Is There a Predator Resistant Chicken? - FHC Q & A

[@grandoakgrange4614]

Yes!! I've had the same experience with lighter colored chickens. For years, I've never had a problem with hawks. All my regular chickens are very dark, red, black, etc.. One year, I get a bunch of light colored Wyandottes. By the end of the season, not a single one left, and hawks lurking above the coop all day, every day. But, never once did they take a single one of the dark colored chickens.

[@quailjailss]

Gamefowl are the only predator savvy chickens I’ve had. Smart enough to evade predators

[@donrad]

Bantam chickens are great for a family homestead because they will fly into the trees or on the roof at night. It's not the size of the chicken in a fight, but the size of the fight in the chicken; and bantam roosters have 10x fight in them for their size. As with many things, what is good (sustainable) for a family homestead would not be good (profitable) for a farm. What would you rather have, a live flock of bantams or a dead flock of heavy dual breed layers/fryers? Plus, there is much more flavor and nutrition in slow-growth free-range bantam chickens and eggs, way way more!

[@Brd100000]

I have bantams. Didn’t know this. Thanks!!

[@SGT_Fon]

I haven't bought a chick in over 20 years. The 80 or so hens I have now are all crossbreed from my original 10 purbreeds and the addition of 2 hens of unknown mixed breeding and a Ayam Cemani rooster and 3 hens that were gifted to me by a neighbor after he fell ill. Some birds sleep in the coop, some sleep with my Anatolian Sheppard, but mist roost in the birch tree in front of my house. At this point the flock is pretty preditor proof. Ones that can fly ok venture out into the pasture while those bigger boned birds tend to stay in the brush. I'm also rooster heavy with the introduction of the Ayam Cemani . I have had them drive off adult red tails and still want more ! Night time the Anatolian keep the fishers, fox's & bobcats away. Only thing I still have some trouble with is the occasional owl, but that's more my ducks that are on the pond at night

[@MerwinARTist]

I concur with most everything you have said. The white "chicken-house chicken" is grown to be a tender fat bird that you are doing a favor if you butcher it. On another note .. I have some wild roses .. they make long stiff canes and I have noticed that the chickens never fly up into the rosebush on the way to the other side .. so I'm in the process of planting some wild roses about 4-6 ft inside the fence. The long canes will drape over and hang on the top of the fence .. and the area under the rosebush becomes a shelter from hawks and hawks aren't going to dive down inside the rosebush either. Sometimes I wish I was more predator proof!!! ;-) lol

[@Mael01369]

I very much enjoy all of your content. You deliver your wisdom and humor in excellent balance. The Q&A episodes are some of the best aside from your favorite farm tool videos. Thank you!

[@lawsonlawnandfarm8073]

When I seen the title of this video i immediately said game chickens. I was glad you mentioned them in this video. That’s something you don’t see much here on KZbin

[@cpthoward]

I have a black Americauna rooster named Charley who has great protection instincts and has successfully protected our small flock of five hens for three years. We only let ours free-range after noon as well. There have been predators, but Charley gives us and the hens plenty of warming when they come around. I recommend a black rooster.

[@Mael01369]

I also have a black americauna rooster that is highly protective of his hens and aggressive towards any perceived threats

[@chippysteve4524]

When I lived in the south of France,a friend kept egg chickens. In that area chickens had trouble from hunting dogs and foxes so they chose a breed that were a bit smaller but could still fly well enough to get up into the branches when in danger. Can't recall the name of the traditional breed but they were smallish,mostly black in colour and laid great eggs.I guess the problem with meat chickens is that you want them big and heavy but then they'll never get off the ground to safety.

[@Frombie_01]

Years ago, my second daughter asked "Dada, what's your favourite food?" My answer was simple, "Whatever your mother has cooked for us." The joke since then has been, "Dada, mum's cooked your favourite, again." As for my favourite tool. That would be the best tool I have for the job at hand.

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Great video Pa Mack. Always enjoy your channel so much. Fred.

[@GigiEmbrechts]

One thing for owning a for roosters beside breeding is they crow to tell the chickens there is a predators around. Banty chickens are great at being aware of predators, and their eggs although small are very tasty. My favorite breed to have

[@douglasvantassel8098]

Interesting about the fighting breeds

[@JohnDoe-ib3hr]

I'm in the UK and am developing my own king of guard goose, it is a cross between the Russian Tula and wild Canada geese which luckily resulted in fertile offspring. They are extremely heavy set and confident with a hell of a bite and wing beat from the Tula plus the hardiness of the Canada, I'm breeding carpal knobs into them too in the hopes that they can deal significant damage to predators. I've already had a dead fox in the enclosure but couldn't determine how it met it's end, my guess is internal damage but don't know for sure.

