Cubalaya

This breed fits our farm environment very well. We have hot weather, we do not need high egg production, we want the benefits of potentially good meat production if culling is necessary, and we want birds that may forage efficiently on range.

The Cubalaya breed fits these requirements very well. They are also quite friendly and curious, and have great chicken "personalities".

We're hoping that this breed will become more popular as it is very rare.

(Note: there is a Brown Leghorn in the picture with two Cubes, through the pop door).

I got 4 Cubalayas, 2 hens and 2 roosters from Urch Turnland Poultry. They are very beautiful and friendly. However, they do need to be handled a lot or they will not let you pick them up (1 rooster that was not handled) My Cubalayas are picked up at least once a day since the time they were babies by young children and myself. Now they do very well with people, definatly the most friendly breed I've raised (I have raised Orpingtons, Brahmas, Frizzles, Dominiques, Cochins, and a few mixed breeds) For showing in the county fair they are not the best because they do take very long to mature. The 5 month olds I have now are still quite small. The roosters are aggressive with other roosters, my two Cubalaya roosters are separated currently. One of them is better with people than other roosters, and the other one is in with 3 others (the bottom of the pecking order because of his size) so he doesn't dare attack any The rooster I have handled the most (Carlos) is very friendly and even crows when I'm holding him When he was younger he got sick and stayed indoors with me, and would fall asleep on me, eat dinner with me (ocassianly stealing a pasta noodle) and cuddle under my arm. Now that he's older he is not as cuddly as before but still tolerates me putting him in my sweatshirt Friendliest rooster ive had. Crusty and Chloe (chloe died, sadly, the cause was unknown) are the hens. Chloe was my little sister's favorite, and she would do dance routines with her, Chloe was the calmest of all of them and was a wonderful canidate for poultry showmanship. Crusty likes perching on my hand and arm more than being held, and likes to sleep when i am holding her. Both are very sweet hens. Craig, the rooster that was not handled, doesn't like to be picked up. He does eat out of my hand when I'm in the coop feeding him, since its difficult for him to get to food.

If you are thinking about getting Cubalayas it is important to handle them a lot. The more you do handle them, the friendlier they will be !
Love This breed and highly reccomend to people looking for pets/older show birds

Want a huge personality in a little package? A little bird that can run with the big birds? A super friendly long-tailed friend? Get a Cubalaya.

They're great birds, even in mixed flocks. They can (and will) take up for themselves, but aren't bird aggressive. They're SUPER friendly with people, extremely personable, and have huge personalities. They're great free-rangers and economical eaters. Very hardy in cold or heat!

They have few downsides - one, the eggs are small (like them) and two - they're downright fearless. This seems like a good thing at first, but a little hen I had once killed herself - my father was out in the backyard, sawing up wood - she flew up to perch on him, nearly landing on the running chainsaw! They're crazy little buggers, but they'll make you smile. I miss my girl terribly and I'd love to have another one day.

I have 2 cubalaya roosters. I also had a golden duckwing cubalaya rooster. They are beautiful chickens.

Had some Cubalaya Bantams years ago. They are wonderful friendly birds. They were not prone to fighting. They do fly well. the hens are a beautiful reddish color. Only drawback was they seemed prone to Mareks, so i would suggest getting them vaccinated.

My experience is that the stock I started with are very Hardy, more so than some other breeds I had. Most of my hens are reliable layers of medium and large sized eggs. Some are broody and some are not. There seem to be many differing opinions about this breed , which I think are determined by the source of the Cubalayas. Mine do not do well if closely confined . Easily my Favorite Breed

I am new to Cubalayas, but everything I have learned so far about the breed is good. The one thing anyone should know before looking to get into Cubalayas, is how rare good birds are. The one sad thing about this breed is that, due to the their rarity and lack of multiple strains, there is not a lot of genetic variance and this has resulted in a lot of inbreeding that has led to the weakening of the Cubalaya breed. Most birds now days are underweight. Fortunately there are several dedicated breeders out there that are doing their best to revive this beautiful breed. I hope to add my efforts to theirs and get the Cubalaya back to a healthy state so that many future generations can enjoy this amazing breed.

I would love to have some can someone help

we got some of these from sandhill preservation and liked them so much that we started breeding them. they were easy to 'breed up' but their were some things they still lacked. so, we looked for breeders who had different strains of cubalaya. we got some brown red hens and a gold duckwing cock from gallorojo. we added some blacks from saladin. in the past we bred for size and type. now we are breeding for size , type, tameness, color, and multiple spurs. if you let them free range they will forage very good. they lay a good amount of medium sized eggs. their meat is very tasty. they are hardy, vigorous, and healthy. they look good in your yard.

I purchased a trio from cubalaya in Virginia. It has been amazing to watch them and get to know them. Their looks are quite striking, and the females are gorgeous in their own right. The girls are also extremely agile, and quickly figured out our plum tree even before the first plum hit the ground. They have been surprisingly good layers, laying well into this winter their first year. The rooster is very vigilant and conservative. Unlike my previous rooster he sends everyone running for cover if he spots a raptor. I look forward to raising some babies this spring.

My birds have been quite curious and friendly. They will jump in my lap for treats, but do not wish to be held. You AREN'T going to catch a cubalaya loose in the yard - wait until nightfall, they're FAST. Mine are free ranging with production reds and Marans and seem to be doing fine. The rooster is very mellow toward his son, to the point I need to give junior away so I can get pure offspring. So I could see this being a problem in a larger mixed flock.

I have raised these in the past, very beautiful but in my experience they weren't very hardy. I think they would be best raised in their on pen away from other breeds. Just MHO.