Looking for self sufficient chickens.

[S-t-o-n-e]

Last spring I ordered 2 Egyptian fayoumi, a golden Campine, and a Sumatra chick. I ordered the Egyptian fayoumis and Golden Campine because I read that they were fairly self sufficient chickens that could forage for most or all of their own food if given the space and would be the last to be taken by a predator ( and I ordered the Sumatra just because they are cool). We gave these chicks ( and a couple others ) to one of our broody hens to raise, the Golden Campine was killed when she was still a chick by an over aggressive hen ( we got rid of that hen ). The fayoumis and the Sumatra made it past when they were abandoned by their mom at a week old. A few months later when they were pullets one of the fayoumis tried to run through a closing door and got her neck snapped. Now this past weekend our remaining fayoumi was taken by a predator of some sort before any of our other chickens which include an 11 year old Wyandotte hen and the most clumsy chicken I have ever seen ( our partridge Plymouth rooster ). leaving me with only the Sumatra left. btw I purchased all of these chicks from Meyer hatchery and they were all female.
I am mostly confused about the last fayoumi that died which was an adult at 10 months old. In yall's opinion, did I get bad stock, was the last fayoumis death a fluke, or did I expect the hen to be more self sufficient than she could/would be ( btw they were in a pen with an electric fence on most sided except one side is the fence to our neighbors, which the fayoumi was known to jump and go forage. )
And to add onto that what, breeds would be more self sufficient and predator wary, and also where would u recommend I get them ( I live in New Mexico to up to 100f and down below 30F )
Thank you all for any answers you give

 

[cavemanrich]

Let me share some of my thinking about chickens. Have chickens as pets over 20 years now. Eat the eggs, not the chickens.
First,,,, modern day chickens are not really meant to be self sufficient, meaning, getting ALL their food on their own. Yes, there are feral chickens and somewhat common in Hawaii, and also in California, to some extent. I'm sure other places as well. They tend to be mixed breeds with Jungle Fowl in their genes as well. Hawaii has a lush green plant environment year round. That allows the chickens to eat whatever is growing year-round as well. Those in California,,, (ferals) may have greens, as well as possibly human generated food waste to eat.
You are in New Mexico, and I have been there, to know that much of the state is not LUSH GREEN all year.
And now we come to another REALITY. Feral, chickens, or similar self sufficient chickens will not be a big contributor to human's needs. Few eggs, and not much to eat if you dress out a skinny carcass.
I can see by the feed consumption, that when my chickens free-range in my back yard, less feed is consumed. They still do eat the feed, and do produce eggs for me. My Old English Game Hens, (bantams) ,,,, seem to graze more than the rest of my chickens. Maybe try getting some Game Hens of your choice. I also did notice they are much more predator aware.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[upper20s]

welsummers are a good bird for free ranging and tree living

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Let me share some of my thinking about chickens. Have chickens as pets over 20 years now. Eat the eggs, not the chickens.
First,,,, modern day chickens are not really meant to be self sufficient, meaning, getting ALL their food on their own. Yes, there are feral chickens and somewhat common in Hawaii, and also in California, to some extent. I'm sure other places as well. They tend to be mixed breeds with Jungle Fowl in their genes as well. Hawaii has a lush green plant environment year round. That allows the chickens to eat whatever is growing year-round as well. Those in California,,, (ferals) may have greens, as well as possibly human generated food waste to eat.
You are in New Mexico, and I have been there, to know that much of the state is not LUSH GREEN all year.
And now we come to another REALITY. Feral, chickens, or similar self sufficient chickens will not be a big contributor to human's needs. Few eggs, and not much to eat if you dress out a skinny carcass.
I can see by the feed consumption, that when my chickens free-range in my back yard, less feed is consumed. They still do eat the feed, and do produce eggs for me. My Old English Game Hens, (bantams) ,,,, seem to graze more than the rest of my chickens. Maybe try getting some Game Hens of your choice. I also did notice they are much more predator aware.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

@cavemanrich, agree with everything you just said! With free-ranging, my birds, like yours consume less feed. But I think it would be not right to remove their feed entirely, because they wouldn't be able to sustain their quality of life on just free ranging. I have had a few days where the feed consumption of my chickens has been cut in half by ranging them even just a partial day, though I wonder if this is sometimes caused not just by foraging but by simply not being near feed 24/7 (convenience you know?) .

@S-t-o-n-e are you supplementing your birds with any feed? Or are they living just of what they could get from foraging in the pen?

 

[centrarchid]

I look for birds with a combination of characteristics.
1) Able to tolerate weather extremes of my area. Heat can kill quickly and shut down egg production before heavy molt starts.
2) Dual purpose (eggs and meat) with potential other uses involving feathers. Self-sufficient means I can generate replacements from my own stock and that will involve more males than needed. They young males and spent females are ideally worth the effort to process them and have enough fat to broaden culinary uses. Hens need to be able to reliably keep me in egg protein during about 1/2 of year. Spring and early summer is when easy access protein needed most.
3) Ability to fly vertically 6 feet to make use of roost. Predators of greatest concern must start approach from ground and have ability to force themselves through some barriers that stop cannids. I can make roost about 6 feet high that those other critters (raccoons, opossums, weasels, skunks, mink cannot climb).
4) Capacity for broodiness. A broody hen can incubate off grid and protect fee-ranging chicks from some predators if not simply buy time when predators come in. Hens can also prevent losses to extreme weather events like rain and wind that could otherwise cause a complete loss in minutes with free-range chicks through about 5 weeks of age.
5) Capacity to survive multiple production season in event breeding not done for every year. Over last decade or so I have had to forgo breeding of one line or another. Sometimes that is purposeful, other times external factors (family health, drought, extended rainy season, work related conflicts) dictate it.
6) Others keeping same "breed" are in the area to source replacements and infuse new blood countering inbreeding.