[@Chalz108]

That's awesome

[@beebop9808]

Loads of hawks around here. But my black copper marans rooster had run ins with both a redtail and a coopers hawk. Still hear them everyday and see them fly over but haven't had any of them coming back in since for the past couple months. He was facing off one day not long ago with a stinking coyote and glad I just happen to be there when that started. My boys tough but not yote tough. Hate to lose him. Good roosters don't fall off the trees and he's top shelf for sure.

[@wvfishkeeper8865]

I did the same thing you did and crossed game hens into my flock to build up predator resistance. Very effective.

[@jarretv5438]

Brown leg horns are a nice breed for free ranging cuz they are also flighty and “nervous” plus they lay 300 plus eggs a year. Downside is they aren’t very broody and they are smaller (most flighty birds are) so it’s not a Great dual purpose bird for meat

[@happilyretiredmark2964]

Nice PAMac....we eat breakfast dinner and supper around here in that order. You are the man and God Bless buddy

[@Bluegill_Hill]

When I first got my all black cemanis the resident crow visited them evry morning for a week or so. They'll sometimes freerange together and took me awhile to get used to seeing a crow take flight from group I thought was all chicken. Mine can fly, but not over forest. Predators hit hardest day before upcoming storm/hard freeze. Ditto about later freerange release time. If predator tries near midday, likely return before sunset. Yep, black, flighty, fighty and good landscaping.

[@JohnDavis-tj1bl]

Your dead on point pa Mac! Game chickens are far and away the most hardy breed of chicken. I’ve never noticed until you mentioned it in the video but the white birds are the first to go every time!

[@Brd100000]

Thanks Paul! Enjoyed this very much. 😊

[@jivejunior8753]

I think the best way to answer this question might be to look at how the wild ancestor of chickens, the red junglefowl, is. They're obviously predator resistant given that they survive by themselves in the predator-laden jungles of South Asia. And looking at them, they line up with what Pa Mac and everyone else is saying. They're very small (3.25 lb at most), lightly built, very active, wary and flighty, and the males are aggressive. They can also fly, though not well.

[@LLjean-qz7sb]

I think that in any species, the lighter the color, the more prone they are to preditors, less camoflague ability...... the darker the animal, the more camouflage ability! Hawks fear crows, so black chickens appear like crows from the air, and they generally tend to stay away!😊❤

[@nicolem376]

Liege fighter and Burges are huge gamefowl. The roosters get about 36” tall and are known to be sweet with humans but will kill other roosters and guard their flock mightily. Also, Florida Bullfrog has a lot of info about integrating gamefowl into your flock for more predator smarts, free ranging and broodiness.

[@caparaorc]

In my experience here in Brasil, game hens are where it's at for predator resistance and broodiness. We have a lot of small prey birds that love to eat little chicks around here. Had a a hen that was so good she would fight the hawks to protect her chicks.

[@T-K-OH]

Regarding hawks specifically, Peacocks that range with the chickens will usually chase off and even fly after predatory birds. This is usually if you have a breeding pair and they have chicks of their own. They're just very expensive to buy initially. Thanks for the video!

[@T-K-OH]

Shoot, get some pet crows while you're at it lol. That may the do the trick.

[@mattrexing]

Egyptian Fayoumi have a good game aspect, and the flightiness. They settle down a little better as well.

[@michaeldornhausen8807]

I know, it is off topic, do you still keep bees? If yes, could you please tell us, how you deal with Varroa mites?

[@phillyfathead]

Very interesting!

[@hermitholllerhomestead2080]

I've heard that predators supposedly confuse black hens with crows or ravens, but I don't buy it. The shape and behavior are quite different, and I have lost plenty of black chickens to predators. My oldest hen is a cream legbar (approaching 10 years). I attribute the leghorn blood in their background as the main reason for her survival. She is very alert and twitchy. I also have a goose which is a good watchdog and may help deter predators to an extent. A more aggressive breed might be better (Mine is a Toulouse) but it may torment your other animals, children and visitors.

[@matthewtaylor2185]

I don't know how we have managed to never lose a chicken to a hawk, as hawks are all over the place here in Central Kentucky. We have had buff-brahma, Rhode Island Red, x between the two, and as of last year, barred rocks. Wilder chickens may be good for free ranging, but u can't keep them inside the chicken fence and out of the garden. The barred rocks seem vigorous ND are great for scratching and working a compost pile, but they will get out and excavate the garden.

