Cubalaya Thread For Sharing Pics and Discussing Our Birds

[gallorojo]

Quote:
I emailed you.

 

[gallorojo]

Quote:
I assume so, but, I won't light any of my birds, on principle. So, I can't say for sure.

 

[cubalaya]

we get cubalaya eggs in the winter. if they moult in the fall they will stop laying for awhile but they lay as good as any other breed we have here.

 

[gallorojo]

Pullets hatched in spring or summer typically lay starting late January-Early Feb. for me. That is with no lights or heat. Old hens start to lay in Early-Mid April. My 5-6 year old hens lay twice as many eggs per week as some 2-3 year old Ameraucanas we have.

 

[saladin]

My Cubans lay from around Thanksgiving thru May and then shut down. This is how most Orientals lay. At times you can get a few fall season eggs too, but not a great many of them; summer eggs are few.

This is normal for the breed. The only reason some Cubalaya strains lay in the summer is because they were selected to do that by folks who live up north based on my research.

 

[cubalaya]

maybe it has something to do with where we live as far as egg laying. like in south carolina, they get 2 growing seasons, while here in va. we only get one. pennsylvania winters are colder than virginia winters depending on what part of the state you live in. my red pyle cubalaya hen is getting broody now. she is laying but she wants to sit on the eggs. the other cubalaya hens will start doing this soon. i still get eggs because i just lift them up and take the eggs out from under them. saladin may not get many eggs in the summer because it is just that hot down there. the hatcheries will be sold out of orientals by summertime because they dont lay as well at this time of year. i need to keep better records of just how many eggs these birds average per year. without records, though, i would guess my australorps lay 200- 220 eggs a year, ameraucanas lay 180-200, and cubalayas 150-180.

 

[saladin]

cub,
I think you are correct, but also I think it is selection. The folks that I know that live above the Mason-Dixon Line (Russell, Schmudde, Bayliss) all have told me that their winter eggs would freeze; thus, they began selecting/hatching from the latest eggs that were laid and eventually came up with later layers. Although, they all also told me that they continued to get winter eggs they just didn't set them.

 

[gallorojo]

I don't get tons of summer eggs, but, I always let the hens hatch some chicks and be done in June or July. They do lay a small amount in the fall, maybe from Sept thru October, and quit by November. My old hens do not lay from Nov until April. Winter eggs definitely freeze on me, I simply can't start hatching as early as some of you guys due to eggs freezing, hens not laying, and terrible weather.

 

[saladin]

Duckwing: 1 year old.

 

[gallorojo]

Nice one!!