General Information
- Breed Purpose
- Ornamental
- Comb
- Pea
- Broodiness
- Average
- Climate Tolerance
- All Climates
- Egg Productivity
- Medium
- Egg Size
- Medium
- Egg Color
- Light Brown
- Breed Temperament
- Friendly,Easily handled,Calm
- Breed Colors/Varieties
- The American Poultry Association recognizes Black Breasted Red, White, and Black.
- Breed Size
- Large Fowl
The Cubalaya breed derives from Sumatra and Malay birds brought to Cuba from the Philippines in the 1800s, where they were bred as a triple-purpose breed, for meat, eggs and sport. With careful selection and breeding, the Cubalaya was developed as a breed. It was exported to the USA, where the breed standard was first approved in 1935 by the American Poultry Association, with the breed name "Cubalaya" in honor of Cuba, from where the breed originated. They were first exhibited in the US in 1939, at the International Poultry Show in Cleveland, Ohio.
Cubalaya have a very nice white meat, lay an average of 4 to 5 eggs per week during their peak egg-laying season, and serve as a duel purpose breed in Cuba. Within the United States, they are typically kept for ornamental and exhibition purposes. They have a friendly, curious disposition, are very heat tolerant and make excellent foragers when allowed to free range. The hens are good broodies and mothers.
The breed has been developed in standard and bantam size birds, standard-sized cocks weighing on average 5.3 and hens 3.3lb. Bantam cocks weigh around 1.6lb and hens about 1.3lb.
Three colors were allowed by the original Cuban standard: black, black-breasted red and white, though many others were bred in Cuba at the time. The same three colors are accepted by both the APA and the ABA.
It is the only chicken breed with official recognition from the Asociación Nacional de Avicultura, the Cuban national poultry association.
Cubalaya eggs
Cubalaya chick
Cubalaya juveniles
Cubalaya hen
Cubalaya rooster
For more information on this breed and their owners' and breeders' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-cubalaya.1063950/