[@thomasc.pellicer1879]

I've had for years Plymouth rock a America heritage breed hens one rooster of the breed. Now I have one Rhode Island red rooster and all jet black with green highlights sorry off hand can't remember the name of breed. But here in north Florida we do have red Tale hank , Ratcoons, Possum , foxes or rats but never lost a hen to anything. The two Rosters do a great job watching over the hens . Also have two Labrador Retrievers that just love them and also watch over them. My chickens are let out each early morning by automatic door opener and they go back in at night on there own the door is time to come down and shut 15 minutes after sunset each night. Chickens pen is two 10 ft. X 10ft x 6ft. Chain link dog kennels hooked together With a roof over makes it 20ft.x10 ft. X 6ft. Yes I have lost chickens to old age, egg Bound, or some other sickness.

[@mattwright8353]

Black looks like a crow is what I've notice as well_ had a polish hen with the free range flock to be the one that got_ got and she's the only one left

[@TrialAndError8713]

You mentioned llamas with sheep. What if a person completely encircled the chicken yard within the closure for llamas or donkeys? Would this help protect the birds from ground predators like coyotes and raccoons? I'm planning to put a bird net over the poultry yard to help protect them from predatory birds.

[@TheRedneckprepper]

TY

[@zhalosky]

The silkie roosters that we raised by hand has started to become mean to us. They would peck at us so hard we sometimes bleed. Could this be the better rooster we have been waiting for? Currently the flock protectors for hawk attacks have only been the flock of turkeys. Yes it takes us a team of 10 turkeys to watch the skies.

[@tomjensen618]

Hmm... A redtailed hawk just took one of my black chickens. I agree ,let the chickens out 2-3 hours before sundown and minimize the risk.

[@ciphercode2298]

I know that id started off with 3 little mutt hens,all bantam in size and theyre alot more alert and broody than my black australorps. My australorp roosters are pretty alert and good defenders,but the hens would ask their predator if he wanted them to sprinkle salt on themselves 😂. Im slowly replacing my purebred australorps with babies from the australorp roosters and bantamish hens. Hopefully theyll be good layers and meat birds with good sense,lol.

[@EthanPDobbins]

Geese are susceptible to fox, racoon, and coyote just like any small animal if the predator is determined to eat them but their presence being larger helps to deter predators especially airial predators. Makes them think twice about whether it's worth it. And they keep an eye on the sky and will sound the honk alarm for other birds to get to safety. For predator resistant chickens i think the best solution really is a good fence and a closed door at night and/or a good dog. Especially a livestock guardian since that's their job. But ever since having been given a goose the sky predators stay away and now with a 60 pound hound dog running around the place the only predators that come in are possums just like always because they aren't smart. But he wants to eat them so they haven't been a problem either. He corners them under a shed and I go shoot them. Before the big dog this time of year the foxes would be trying to wipe us out but with him out there a fox isn't brave enough. He runs faster than they can. Used to be we had a beagle jack russel mix that would keep the hens guarded but he's got too old to be much use for that anymore.

[@mattwright8353]

The saying is birds of a feather flock together...with livestock theres deadstock your gonna have death loss no matter what

[@brokenwolf67]

Lm pretty sure my goose killed a hawk a few weeks ago. Found the hawk in my pen with a broken wing bleeding from the mouth, one of my ducks had Ben attacked and the goose was really worked up I think when the haw attacked the duck the goose got a hold of it and tore it up

[@linuxsdad]

I think it just depends on the bird. I have some Cuckoo marans that watch over the whole flock while others are plain dumb and walk into danger.

[@thomaslthomas1506]

I don't think there is such thing as a predator resistant chikin. There is predator resistant fencing. I fenced our house, garden, orchards and goat+chikin run with no climb 6', which worked well. After we couldn't keep our cat and the neighbor's cat from brawling I added a hot wire along the top. It stops everything but flying predators (even bears). Put up a couple of "birds eyes" which seem to keep the hawks and ravens away. Also keeps porcupines out of the yard a big plus.

[@zugzug6773]

If Arnold could barely take out the predator, I think your chickens are going to need a few more iterations.

[@mikeokeefe2014]

😮

[@Specogecko]

Get a bunch of barnyard mix, who ever survives predators is the ones you breed

[@bryannakvinda8411]

Shit my bantam jungle fowel red rock crosses kick the shit out of the stray cats around here and have kept my silkies and orpingtons alive from hawks hell they chase the squirrels

[@MarSchlosser]

When we had chickens, the only breed never taken was Americauna. Straight run, and the most gentle rooster was kept. He hated dogs, bears, cats, bobcats, weasels, and stayed between strange people and the hens.

[@redmule8621]

Gamefowl and their crosses.