What's the best breed to let run semi-feral?

[chickfused]

I'm in Tennessee. Summers are brutal, winters get pretty chilly. I'm looking for a flock to pretty much sustain itself on my land, no fences, but a coop to go into at night and food water supplemented for free ranging. Basically just a step above feral. Looking for meat and eggs and baby chick raising. Any suggestions for breeds to look at?

 

[All4Eggz]

I'm in Tennessee. Summers are brutal, winters get pretty chilly. I'm looking for a flock to pretty much sustain itself on my land, no fences, but a coop to go into at night and food water supplemented for free ranging. Basically just a step above feral. Looking for meat and eggs and baby chick raising. Any suggestions for breeds to look at?

Birds that I have found "Semi-feral" while still providing eggs/meat, AND are cold and heat hardy include Barred Rocks and Wyandottes.
I don't think you can get a specific breed that "pretty much sustain itself" on any land. Predators come, and some predators are no match for chickens, even if they are semi-feral.
Some breeds are known to be aggressive, but I've found them to be sweet, and vice versa. The only way I could think to ENCOURAGE aggressiveness, would be not to handle them as chicks, then introduce lots of roosters when they grow up so they learn to fight each other and could therefore fight off predators better. Rooster fighting could probably cause some issues, but I think that's the only way to encourage fighting abilities.
Hens usually run to hide at the sight of a predator, so you would have to rely on roosters or other guard animals to protect your flock.

Good luck

I'll tag a few people I think might be able to help.

@TheOddOneOut
@Mrs. K
@Chookwagn
@U_Stormcrow
@aart

 

[Chookwagn]

Birds that I have found "Semi-feral" while still providing eggs/meat include Barred Rocks and Wyandottes. I don't think you would can get a specific breed that "pretty much sustain itself" on any land. Predators come, and some predators are no match for chickens, even if they are semi-feral. Some breeds are known to be aggressive, but I've found them to be sweet, and vice versa. The only way I could think to ENCOURAGE aggressiveness, would be not to handle them as chicks, then introduce lots of roosters when they grow up so they learn to fight each other and could therefore fight off predators better.

@TheOddOneOut
@Mrs. K
@Chookwagn
@U_Stormcrow
@aart

Barred rocks and wyandottes are too big and slow....

You would want to have some sort of game chicken....

Semi feral chickens aren't going to lay eggs where you want them to.... unless you want to go egg hunting each day.

 

[All4Eggz]

What are you wanting from these semi feral chickens?? Meat? eggs? Or for looks?

@chickfused mentioned they need dual purpose breeds that are also cold and heat hardy.

Barred rocks and wyandottes are too big and slow....

You would want to have some sort of game chicken....

I thought of that, but my game birds don't have much meat on them, and don't lay much eggs. I do agree that Barred Rocks and Wyandottes are pretty slow.


A breed known to fight is an Asil. They are a fast gamey type bird that can KILL other roosters. Although they could be very heat and cold tolerant, the hens don't lay much and the roosters don't have much meat, so if a dual purpose breed is your main priority, that wouldn't be a great option.

A few more people that might be able to help:
@3KillerBs
@Everose
@21hens-incharge
@LaFleche
@ColtHandorf
@LadiesAndJane
@Isadora
@dawg53
@R2elk

 

[Chookwagn]

I dont think you are going to get something that fits all your requirements..... you will probably be able to get 2 out of 3 or 2 from 4 of your wishes..... choose the top 2 attributes and then decide on a breed.....

You will probably find that mutts will be your best option...... get 4 or 5 different breeds and let them loose ..... you will soon find out which are better suited to your environment

 

[All4Eggz]

I dont think you are going to get something that fits all your requirements..... you will probably be able to get 2 out of 3 or 2 from 4 of your wishes..... choose the top 2 attributes and then decide on a breed.....

You will probably find that mutts will be your best option...... get 4 or 5 different breeds and let them loose ..... you will soon find out which are better suited to your environment

Good point.
I would imagine their main priority would be "semi-feral" breeds, as they will not have boundaries to protect the chickens from predators.

 

[Farmlife16]

I'm in Tennessee. Summers are brutal, winters get pretty chilly. I'm looking for a flock to pretty much sustain itself on my land, no fences, but a coop to go into at night and food water supplemented for free ranging. Basically just a step above feral. Looking for meat and eggs and baby chick raising. Any suggestions for breeds to look at?

I would recommend getting flightier breeds, such as leghorns. Google also mentions Anconas, Fayoumis, and Araucanas. Birds that are prone to flying can escape much better from predators. Though it is not guaranteed that all the birds from those breeds will be flighty, there is more of a chance that they will be compared to other breeds. I would also look for breeds that are good foragers.

