Everyone seems to ask the same questions about Fayoumis, so here is what I know:
Body Size and shape
Simply, they are a smaller thin bird much the size of a leghorn. They have the same body shape too with same tall thin tail. They have a good wing to weight ratio, and can fly quite well. If you want them to stay in your yard, feed them, or clip their feathers. The other unique feature of Fayoumis from all my other birds is their eyes. The eyes are a “natural” shade of dark brown, and are very large compared to other breeds. They can see very well, and frequently are the ones that warn the flock of predators.
Eggs
Unlike leghorns that lay nice large white eggs that measure from large to extra large, the Fayoumis consistently lay (except when molting), but lay a small sized egg. Mine lay most every day, just like the leghorns. The small size is a chicken sized small egg, not a quail sized egg. I guess I need to really get out the calipers and size the eggs (S,M,L,XL), but basically if you would use 4 store bought eggs (most cartons from the store are large), then you would need 5 Fayoumis eggs. The eggs also are a bit different than the sexlink commercial birds eggs you buy. I don’t know if this is just because I don’t really feed much and most of their diet is greens, bugs, snakes, etc. However, I don’t think this is the only reason as I have leghorns too. The egg has a thicker shell and membrane with more yoke than my leghorn eggs. I don’t think you would want to try to eat the chicken either unless you were having soup, they look tough as rubber bands, and you would have to eat in the dark as that is the only time you could catch more than one (smart and fast).
Personality
This is what a Fayoumis is all about, and they have this in spades. They are very active, very keen on finding/catching their food. This makes them less willing to put up with holding and petting that can come with "handouts". It's not that my hens are not friendly, they just would rather run about, and have this instinct that being held is not really a good thing. They see themselves as chickens, not dogs. I have one that if the handout is really desirable, she will push out the leghorns and Rhode Island Reds to sit on me for as long as I have something, but she is not going to stay. She has even decided to perch on my shoulder a time or two just to assure she gets my complete attention. I have another one that heads my flock and she watches me, talks to me, encourages me to take care of the chicken chores. She likes me, but she is the one that doesn’t want to be touched at all. The two Fayoumis sisters are top of the pecking order in my flock, no doubt, no challenges, no fooling. They are not mean or aggressive, and they are small. But they assert quickly that they are first, everyone else is second, and they can back it up in a scrap. Had them even cow roosters and feral cats. Remember the flying? One that is alpha of my flock is also alpha of my neighbors flock when she decides to “visit” for food, and perhaps to leave an egg too. Alpha in an afternoon should tell you something. Those two are the chickens that are always plotting, searching, marauding, thinking... If you don’t like this, you probably won’t like Fayoumis.
Hardiness
They are smart, really annoyingly smart at times as they see everything going on. That is good and bad. If there is a predator, they warn the flock and take cover. However, they also are always watching and that includes you and your activities, which they are curious about. They are tough when it comes to heat too. It is over 100 here in Texas for long periods, and they do fine (leghorns do too). They lay right through the dog days, eat all day in the sun, and have no problems that I can tell. Like I said, they eat EVERYTHING, which might be their fatal flaw (at least with my wife’s house plants placed outside to water). They are always finding small snakes, bugs, worms, butterflies, moths, etc. They are simply voracious. I’m not sure you would have to feed them if there wasn’t winter. Mine have laid very well even through the cold too, well as cold as Texas gets. However, it is clear that when temperatures drop to 40 or below that they are cold (unlike the Rhode Island Red). They normally have a very proud regal stance, but when they are cold they pull that neck down and stay out of the wind. If I kept them up north (that is ABOVE the Red River for me) I guess on cold mornings I would keep them in until the daytime heated up a bit. I can see where they would have problems, as they are cold much quicker than my Red or my Orpington. But the bigger birds have quite a bit of trouble with the summer heat.
So there you go. They stay home for me (mostly), they roost where I want them to, they talk to me, and even get up close for some personal time. I love my girls, and they are good to me. That’s the relationship we have. But they are not lap dog type pets. They are out on the range type pets. They suit me, and I seem to suit them.
