Chicken Breed Focus - Catalana

[N F C]

@gjensen thanks for the write up, always good to hear direct from someone raising them. Good luck with your type and color project, apparently these birds are few and far between.

 

[3coolchicks]

wow she is very nice ….we have a small flock in northern Pa they do very well in the winter and my daughter has done very well showing them at poultry shows

 

[Shadrach]

Those look like red sex links, especially with the clipped beak (common on commercial farms, which usually use RSLs as laying hens). Interesting that they look so similar. Definitely seems like these two are actually different breeds, due to the difference in body shape, color, and earlobe color.

The above was a rescue. I've had a couple more over the years.
Often the problem with less common breeds in countries that apply a SOP to a breed is that the local breeders in the area that breed originates from have a different idea of what the breed should look like. I've been to Pratt and the local the hen in the picture above is fairly typical on the farms.
It's the same with the Marans. Those who decided on what represented the SOP preferred more copper in the hackles, a slightly more fan like tail and a heavier build.
The breed enthusiasts here go to the country of origin, or get eggs from the region. The regulations inside Europe regarding the movement of livestock are easier to deal with so acquiring local breeds is easier.
Because of the expense and regulations importing eggs of live chickens into the USA for example usually only a very small sample gets imported and those samples get accepted as the SOP.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

The above was a rescue. I've had a couple more over the years.
Often the problem with less common breeds in countries that apply a SOP to a breed is that the local breeders in the area that breed originates from have a different idea of what the breed should look like. I've been to Pratt and the local the hen in the picture above is fairly typical on the farms.
It's the same with the Marans. Those who decided on what represented the SOP preferred more copper in the hackles, a slightly more fan like tail and a heavier build.
The breed enthusiasts here go to the country of origin, or get eggs from the region. The regulations inside Europe regarding the movement of livestock are easier to deal with so acquiring local breeds is easier.
Because of the expense and regulations importing eggs of live chickens into the USA for example usually only a very small sample gets imported and those samples get accepted as the SOP.

I'm not too sure that the catalana breed this thread is about is even related to the local Catalan chickens you're referring to. They don't seem to have many similarities other than the ability to forage well.

 

[1muttsfan]

That may be true, here is the description from the Sand Hill Preservation catalog

Buff Catalana - Originally from Catalana, Spain. Now much more common in Latin America, but very rare in the USA. We are still trying to work with them to refine color and conformation. The birds are deep, rich buff with black tails. They lay large white to tinted eggs and have a single comb with six points.

That's pretty much exactly what they looked like.

 

[1muttsfan]

They did fine up here in the winter, and I'm pretty far north; I did not keep a rooster, but suspect the combs would be susceptible to frostbite.

 

[BleuSaphir]

They did fine up here in the winter, and I'm pretty far north; I did not keep a rooster, but suspect the combs would be susceptible to frostbite.

Thats good! I live in a hot dessert. But winter is another story. COLD air comes. Sometime it snows lately in winter.

 

[gtown]

You must be right. I subscribed hoping to hear from members that owned these. Maybe there aren't any here?

I’m going to Catalonia in September and hope to visit a few Catalana owners. Wonder if I can fly home with some fertile eggs? Going to look into that. I live in Central Texas where we get hot weather, but also can get vicious cold snaps lately. Anyone out there know if they’ll be okay with occasional cold?

 

[Amer]

The above was a rescue. I've had a couple more over the years.
Often the problem with less common breeds in countries that apply a SOP to a breed is that the local breeders in the area that breed originates from have a different idea of what the breed should look like. I've been to Pratt and the local the hen in the picture above is fairly typical on the farms.
It's the same with the Marans. Those who decided on what represented the SOP preferred more copper in the hackles, a slightly more fan like tail and a heavier build.
The breed enthusiasts here go to the country of origin, or get eggs from the region. The regulations inside Europe regarding the movement of livestock are easier to deal with so acquiring local breeds is easier.
Because of the expense and regulations importing eggs of live chickens into the USA for example usually only a very small sample gets imported and those samples get accepted as the SOP.

Red sexlinks
Here is a Spanish site about the breed of Catalana.
https://www.tri-tro.com/gallina-catalana-del-prat/
I looked up “catalana gallos español” and it was the first thing to show up.

I don’t know why you would justify that your red sexlink rescues are Catalanas by saying everyone else is wrong about the breed Standard of Catalanas.

 

[allosaurusrock]

Those birds are really cool! It is a shame they can't handle cold climates.