Egyptian Fayoumis Thread!

[davemonkey]

I have decided I am going to try crossing my Fayoumi roo and my silver laced wyandotte hen and see what comes out of it. I know that for those who believe in keeping breeds pure this is a bad thing, but I for my purposes fayoumi hens are not ideal so I don't want any more. But my fayoumi roo is a beautiful bird and my silver laced is a beautiful hen so I want to see what comes out of the two. It may only last through one hatch, but we shall see.
Chris

I right there with you. I LOVE my Roo, but I'm not sure I want full blood EF hens because I also want meat on my birds. By happy accident, I got a EF Roo with about a dozen mixed hens (Barred Rock, Australorp, EE, and a Production Red). I think it would be fantastic to see how the EF crosses with Barred Rock. I have read that "mutt" chickens will normally give the "best of both worlds" (though sometimes not).

Anyway, since this is the Fayoumis thread...the rooster I have is very protective and watchful, but not agressive with us and fairly gentle with the ladies. He is self-less...in that he finds food (we free-range), calls the girls over, and only after they have had time to eat does he begin eating as well. If there is not enough to go around, then he skips out on the morsel and looks for more. He is AWESOME!.

 

[chrispbrown27]

Mine is not nearly as giving as your roo. Mine will every now and then call over his hens (the only hens he pays much attention to are my buff orpingtons which are mature and allow him to have his way with them) when he finds food and he never waits for them to eat first. In fact, he will often chase everyone off from food they have found. He also is a bully to the birds that are lower in the pecking order.

 

[davemonkey]

Hmmm. Seems I got a unique Roo. I think I'll keep him around for sure.

If behavior runs in the family, so to speak...then those are definitely some genes I want to hang on to! I have a Leghorn cockerel who is pretty much the way you describe your Roo (except he is kept in check by "Chuck"...my Roo). I have a feeling I'll be having Leghorn soup in a few months.

 

[chrispbrown27]

I have had a bad experience with a leghorn roo and that one rooster has turned me off to that breed. I have decided I am going to be keeping my silver laced wyandotte hen and my fayoumi rooster and see what comes from them. The rest of the birds will find their way into the freezer. Now if only I could say the same for the ducks, but if they ended up in the freezer I would be looking at a divorce!
Chris

 

[HughesFowlFarm]

I was thinking of getting some of these in the spring. My question is where did you get them? Because I'm looking into a Meyer hatchery magazine and they looks like bantams and yours look like the size of my mixed breed dual purpose.

 

[Pozees]

I was thinking of getting some of these in the spring. My question is where did you get them? Because I'm looking into a Meyer hatchery magazine and they looks like bantams and yours look like the size of my mixed breed dual purpose.

My trio came from Cackle Hatchery, and they are large fowl, not bantams.

 

[davemonkey]

I believe mine is from Ideal Poultry. He's larger than a bantam, but not as large as and EE or other large fowl, in my opinion. Maybe like a white leghorn. But I think they are still considered "large fowl"...just on the smaller side of the scale when it comes to mature size. They do mature very quickly, though.

 

[Pozees]

davemonkey is correct, leghorn sized, which is large fowl. They are built and behave very much like leghorns, I think, we get a big kick out of them. Great foragers.

 

[racinchickins]

Here are my two Fayoumis. They were a March 1 hatch from McMurray. I've found them to be very independant, and my Roo became the dominant roo of my flock, even though he was definitely not the largest.

My pullet has been laying since early July. about 4 eggs a week, trailing off a bit now that the days are getting shorter. The eggs are definitely smallish and tinted. She is very independent, and is the farthest ranging of any of my girls. She is more vocal than any of my flock except my Silver Leghorns. She is also the smallest of my Large Fowl pullets.

My cockerel is great. He is very good with the girls. Calls them over for food, courts them, and is relatively gentle when mating. He is not human aggressive at all, but is very attentive to his surroundings and the sky. He is pretty vocal, he likes to sing the egg song along with whatever hen is laying at the time.

I recently hatched out an EF/Wellsummer mix. I'll try to post a pic if I can get a good one of it.

 

[familypendragon]

I have 1 roo and 1 pullet that I got from Meyer, hatched 7/29. I don't know why but I like them. They aren't friendly at all but also not aggressive. They love to forage far and wide, which is great except that is also why I no longer have 3 of them I want to get more, but may just wait and hatch some of theirs next year. We'll see I am not known for my patience, LOL!