the Quetro. The question will be how sex linked traits are passed along from generation to generation. That will take time to determine.

An interesting aside is that the RJF x Hamburg birds have sex linked coloration, and it seems, temperament as well. The cocks look almost indistinguishable from the hamburg cocks and are more lethargic and man aggressive than either the RJF or SSH. The hens, however are nearly perfect. They are drab brown and possess almost every trait I'm seeking. Small eggs are the only problem, but perhaps that can be mitigated by mixing in some Brown Leghorn.

I agree that trying to breed toward a survivable dual purpose breed is probably not achievable, but using dual purpose breeds that show some desired characteristics in the breeding program can be valuable. I've seen Sussex x RJF hens fly in circles for a quarter to half a mile over the pine tree line of my woods when startled by a predator. Their only drawback is that they tend to have lower egg production than I like and are too broody.

I appreciate your suggestion of fielding a laying cock in the mix periodically. I hadn't thought of that. I've been mostly breeding back to hens. Thanks very much for that advice.