 

[S-t-o-n-e]

To clarify I do give them food, they get an all around pellet, although the foraging for themselves is a much appreciated trait. My chickens also go into a coop that is closed at night. I live down near the river which means 24/7 I am surrounded by coyotes, raccoons, skunks, bobcats, and hawks ( in fact we have a pair of some sort of raptor nesting in trees about 100 feet away from the run ).
And I’ll look into wellsummers @upper20s

 

[Uff Da]

Where did you get your birds? If you got them from a hatchery, they may have weaker genetics.

You also had a very small sample size. You can't gauge the hardiness of a breed off of 1 or 2 chickens.

Depending on your specific location, even extremely hardy, nearly feral breeds like Fayoumis will end up as prey to predators if you don't take proper precautions.

I raise Icelandics, which are about as hardy and close to feral as you can get. I've never lost a chicken during the daytime, but when I got lazy about closing them up at night, they were as vulnerable as a pet Buff Orpington and got eaten. I know at some point I will lose some during the day, too--it's just a matter of time if you free range and have a lot of predator wildlife around.

I think Fayoumis are an excellent breed for your situation. I would recommend games if you don't need great egg production or multiple roosters. Icelandics do well in heat as well as cold, will go broody, and roosters tolerate each other.

 

[Uff Da]

Oh! And where to get them? Find a conservation breeder. They may send chicks, but most will send hatching eggs.

If you prefer to buy chicks, you usually need to buy in quantities higher than 6.

With hatching eggs, you will need to have an incubator. You can get a moderately reliable Chinese model that can fit around 12 eggs for $50. I have one in addition to my more expensive Brinsea. With shipped eggs you should plan on a 50% hatch, though I have gotten higher with the advice on this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...gs-no-problem.1046313/page-5385#post-16540512

You can find conservation breeders by digging around here in BYC, and FB.

 

[upper20s]

@cavemanrich, agree with everything you just said! With free-ranging, my birds, like yours consume less feed. But I think it would be not right to remove their feed entirely, because they wouldn't be able to sustain their quality of life on just free ranging. I have had a few days where the feed consumption of my chickens has been cut in half by ranging them even just a partial day, though I wonder if this is sometimes caused not just by foraging but by simply not being near feed 24/7 (convenience you know?) .

@S-t-o-n-e are you supplementing your birds with any feed? Or are they living just of what they could get from foraging in the pen?

My birds
have a coop for night,they dont like it, but 12years of losing birds I finnally understand, But morning comes they head for the trees and hunt.I spent lot of years with many different breeds, the gentle, sweet Birds are wonderful, but when they're forging all the Hawks and foxes Found them very easily and it's like those Breeds never watched 4 Danger. Welsummers are intelligent, camo,calm. I feed them laying pellets when they want, I throw tea glass full feed out for them 7 birds.dont know if this is lot not, its10? Ounces, at lot less them cage birds.They always come to coop to lay I think is Crazy, but just shows how intelligent they are I know I want my eggs!

 

[upper20s]

Let me share some of my thinking about chickens. Have chickens as pets over 20 years now. Eat the eggs, not the chickens.
First,,,, modern day chickens are not really meant to be self sufficient, meaning, getting ALL their food on their own. Yes, there are feral chickens and somewhat common in Hawaii, and also in California, to some extent. I'm sure other places as well. They tend to be mixed breeds with Jungle Fowl in their genes as well. Hawaii has a lush green plant environment year round. That allows the chickens to eat whatever is growing year-round as well. Those in California,,, (ferals) may have greens, as well as possibly human generated food waste to eat.
You are in New Mexico, and I have been there, to know that much of the state is not LUSH GREEN all year.
And now we come to another REALITY. Feral, chickens, or similar self sufficient chickens will not be a big contributor to human's needs. Few eggs, and not much to eat if you dress out a skinny carcass.
I can see by the feed consumption, that when my chickens free-range in my back yard, less feed is consumed. They still do eat the feed, and do produce eggs for me. My Old English Game Hens, (bantams) ,,,, seem to graze more than the rest of my chickens. Maybe try getting some Game Hens of your choice. I also did notice they are much more predator aware.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

@cavemanrich, agree with everything you just said! With free-ranging, my birds, like yours consume less feed. But I think it would be not right to remove their feed entirely, because they wouldn't be able to sustain their quality of life on just free ranging. I have had a few days where the feed consumption of my chickens has been cut in half by ranging them even just a partial day, though I wonder if this is sometimes caused not just by foraging but by simply not being near feed 24/7 (convenience you know?) .

@S-t-o-n-e are you supplementing your birds with any feed? Or are they living just of what they could get from foraging in the pen?

No pen free range. From 6-7am to 8 pm