Is There a Predator Resistant Chicken? - FHC Q & A
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- Опубліковано 11 кві 2024
- Are some breeds of chickens more predator resistant due to size, speed, or other characteristics? Well, there definitely are, but there are also some breeds that definitely are not. In this edition of the Farm Hand’s Companion Q & A Show, Pa Mac discusses his experiences with predator resistant chickens as well as predator prone chickens.
For further information on the topic of protecting chickens, see Pa Mac’s other videos on the subject:
How Do You Protect Chickens from Predators?
• How Do You Protect Chi...
Chicken Yard Fencing and Protecting Chickens: studio.ua-cam.com/users/videoIwTT...
To see some of the books and other resources Pa Mac has available, see the Farm Hand’s Companion General Store page:
farmhandscompanion.com/fhc-ge...
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Be sure and subscribe to the Farm Hand's Companion channel to see a variety of shows for the small farm or homestead: The Farm Hand's Companion Show, My Favorite Farm Tool, The FHC Q & A Show with Pa Mac, FHC Farm Bulletins, and FHC Extras.
Gamefowl are the only predator savvy chickens I’ve had. Smart enough to evade predators
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.
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.
If Arnold could barely take out the predator, I think your chickens are going to need a few more iterations.
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
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.
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!😊❤
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.
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.
The saying is birds of a feather flock together...with livestock theres deadstock your gonna have death loss no matter what
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.
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.
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!
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
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."
When I lived in the south of France,a friend kept egg chickens.
Great video Pa Mack. Always enjoy your channel so much. Fred.
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 UA-cam
Interesting about the fighting breeds
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.