 

[All4Eggz]

I would recommend getting flightier breeds, such as leghorns. Google also mentions Anconas, Fayoumis, and Araucanas. Birds that are prone to flying can escape much better from predators. Though it is not guaranteed that all the birds from those breeds will be flighty, there is more of a chance that they will be compared to other breeds. I would also look for breeds that are good foragers.

Great ideas.
I completely forgot about leghorns!
They are PROLIFIC egg layers, the males can carry a bit of meat, they are excellent foragers, they are very flighty (can fly away from danger), and very slim, quick birds. They are not "semi-feral" or even close to feral for that matter, but would probably have a high chance of survival during a predator encounter, since they are fast and fly extraordinarily well. My leghorns can fly over a 10 foot fence no problem, and even flew onto a shed (15 + feet)!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm in Tennessee. Summers are brutal, winters get pretty chilly. I'm looking for a flock to pretty much sustain itself on my land, no fences, but a coop to go into at night and food water supplemented for free ranging. Basically just a step above feral. Looking for meat and eggs and baby chick raising. Any suggestions for breeds to look at?

Yes. Lower your expectations. Now lower them some more. Disappointed yet? Lower them even further.

Modern birds have been bred to be larger, lay more frequently, and often grow faster than their counterparts of even a hundred years ago. The consequences of all that breeding is that they are far more dependent upon us, and far more dependent upon a nutritionally complete modern feed/diet to perform.

Ancient breeds - jungle fowl - aren't particularly well suited to your climate, but free range extremely well (in their native conditions). They are also tough, not particularly meaty, lay only rarely, and not large eggs at that. Oh yeah, and free ranging means that they are likely to lay eggs all kinds of places you won't find them.

I'm in Fl, USDA Growing zone 8a - while occasionally hotter, I have a longer growing season than you do, a milder winter, and average 1" of rain+ weekly. I'm also on flatter ground than you likely enjoy in NC. You can see my efforts to create a free ranging birds suitable for local conditions, here. and you can see (incomplete) my efforts to bend my feed curve with a biodiverse polyculture, here. Tl;dr - a year of non-stop breeding and frequent culling has provided a couple misses which qualify as forward progress, and one hopefull. I should be pretty close to "there" in four to six years, at the current rate. ...and free ranging saves me 15-35% (seasonally dependant) on my feed costs, but also means that, at any given weight, my birds are more flavorful, have more chew, and took longer to arrive at weight than a similar bird raised in more conventional (coop and run, free feeding) conditions.

I have SLW. They are predator aware, a bit flighty, better free rangers than some of my others. I like them - smart birds. They also take 7 months to maturity, lay eggs maybe three days out of five, and the eggs are medium, sometimes medium-large, almost never large. Bigger than my purpose-built Comets (an RSL-type), the hens still only weigh 4.5-5# and took half a year to get there. SLW, BTW, were bred roughly 100+ years ago as an improvement upon the dual purpose breed, Brahma - which are (eventually) big birds, buit does it ever take forever for them to get there - and they lay no better than SLW, either.

People are breeding "Ranger" lines for improved meat on carcass, decent free ranging ability, and faster growth - but the very impressive numbers coming out of the best of those lines are still coming from very traditional management practices - not turning them loose, offering some feed, and engaging in magic ritual with hopes of success. "Fingers Crossed" is rarely a successful strategy, and never reliable, year over year. Neither is "hope and prayer", "a wing and a prayer", "blood for the blood god", or any other similar practice.

Modern birds were bred on the altar of technology. If you want them to perform at anything like their potential, you need to continue to sacrifice upon the altar of technology. If, instead, you wish to return to ancient roots, and ancient levels of performance - start a culling project, and prepare yourself for Bene Gesserit levels of patience in the creation of your Kwisatz Haderach.

 

[Farmlife16]

Great ideas.
I completely forgot about leghorns!
They are PROLIFIC egg layers, the males can carry a bit of meat, they are excellent foragers, they are very flighty (can fly away from danger), and very slim, quick birds. They are not "semi-feral" or even close to feral for that matter, but would probably have a high chance of survival during a predator encounter, since they are fast and fly extraordinarily well. My leghorns can fly over a 10 foot fence no problem, and even flew onto a shed (15 + feet)!

Yes, a friend of mine who has chickens recommended them to me as good free ranging birds. Especially brown leghorns, since there darker color makes them less visible to predators. I would like to get some in near future.