Cubalaya Thread For Sharing Pics and Discussing Our Birds

[gallorojo]

Ok, I will take a stab at this. The cockerel is not too bad. I would not be overly worried about color at this point. He seems sort of small and a bit shorter legged, but, overall is clearly the best of the lot. If it were me I'd use the cockerel if I didn't have a better one, but I would only breed him to a female of excellent type. The pullets honestly I would not breed. They just don't seem to have good Cubalaya type to me. The bottom one in particular has a very pinched tail. I would not put any of those pullets with that cockerel just because I think getting anything good out is unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely . I would try to find better birds. Now, I am not basing any of these statements on the color. Just on overall type. I use plenty of imperfect birds on my end, but I try to have one bird of each pair be of good breed type. When I don't do this, most the resulting chicks turn out pretty poor. If at at least one parent is good, usually some of the chicks are good typed if not colored. I'm not trying to be mean it discouraging, just honest. I know I will have a white male to part with after this season that is of good type and color both.

That's just my opinion. I'd welcome Doc or Zachs input here .....

 

[cubalaya]

the pullet in the back of the third pic looks good to me. the stag doesn't look too good but might be his age or the picture. i think i would cull them all but that pullet.

 

[wood&feathers]

Reread my post guys - these are birds I am not going to breed, thinking of giving them away to someone who wants to give it a go with the breed. They were all born in July. The cockerel is undersized, but fowlsessed was interested in bantams.

I really only have 2-3 "decent" girls. Those aren't them. I think the cockerel will be ok - he holds his tail lower than his daddy, though it probably will never be as full. These are Sandhill descendants. They certainly lay like crazy.

 

[saladin]

I have seen the same trend, but I don't think it's an issue of sex linkage. I would imagine it's more a function of the males simply having redder faces naturally. Most of my females have had some degree of white in ears...it seems to come and go with their condition, etc. At times they will seem nearly all red, at other times rather white. It does show up a lot more in the females for me than the males, but, I have had it some in males too, especially in really young ones. Seems to go away most of the time as they age.

Actually, and this is only observation, I think it tends to be. If you breed a red earlobed cuba cock to a hen with white lobes then you see a predominance of white in the cockerels lobes and less in the pullets. If you breed the opposite then you'll see it in the pullets. However, what you tend to see is a red earlobe that looks like someone put some white-out (remember that stuff, gosh I'm old) on it but only as a veneer. It's really annoying. and hard to get out. It can be done but it takes a long time and lots of patience.

 

[fowlsessed]

Okay........... Thanks for the input everyone, it's very appreciated. One question though, so do you guys think it's worth the six and a half hours of driving(round trip)? Thanks again.

 

[tigercreek]

Made it to the Sunshine Classic in north Fla today, and it was worth the 6 hour drive( round trip). I saw 2 pairs of Cubalayas exhibited in Florida!! One of the cocks pictured above. I would not begin to talk about the good and bad points. I'll leave that to you guys. I will only say that I was surprised at how small the hens in particular were. She could not have gone 3 pounds. The cock bird seemed closer to standard, I would guess 6 pounds maybe?? The point I wanted to make though is that it was shown by a lady from Athens Georgia. I think there were some people on this thread looking for her, and I was able to get some contact info from the exhibitors list. Her name is Caroline . I also got to meet Danny Padgett. He still has a few Cubalayas, and may have some available this fall. I didn't ask anything about his lines, just a passing, quick conservation, he was busy.......stan

 

[fowlsessed]

Glad you had a nice trip. I've spoken with Caroline about her Cubas, she's a nice lady. Has birds from some good breeders, too.

 

[gallorojo]

The show bird pictured above is fantastic!!! Wow!! The only thing to be improved is the hackle color, but that's really nit-picking. The guy I got my original birds/eggs from won 3 best in shows at real APA shows with a similar male with a solid dark hackle. It would be cool to get the hackle correct to standard, but, I would be overjoyed to have a bird like that. I'd say it has some Doc/ Brush blood for sure. Zooks birds are really nice, but different. This guy is a standout for having a correct angle to the back and tail, a smooth line of back and tail, correct lobster tail, wide, full, breast, and nice long legs. I also like the lack of wattles and strong head. This is what we want to be breeding for! This could be a picture from Germany, just excellent! The comb is correct as well!! I would guess this bird may have some Zook blood too, the beak looks more like Jim birds than A Brush bird.

You won't see as many Cubalaya females shown as males. They are harder to get right, I usually see 5-6 males for every one female. They usually are undersized, as well.

 

[saladin]

Carolina has been to my place and picked up a few birds in the past. I think Jesus also took her a Zook cock. Did you talk with Jesus, Caroline or Billy Sumner?

Glad to hear Danny kept back some birds. That is not what I had understood. If they are his old line then they stretch all the way back to his father.

My oldest was at the show and should be headed home today.

 

[fowlsessed]

Come on guys, I need some input. I'm torn about getting that white pair, do you think I should do it or will it prove to be to hard to get them back on track? Please.