Chicken Breed Focus - Cubalaya

[cubalaya]

would love to hear from saladin(largest flock of cubalayas on the east coast) gallorojo(put together a history of cubalayas in America) davek( past breeder of show cubalayas) troyer(so many great photos of cubalayas) cubakid(large west coast flock of show quality cubalayas) and any others

 

[troyer]

· What made you decide to get this breed?
There are just simply no other breeds like it. I have liked these birds from the day I had first seen a photo of them and read the description of their temperament.
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
I own them first of all because they are very likeable and as a rule are fun to be around. After having the breed for awhile I discovered that they are really supposed to be dual purpose (meat and eggs) and in times past for sport. I latched on to the dual purpose part and am determined to bring the breed back to that standard. The breed had been largely neglected in previous years and has only recently been really bred to get back to the original purpose for them. Some breeders are strictly show breeders, others like myself have been slowly working on the dual purpose part, while trying not to lose the show end of it either.
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
A real Cubalaya has a curious friendly disposition without being handled much previously. I especially like it when they haven't been handled much and I can go out at night, catch one off the roost and after a squawk or two, they settle right down. Some even talk to me in chirps/chuckles, I like that a lot!
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!
Here are some that I own or have owned in times past.
This is a cockerel that is being used in a bantam project. He is super typey and has all the meat properties that I am looking for. He is show quality. Color is wheaten.


This is a very nice head profile, it will be difficult to get one with a better head than this one, eye color should be about two shades darker (red bay). Color is white.


This one is almost perfect, the main thing that he lacks is the preferred multiple spurs. Color is wheaten.


This cock is showy, but would not likely win any shows due to feather quality issues. Breeder quality.


Not a show winner, but definately breeder quality.


Two year old cock.


A beautiful head, but I personally prefer less wattle. Eye color should be a deeper brighter reddish bay.


This is highly desired tail structure in a young cockerel.


White is a recognized color, but this one is dominant white, so all the black specks would obviously disqualify him in the show room. He was a solid meaty cockbird.


A very nice pullet with proper tail structure. A daughter to the above dominant white cockbird. She obviously inherited his color variety


This is as perfect a head as I have ever seen on a hen.


Same hen as above and in my opinion almost as perfect as they can be as far as body profile goes. She does have flaws, they are just not seen here.


A perfect head, notice no wattles at all.


A good quality breeder head, notice the almost non existant wattles.


A nice typey pullet.

 

[wood&feathers]

DesertChic - cubalaya cocks are slow maturing. If they are raised together with other breeds they will be OK, for a while. But when they start into their 2nd spring they can get pretty intolerant of other roosters. Both hens and roosters can be aggressive toward big docile DPs. That said, my flock of cubalayas still defers to my old cuckoo Marans.

 

[troyer]

I would say about 90% of my cockerels when they reach 8-9 months of age will challenge each other. They will for the most part settle their differences, but sometimes I need to seperate them at that time. I prefer to seperate them a little bit before they experience the testoterone burst that makes them feel like they can conquer the world. It happens so frequently that I expect it to happen.
If there is an older fairly aggressive cockbird that is not tolerant of any kind of behavior like that in the group, it'll go until they're 15-18 months old before they challenge him or each other. I have chosen to set up my pens on purpose to try and prevent the fighting from happening amongst the young birds at least by having a fully mature cock in the pen to keep order. It's not completely fool proof as some cocks are more tolerant than others, but it has drastically reduced the fatalities amongst them.
In a multi breed group my Cubalaya will always end up being dominant in the group. So I can't relate to the deference part as wood&feathers has posted. Now, they will defer until the initial confrontation, but I have never seen them being overcome by a non Cubalaya breed when the confrontation happened.

 

[cubalaya]

the cubalaya is a slow breed to mature or get to full size, even though they can reproduce at 6 or 7 months of age. my hens sometimes not getting their full weight until 3 years old. cocks usually full grown at 18 months to 2 years. my cubalayas defer to nothing, not even asils, although there is the occasional timid bird. it is a challenge, sometimes, to get a pen where they all get along. I free range my stags until fall when I pen them so they wont fight each other. for the winter I like to pen the stags with mature hens. when the pullets start laying I like to pen them with mature cocks.

 

[mcbrown7513]

Does not sound like beginner's breed to me. Maybe when I get more experience with my mixed flock...

 

[NeoFlightRN]

Does not sound like beginner's breed to me. Maybe when I get more experience with my mixed flock...

I actually had never owned chickens until I got a trio of Cubalayas from @wood&feathers
I can't get enough of their beauty and brains and personality. I have to say, they are extremely easy keepers. They forage and so far (*knocks on wood*) they have seemed impervious to the health issues I've had with the Seramas I got later (i.e. fowl pox, coccidiosis.)
I'm still learning about breeding and desirable traits and whatnot, but if you aren't looking to sell show birds, I think they are the perfect bird for a beginner.

 

[NeoFlightRN]

This is my favorite mother daughter pair. Nellie and Shelly as named by my daughter.

 

[NeoFlightRN]

I also agree with wood&feathers that they are excellent mamas. They raise their chicks to know who the purveyors of treats are around here! They are protective and attentive, and seem to be fairly reliable in the propensity for going broody.

 

[mcbrown7513]

I also agree with wood&feathers that they are excellent mamas. They raise their chicks to know who the purveyors of treats are around here! They are protective and attentive, and seem to be fairly reliable in the propensity for going broody.

I will have to price them. If not overly expensive, I will contemplate adding them to my flock. I am looking for pet quality (personality and hardiness) before appearance. I don't want a bunch of onery cocks going at each other. My Rhode Island Red rooster already bullied my Lavender Orpington rooster. The Cubalaya hens sound friendly though.