mixing breeds Egyptian Fayoumis with Rhode island reds

[nigma]

Hello everyone!
I am planning out my coop and breeds to get, and I am just wondering how will these 2 breeds get along?
I understand that Egyptian fayoumis are a skitch bird, and tend to be not so friendly to humans, but i am wondering what are they like with other breeds of chicken?
Also, how friendly are the Rhode island reds? do they deal well with such a skitch bird?

I am thinking about having 4-5 Egyptian Fayoumies hens and rooster, with 3-4 Reds just hens. I am thinking about having them mixed in one enclosed chicken run (with a roof) and coop. We get a lot of predators around here (eagles, racoons, owls, possums, stray cats)

I haven't gotten anything yet, also i am planning out the size of everything as well. But i am just wondering even if these 2 breeds are cool with each other.

Doing some research, and it seems that Fayoumis, and Reds, are not always broody. So i am thinking of getting a Cochin, or maybe a silkie to become my main broody hen? or is that just random?

 

[feather13]

We have RIRs and EFs together with no problem. The RIRs are assertive, curious, girls and the EFs girls are skittish, independent, flighty birds, but they get along great. They are both first to eat whatever is put before them, but they don't fight with anyone. I haven't found either breed to be broody, although one of our Phoenixes is incredibly broody.

Here's something to think about though: Fayoumis are loud. And by loud I mean pterodactyl ear-splitting screeches all day long. There are YouTube videos of EF's screeching, but it is much, much louder in person.

And they do not bear confinement well. Even though we free range our flock in an enclosed, ample orchard, the Fayoumis roam the neighborhood all day. One ended up in a neighbor's yard with dogs and got killed. The other leads standard breed pullets over a six foot wall with a ten foot drop on the other side (and then screeches in the neighbor's yard). They are also really bony, small birds, so if you intended to eat them, I don't think they'd be worth the work.

I don't know where you live, but we live in a densely populated suburb and I would definitely never get Fayoumis again, even though they are beautiful, alert, and resistant to Mareks (which we have in our flock). RIRs can be bossy and aggressive, but they are pretty quiet.

Hope this helps!

 

[nigma]

good stuff! thanks for the info feather13
The Fayumis weren't really a choice. My family and I grew up in Egypt, and so we miss eating them...only reason why i am getting them is because of that. They are much leaner than most other breeds, maybe that is why we like the taste? haha they are great rotisserie chicken imo.
i do live in a somewhat densely populated suburb in so-cal, neighbor already has chickens we hear every morning, so hopefully isn't tooo too bad?!
i will have the chicken run with a roof to keep them inside, i have to anyways with how many random meat eaters around us.

 

[NatJ]

Doing some research, and it seems that Fayoumis, and Reds, are not always broody. So i am thinking of getting a Cochin, or maybe a silkie to become my main broody hen? or is that just random?

Broodiness is sort-of random. Some hens will, some will not.

Some breeds are more prone to it, so you would probably notice a major difference in how many broodies per breed if you had a hundred of each. But that's not very helpful when trying to predict what a single, specific bird will do.

You could raise Fayoumis and Red for a year and see if any go broody, then add another breed the next year if none did go broody.

If you do want a broody Cochin or Silkie, you might want to get 3 or 4 to increase your chance of having at least one good one. Then you could rehome the extras or make soup out of them.

Do remember that if you hatch chicks, about half of them will be males, so have a plan for those. My own preferred plan is to eat them any time after they start crowing, no matter how small they may be, but plenty of other people do things differently (like finding other homes for the cockerels, or raising them to an older age before butchering, or making a big bachelor pen to house a whole flock of just males.)

 

[NatJ]

i am just wondering even if these 2 breeds are cool with each other.

I would expect them to be fine, because different chicken breeds usually are fine together. That is especially true if they grow up together.

I have never tried that specific combination, but I have had Rhode Island Reds with various other breeds on a number of occasions, and never noticed breed-specific problems.

Of course making the coop & run too small can cause trouble with any breed or any combination of breeds, but since you are doing your research in advance you should be able to avoid that.

 

[nigma]

yeah, reading more and more, seems broodiness is not exactly a 100% no matter the breed.
Maybe i could change up the math a bit more. I only have room for around 10-12 birds. Maybe get 3 of each breed: 3 reds, 3 fayomies, and 3 Silkies or Cochin . Or do what u said, wait a year and c if anyone in the main flock does the hard work.
So who ever is not working out, he/she/it will end up in a pot sooner or later.

If all fails, there is incubators for sure.

Thanks for the advise!

 

[feather13]

good stuff! thanks for the info feather13
The Fayumis weren't really a choice. My family and I grew up in Egypt, and so we miss eating them...only reason why i am getting them is because of that. They are much leaner than most other breeds, maybe that is why we like the taste? haha they are great rotisserie chicken imo.
i do live in a somewhat densely populated suburb in so-cal, neighbor already has chickens we hear every morning, so hopefully isn't tooo too bad?!
i will have the chicken run with a roof to keep them inside, i have to anyways with how many random meat eaters around us.

Hi neighbor! I live in suburban SoCal, too. How cool that you grew up in Egypt and love the taste of EFs! My daughters named ours "Skinny Legends" because they look more like wild birds that chickens and feel really bony lol. They are beautiful, agile, alert little birds and I'd love to hear how they do in a coop. Even though we also have predators, ours have always been free range during the day, so maybe that's why they hate being cooped up.

Our neighbors are also cool with us having chickens since most of them grew up in other countries where everyone kept chickens, so we exchange their tolerance with the noise and finding them in their backyards with loads of free, fresh eggs . But I have to say that the EFs make loud screechy noises like nothing that has existed since the Jurassic Era lol. Were the ones you grew up around super noisy? Ours are from Murray McMurray, so maybe their stock is just naturally loud (?)

Good luck with your RIRs and EFs and hope you'll post updates! They are both sassy, independent, and fun breeds to have around.

 

[nigma]

to be honest, the ones here in the US are more likely pure-er bred vs than the ones in Egypt? haha
but they weren't that noisy as i recall, they were still fairly flighty than other chickens. But generally they were kept cause how fast they grew, and most of our family liked rotisserie more than boiled/pot chickens.
I can't remember which website had the better deal, but Murray McMurray was def. one i called asking about EFs. cackle hatchery, and Meyer hatchery also had them. So one of those 3 will get my final call.
How many chickens do you have over all? also do you have a rooster?

 

[feather13]

Glad to hear EFs are less loud in their home country! Maybe they're louder here because they're complaining about the colder weather?

We liked McMurray, but I've heard Cackle and Meyer are good, too. We have 13 chickens of various breeds, but no roosters. We're not zoned for roosters, although some neighbors have them. I love roosters, but would feel so sad if animal control impounded one. Plus our backyard is too small to raise more chicks and we don't have the heart to kill them (although I was raised on a farm and admire people who keep chickens to eat!). I read in your original post that you're planning on getting a rooster. They're so much fun and I hope you'll post about your EF rooster adventures!

Our EF that was killed by a dog had just started to lay eggs and was a bit friendlier than the one that survived, so maybe yours will be less flighty/more human tolerant once they start laying. They do peck a bit at the others at night when they're settling in on the roost, but get along with all the others during the day. I don't think you'll have any problems mixing them with Rhode Island Reds or any other breeds.