Cubalaya Thread For Sharing Pics and Discussing Our Birds

[wood&feathers]

Jungleexplorer, it may just be the mischief in them...kind of early with little chicks though.

When I first got my trio, one pullet liked to cling sideways to the rope that hung the feeder. I laughed and watched her fiddling with the rope.

About a month later I went to open the coop in the morning and found the feeder laying on the floor.

 

[tigercreek]

I have tried three type of waterers, hanging and setting types. Does not matter, they drain it.

You might frustrate them with a nipple waterer?? .......stan

 

[tigercreek]

Finally got thru the whole thread, but please don't test me on it! I am thinking that this may be a good breed for me. I have heritage BRs, Aussies and Delawares. I've been thinking I would like another breed that is a little flashier, but not game and not bantum. It sounds like maybe these almost qualify as duel purpose? That is if you can actually eat the eggs instead of hatching them all...Really enjoying the thread and the pics! That is a big part of encouraging new owners to try the breed Thanks for posting. .......stan

 

[cubakid]

Many breeders, like Saladin love the taste of the culls, though I have never eaten one. They lay decently well. They to me, are duel purpose, with that third part ( flashiness).

 

[bruceha2000]

Finally got thru the whole thread, but please don't test me on it! I am thinking that this may be a good breed for me. I have heritage BRs, Aussies and Delawares. I've been thinking I would like another breed that is a little flashier, but not game and not bantum. It sounds like maybe these almost qualify as duel purpose? That is if you can actually eat the eggs instead of hatching them all...Really enjoying the thread and the pics! That is a big part of encouraging new owners to try the breed Thanks for posting. .......stan

"Finally got thru the whole thread"
Congratulations, I've done the same with several big threads.Yeah, it feels almost like work. Don't go look at the Faverolles thread! There are 12174 posts on 1218 pages (at this time) in that one!

No chickens known personally are eaten at our house so Dual Purpose for us is:

1) Winter hardy and lays eggs - Check. The eggs are small, they taste like eggs.

They started XS and have gotten a bit bigger. I don't have a scale so I don't know where they actually fall, size wise, other than general comparison to a store Large. Pair with an XL and you have the rough equivalent of 2 Large. Or use 3 Cubalaya eggs. If you are a "I like yolk" person, it seems that the smaller eggs have a larger percentage of yolk to white. Of course, so do the double yolk XLs my other girls sometimes lay. One thing I haven't done yet is hard boil them. It has been suggested that since they are smaller, they would take less time. Hadn't thought about that since I've never bought other than Large at the store. In the 35 days since the first started laying, we have gotten 32 eggs total from both Cubalayas. They came from Ideal Poultry and hatched June 12th.

2) Fun and interesting body type, different from all the other chickens with their "lobster" tails held down and fanned out at the bottom of the inverted V.

Our 2 girls have very good dispositions and don't mind the cold or going out in the snow (not that this would apply to you). They forage well but aren't above BEGGING for treats like little kids in the candy store

.

Oh, and they fly

. One of them took off last week and flew behind the small barn headed for the big barn. Easily 100 ft in flight and over two 3' and 4' fences.

Bruce

 

[cubalaya]

congrats bruce. there seems to be more posts and more breeders then when the thread first started. which is a good thing. i would rather eat cubalaya eggs than any other chicken but it might be just in my mind. i usually eat 3 but would only eat 2 delaware eggs. one of the pullets that i got from gallorojo is now laying. she is turning into a very nice hen, layed her first egg right in the box.

 

[Rosecomb-Ryan]

One of my Cubalaya hens I hatched last year, I had culled down to one male, Which was very stupid, and lost my cock-bird! Jim Zook is helping me out with a new cockerel this year.

 

[saladin]

It's ok if you don't eat them, but make sure you do cull them!

The last thing the breed needs is willy-nilly breeding. LOL.

 

[tigercreek]

congrats bruce. there seems to be more posts and more breeders then when the thread first started. which is a good thing. i would rather eat cubalaya eggs than any other chicken but it might be just in my mind. i usually eat 3 but would only eat 2 delaware eggs. one of the pullets that i got from gallorojo is now laying. she is turning into a very nice hen, layed her first egg right in the box.

Cubalaya, if you just want eating eggs, I'll swap you 2 Aussie , Delaware or Good Shepherd Barred Rock eggs for 1 Cuba egg!! If you would quit eating them, maybe I could find stock!!.lol...stan

 

[troyer]

Rosecomb-Ryan; I like the way that pullet looks, tail is down, decent beak. Is the tail pinched or don't you have that problem? How are the weights on your cubalaya? It seems to be a constant struggle to get weights up, hopefully now I have breeding stock that will greatly help in getting more weight. I had not planned on breeding wheatens, but when you get wheatens from your breeding stock and they are nice, then, well.......... hard to throw em' out. The 2013 season here at my house has the potential to produce black, black reds, blue, blue reds, blue wheatens, lemon blues, splash, pyle, blue pyle, (is there such a color?) white, dirty white, black breasted red, wheaten, silver and golden duckwing in blue and black, and maybe a few "genetically impossible"

colors like last year.