Cubalaya Thread For Sharing Pics and Discussing Our Birds

[troyer]

Here are some pictures of my SH flock at 4 months old. The darker colored cockerel is very stout at 4 lbs but his color is not as vibrant and it looks like he has white starting in his ear lobes. His tail is shorter and held more upright than the other but is wider. The other is a full pound less at 3 lbs...is that still a decent weight for the age? The pullets are all 2lbs. I have two that have better tails than the other two.

I would like a critique by those in the know with the caveat that I know they are still very young. Thanks.

The pullet in the tub looks like her tail is a bit cock feathered and the cockerel on the left looks to be flat/cushion combed? They look to be healthy.

 

[Felix1]

Yes you are right on both. How big a deal/common is a cushion comb?

 

[troyer]

I've been dealing with cushion combs for the last 4 years, it can be very difficult to get rid of, especially if it's the best ones that have the cushion combs. I am slowly working myself away from it and have less and less to deal with. I will still be using a few cushion combed ones with excellent type this year. I am hoping to be free from cushion combs in a few more years. If you have two that are equal in all points, it will be a lot easier in the long run to breed from the pea combed ones as the cushion comb seems to carry a lot more "large" wattle genetics.

 

[saladin]

Several of us graded in Malay to try and make the Cubalaya larger. It worked but as always brought with it other unwanted genes. That is the downside to grading; there is almost always more to breed out than you think at first.

White in the earlobes though has got to be the hardest thing to get rid of; followed very closely by white in the tail of the wheaten and black males. BUT, there is good news: white in the tail of a white bird doesn't seem to matter that much. LOL.

 

[cubalaya]

why malay and not thai?

 

[saladin]

Honest answer: because that is what I had at the time.

Beyond that, I was trying to utilize birds that were suppose to have been in the Cubalayas ancestry.

 

[4hmom]

speaking of white in the lobes and tails do you by chance know how that got in the blood lines.

 

[saladin]

I'm not certain that it hasn't always been there 4H.

When I've talked to folks who had Cubes back in the 60s they were talking about white in the earlobes and white in the tails.

Here's what I think: Game breeds of many types often come with white in the tails and white in the earlobes. Since both English and Spanish Games are in the Cubalaya the easiest answer to me is that it was there in the beginning.

 

[RachaelS]

I had to find a new home for my Troyer cockerel, there were some personality conflicts. Good news is he now has some girls of his own (I did not have any, just the 3 boys) and is being a great head cockerel.

At the same time I acquired 5 Cub girls, they are from Ideal and nothing to write home about, but I 100% adore them. They are about 8 months old and laying. I have had quite a few breeds but none have been this relaxed right from the get go, they are not flighty at all and are so calm around me and my kids. The cockerels from Vaughn adore them. Everyone is so calm. This is what chicken keeping should be. At this point I have no plans of breeding the girls, they are pretty tiny and their tails are carried high, they are just for eggs and to keep the boys happy. I will try to post some pics later, 3 are Blue BR, 1 is a Red Ply and once is a Black BR (at least that is what I was told).

Based on everyone's personality I think I found my new favorite breed. Thank you to everyone on this thread that opened my eyes to a breed I never once considered.

 

[cubalaya]

are you holding out for better hens to breed to these males? post some pics of the hens please