Chicken Breed Focus - Fayoumi

[sjango]

I have two Fayoumis and they are the best free rangers and have personality plus! I love them for their wild nature. They enjoy hanging out with me as I do yard work, though they aren’t ones to be cuddled. Fabulous birds.

 

[Saaniya]

The Fayoumis are a very old breed, originating in Egypt. They were named for the Faiyum Governorate southwest of Cairo and west of the Nile. Fayoumis are a hardy breed and particularly well suited to hot climates. The breed, through poultry genetics research and anecdotal reports, is thought to be especially resistant to viral and bacterial infections. They are also very good foragers, and if left to their own devices on a free range basis they can fend for themselves in a nearly feral manner. Fayoumi hens are good layers of small, off-white eggs. They are not given to broodiness as pullets, but can be when they reach two or three years of age. The breed is fast to mature, with hens laying by four and half months, and cockerels crowing at five or six weeks.


Details:

Detail Value
Breed Purpose Ornamental
Comb Single
Broodiness Seldom
Climate Tolerance Heat
Egg Productivity Low
Egg Size Small
Egg Color White
Breed Temperament Flighty
Breed Colors/Varieties They come in one variety - silver and black penciled
Breed Size Large Fowl





Both pics by @boorock

BYC Breed Reviews:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/fayoumis

BYC Breed Discussions:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/544351/egyptian-fayoumis-thread/0_30
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/398910/fayoumis/0_30

Do you own Fayoumis? Are you a Fayoumi breeder? If so, please reply to this thread with the your thoughts and experiences, including:

· What made you decide to get this breed?
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!

We have a bunch of other awesome breed-focus threads for you to enjoy. You can see all of them here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-project.975504/

I heard that they have very strong immunity and they hardly catch any diseases ..one of my friend in Egypt says they never contract with mareks

 

[Laura_BelgianBantams_63]

On my wishlist!

 

[microchick]

I have four Fayoumis at the moment, one rooster and three hens. I bought them primarily to their resistance to Marek's, having that nasty disease in my flock and while mine aren't the cuddliest chickens on the earth I love them dearly. The girls are all sass and brass and the rooster, Tut, is just a sweetheart.

I want more!

 

[Cjsgnn]

I have a wonderful 12-week-old Egyptian fayomi one of the funniest personalities and yes!!! super talkative! She looks like a speedrunner. A cartoon run!! Small powerful package. She even confronts and tries to intimidate my Belgian shepherd! I highly recommend Meyer hatchery, though I still love and have previously purchased from Murray McMurray... Definitely a breed with good genetics funny personalities and flighty but I love love My Little Bo Peep!

 

[feather13]

I have a wonderful 12-week-old Egyptian fayomi one of the funniest personalities and yes!!! super talkative! She looks like a speedrunner. A cartoon run!! Small powerful package. She even confronts and tries to intimidate my Belgian shepherd! I highly recommend Meyer hatchery, though I still love and have previously purchased from Murray McMurray... Definitely a breed with good genetics funny personalities and flighty but I love love My Little Bo Peep!

Do you keep your EFs in the coop or do they free range? I'd prefer to not let our birds free range since they keep going in the neighbors' yards, but the EFs scream all day if they are locked up. I'm wondering if they'll eventually give up and just bear confinement.

 

[microchick]

Mine are penned in a large run and they do not seem to mind it. The most vocal is Tut, the rooster who crows all day but the only time the hens are vocal is if I catch one of them.

The funniest thing I had happen with one of my hens is I went out one afternoon in the summer and one was outside the run having herself a great time foraging about. I went out, trying to figure out where the hole in the net was where she got out. She saw me walking around the outside of the run and took off ahead of me.

I figured I was going to have a time catching her from what I've read about EFs once they get loose. When I caught up with her she was running around the edge of the run, looking up, stopping, looking up, running a bit more, then flew up to the edge of the kennel panel and dove through the hole she had found. When I reached the spot she was standing there looking at me like 'me? Out? I don't think so! I've been here all afternoon!'. Needless to say the hole got fixed immediately.

But as long as they have a lot of room, mine are pretty content to stay in the run where it is safe.

 

[Cjsgnn]

Do you keep your EFs in the coop or do they free range? I'd prefer to not let our birds free range since they keep going in the neighbors' yards, but the EFs scream all day if they are locked up. I'm wondering if they'll eventually give up and just bear confinement.

They all live in a 5x60ft run, and I let them out at 430pm daily. So far, so good. 13 weeks today!!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Interested in getting some, are they cold hardy at allm

 

[Cjsgnn]

Interested in getting some, are they cold hardy at allm

I live in south florida, but I have read they aren't cold hardy. Sorry