Cubalaya Thread For Sharing Pics and Discussing Our Birds

[Jungleexplorer]

Wow! This deal of being first must be really important to some folks. Not to me. What is important to me is that, if a bird can live and survive with the pilgrims, then it must be a hardy bird with survivalist skills and instincts.

 

[troyer]

Pepper, a cubalaya cockerel at three months and.......

......at 9 months


I want to pair up this pullet with Pepper some day.

 

[saladin]

An excellent choice I think.

Put him over a Black hen too.

 

[wood&feathers]

Yes, JungleExplorer, which birds/breeds came first IS a big deal. Whole academic careers have been built on less. I agree with you that for the average fancier, the survival characteristics of a bird are more important. But in the world of history and selective breeding, what came first, came from where and was infused into subsequent varieties does matter. Makes good snowy day argument too.

Our Anglocentric meme is particularly nettlesome to folks of Hispanic heritage. The Spanish populated North America with viable colonies long before the English. Even here in the mountains of Kentucky there are people descended from some of these colonists - the Melungeons. When the English arrived they used the race card to write those people out of history and deprive them of their rights to citizenship, land and due process. Hispanic Americans whose ancestors were in this country for 500 years have been deported without due process as recently as WW II. Part of the racist propaganda is that Spanish and French Americans were transients who lived "like the savages", and the English were the "great agriculture" people. (there is abundant evidence the Indians achieved great feats with very difficult foundation species to develop pre contact agriculture)

The other hidden "gotcha" in this topic is the stigma attached to game breeds. It is more comfortable to mainstream Americans to think of our founders toting over tame dual purpose farm fowl than the birds associated with the blood sports of the era. The noble and utilitarian characteristics of game breeds are inconvenient to our agriculturalist myth. So who brought what chickens when is a really loaded subject.

Politics and poultry has come up before in regard to the cubalaya. Several have mentioned that the breed was nearly defunct in it's home country. As many eggs as my flock is laying, this has to be more about image than substance. A pretty breed is perceived as less utilitarian, and thus keeping such birds could be viewed as flouting socialist doctrine.

Do we really believe the Buckeye is the only breed of chicken developed by women? Raising poultry has long been a woman's domain on small farms. I would bet there are some breeds out there developed by wives, with a husband taking the credit - a la Gustav and Alma Mahler in music. Published history is more about who has the power to record the history than who achieved it. I consider it slightly subversive fun to learn more about such things.

Sorry to digress - I would much rather see more pictures of you all's cubalayas!!

.

 

[troyer]

An excellent choice I think.

Put him over a Black hen too.

I've got a black pullet but no hen. Would that work?

 

[4hmom]

Yes, finally, someone tells it correctly. It would also not be the oldest of the American breeds? The Java would be older but originated elsewhere? The Java being the only American breed that is also a Foundation breed (as opposed to a composite breed)?

the chanteclers were also a breed not founded in america that is in the american class

 

[wood&feathers]

Troyer, I love that last pullet, she is gorgeous!

 

[Oldhound]

Troyer, I love that last pullet, she is gorgeous!

X2 Yes Indeed !

 

[tigercreek]

I really dislike changing the subject, but I would like to ask if anyone has any knowledge or experience with Duane urch's line of Cubalaya? I am considering ordering my first birds from him....Thanks for any comment in this thread or P.M. ........stan

 

[troyer]

I don't know anything about Duane Urch's cubalayas.