“I wrote a review in 2017 after purchasing these birds when a strong strain of Merek‚Äôs took out all of my others. These Fayoumi‚Äôs are still thriving and have not succumbed to the horrific virus. No symptoms. Just wanted to give hope to those who think they can‚Äôt have chickens anymore due to having Merek‚Äôs on their property. The only thing I will add is they never got tame as time went on. They still throw themselves up against the coop like I‚Äôm coming in to murder them even though I‚Äôve only given them treats and food all their life! Wish I could have other breeds, but they‚Äôre better than nothing.”
“Our family loves a challenge and reading all the reviews of Fayoumis made us want to see if we could tame one. Scarab got a lot of attention when she was small and though she is alert, I wouldn't call her flighty. When she is in the mood she will happily perch on our arms and she likes to be around us. She has remained fast friends with the chickens she was raised with but she is a joy to watch and she tolerated the summer heat well. I would certainly add more of these to my flock in the future.”
“Received my 8 one-day old ladies on 3/10. So far it has been fun to see the different personalities. 6 of my girls are all different breeds but 2 were the Fayoumies. I think it helps that they are companions to one another. They are flighty and where I see one, the other is nearby. They have always stuck together since they were babies. Most of my other girls are of decent size and while the Fayhoumies are not friendly with me or the others, they do not seem to be to aggressive with the others. Today they are 20 weeks old. two of my other birds are already laying eggs. (My Asa Brown and my Delaware...at least we think that is what she is) When I go into their chicken yard to feed treats, they come around along with the others but they keep a distance and then run in to grab a crumb or two and sprint away...very fast moving and they are fliers.”
“I got two of these and they are well suited for our situation... free ranging, with lots of predators.
These are not pets. Despite daily handling as babies, they do not like to be touched. They will follow me around for treats, but if I try to touch, they scream bloody murder.
Their eggs are not huge, but they are reliable layers so far, starting early and giving me 5-6 eggs every week per bird.
They ARE bullies. They are the smallest chickens in my flock, but they have put themselves at the top of the pecking order, and if someone doesn‚Äôt move, they will make them move. I occasionally have to grab one and send it to time out when they decide to camp a preferred nest box and not let anyone else lay.”
“I received a call on hatch day saying there was a hatching problem w the Polish I had ordered and I needed to make a decision on another breed to substitute. The Eyptian Fayoumi was recommended by the staff person calling. Cleo has been high strung, nervous and flighty since she arrived. Now as an adult, she is the bully of the chicken yard. I hate the way she pecks at my beautiful Orpington, Mottled Cochin and Easter Egger. She attacks to keep them away from food, she chases them down, pecks them and grabs their feathers and holds on. As soon as this vicious cold spell leaves us in a few days, I am going to try some behavior modification tactics (like removing her from the flock for a few days) . if that doesn't work, we may have to rehomed her. I do not recommend!”
“Out of all my birds, these would be the ones to peck an adversary's eyes out before getting eaten! We live in HOT Arizona and I knew I wanted to get a heat tolerant variety for my first flock, so I added two of these girls to my order. They're exactly as all of the reviews online stated: fiercely independent, VERY flighty, with almost a feral/wild personality. I've never been able to pick one up (they are fast!), but they've been faithfully giving us eggs everyday and for the most part they get along with our flock. One of them is always the last one back into the coop at night because she's out hunting around for bugs and one time I accidentally miscounted and didn't realize she never made it back into the coop, so for a full 24 hours she roamed outside in the desert and survived our bobcats, owls, coyotes, and hawks. They look half feral for a reason!”
“I've been impressed by this tenacious little hen. I got her nine months ago and now, in the dead of winter, she's still laying nearly every day. This puts all the rest of my chickens (including a Welsummer, who lays about every other day, and a Dominique who is supposed to be a winter layer and isn't laying at all) to complete shame. She is quite the little rascal, bursting with energy, and not a cuddly hen, so anyone who is looking for a lapdog of a chicken would likely be disappointed, but she does her job and does it well. She's a valuable presence in my flock.”
“I had a flock of 15 chickens (about 6 had been vaccinated for Marek's) and all but two died in a matter of a year from exposure. It was devastating to see them go through the horrible things that Marek's does. I thought I was never going to be able to raise baby chicks again. Recently I found out about the Egyptian faymoui. I struggled with even bringing them onto the property, not wanting to set them up for death. But I found an article that reported they are 94% resistant to Marek's. I went for it! We bought four chicks, day old.....now they are 8 weeks old. So far, so good. I know that we are not out of the window yet but this is such an amazing option to be able to raise chickens, have fresh eggs, and give them a great life! I am hoping they continue to flourish and will try and report back once they're older. By the way, they were definitely nervous as babies, but they are also brave! They eat out of my hand and are very curious. Love these chickens! Cannot wait to see what their eggs look like.”
