Chicken Breed Focus - Catalana

[Ted_Harrell]

Forgot Gjenson, thanks....

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I'm not sure what those are above.
The breed is called Catalana del Prat. They come from the region El Prat.
The true Catalana del Prat, according to the Catalans, does not have those dark tail feathers.
They are not suitable for confinement.
They do go broody and make excellent mothers.
They are not in general people friendly and the roosters tend to be aggressive.
They are good foragers, but not as good as the Black Minorcans.
They will prefer a tree to a coop at roost time.
This is what they should look like according to the old time chicken keepers here.
This is Rosehip.View attachment 1779704
View attachment 1779705

Catalana del Pratt.
View attachment 2036679View attachment 2036680

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.

 

[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.

 

[TomNY]

I lost George's [gjensen] contact information. Any help will be appreciated. thanks, Tom

 

[1muttsfan]

I had some Catalans, stock from Sand Hill. They were spritely, medium sized birds that were very active, flew very well, and were very resistant to any handling, even when chicks. I would not call them flighty, just really independent. They layed a medium sized creamy tinted egg.

 

[pollos_hermanos]

Mine are not shy. In fact, they are as confident as any strain/breed that I have been around. They are far from flighty. They are active though, and this is a strength of theirs. They are not roost potatoes. Their activity level coupled with their confidence makes for a pretty sharp bird. Some chickens are just more chicken than others.

I did try some hatchery commercial buff Minorca crosses that were nervous and flighty. They were not Catalanas as advertised.

It is not true that they are not cold hardy. They would be as cold hardy as any other breed with a single comb. The males could possibly use some protection on the coldest winter nights. Most of their history in the States has been with breeders in the north.
These misconceptions are rampant on the internet. We discuss Mediterranean breeds as if coming from the region made them heat tolerant. The region has very mild summers.
The adaptation to climatic conditions is more about individuals and individual strains than it is breeds. Consider how long the breeder or breeders has been breeding them where they are.
Chickens have proven to be very adaptable being kept wherever people have lived. Where the difficulty can come is with a strain that has been exclusively bred in the tropics, and then to expect them to survive Michigan winters in a single generation without any extra consideration. But this is an extreme example, and few thoughtful keepers would try this without a little added care and caution.

Mine lay large to extra large eggs. Most of them are extra large, and some are jumbo. There are as many jumbo sized eggs as large. They are very productive layers. They have laid in the range of 220-240 eggs through their pullet year. The egg quality has been good. The egg color ranges from white, off white, to pink.
I did pick up a few birds from another strain. Their eggs has been large, but not over. Some a little under. The egg color is white with one female laying a cream/tan colored egg. They are productive. These birds have not been incorporated into my own flock yet. Their influence would be minimal initially.

Where they are native, their eggs tend to be extra large and white to light shades. They have a reputation for being productive, and they have been popular in Latin American countries. In Spain they were popular as capons. The Spanish Bresse, so to speak.

Some will go broody. My experience is in the range of 10%-20%. I like this range. Not excessively broody, but this still allows for a few setting hens. Those that have went broody have set well, and have been committed mothers. I have enjoyed allowing these to raise their own brood. I get to enjoy the best of both worlds.

I do not know if there is anyone seriously breeding them in the States or not. I am trying to get some information about a supposed flock in the NW. There is a small flock in California. There is someone in Pa that has a flock. The other breeder that I knew of has gotten out of them, and I was gifted some of those birds.

I am running about 24 breeding females, and four males. This varies a little.

I have been working on improving type and color while not loosing what caused me to fall in love with them to begin with. I like their productivity and their character. I have made progress with type and color. They are still productive. They are still sharp and active birds.

Hats off! It’s not easy finding good representations of these birds. What’s your biggest challenge/focus?

 

[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.

 

[Friendly_Lurker]

Wow! That rooster looks exactly like my strange mix, Doodle, who’s a Brown Leghorn-Red Sex Link-Iowa Blue eco likes to eat dog food!

 

[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.

 

[BleuSaphir]

How intolerant of cold are they? I’m interested in Mediterranean breed of chickens.