Cubalaya Thread For Sharing Pics and Discussing Our Birds

[gallorojo]

She looks pretty good. How old is she? Any guess on her weight? Head looks good. I'd be really surprised if you get that much red in any of the ones I gave you. Here is a pic of one of my grade pullets, I'd call her brown red, but notice she is black except for a bit of color on the neck. That's how I think ones I gave you will look as they age.

 

[cubalaya]

she should start laying any day now. she is around 8 months and over 3 lbs.
what is your hen graded with? she looks pretty big.

 

[wood&feathers]

One of your hens has started laying, cubalaya. She laid a double yolker for her first. The 2nd egg I don't know which hen laid, it was half the size and in a different place. A pretty shade of pale pink.

 

[cubalaya]

we got a double yolker this week too but it came from the australorps.

 

[wood&feathers]

I never had one, and it was definitely a pullet egg - long and narrow. The white one is taming down nicely, the wheaten remains very skittish. I need to take more pictures, the rooster is really filling out, both in build and feather.

 

[gallorojo]

Quote:
That hen is a 75% Cubalaya, 25% Barred Plymouth Rock grade. She is just puffed up in that picture, she is not really that fat, she is actually very leggy. As for size, she is maybe 4.5 to 5 pounds? Decent size, lays a very large egg for her size and has been a good hen for me. Have not bred from her yet.

Just wanted to add, that using the Rock is really not the way to go. The problem is that by the time I've gotten the type back 100%, I will have lost all the size, so project will have been pointless. Well, not entirely pointless, as it taught me alot about genetics, the pullets/hens have been great, and the males were good eating birds. But, if I could do it over again, I'd use a Shamo or something, could get type back faster, and keep more size.

 

[cubalaya]

i agree. i crossed some barred rocks with some of mine too and they made some good tasting meat birds. i culled them all.

 

[cubalaya]

hey gallo, this is a cross between my gold wheatons and the gold duckwing that you gave me. would you say that that is silver wheaton?

 

[gallorojo]

Yes, no doubt.

Wow, that one looks really cool, but quite distinct from my silver wheatens.

I am still trying to figure out your gold wheatens. Have you ever crossed them with a regular wheaten? If so, what did you get? I ended up with some of the "red" Cubalayas from our friend in MD that are out of one of your gold duckwing pullets. I am starting to think they are the result of a wheaten x wildtype/duckwing/partridge cross, so you get stippled hens with gold hackle and an even buffish shade body, with darker tail, and stippling.

That pullet is beautiful!

The older black cockerel you gave me is looking like a golden birchen. He has multiple spurs too.

 

[saladin]

Please forgive me boys, but I wouldn't call that pullet wheaten anything.

There is a line out there (the Finch strain) where the females come the typically BBR or as we say stippled instead of wheaten. I have some birds from that line in my mix. I've never had the counterpart of the BBR in the female (stippled) but I get plenty of females that match the Silver Duckwing that are not really wheaten: more stippled instead. These females are more accurately somewhere inbetween the two, but lean closer to the stippled side of things. I'd say that's what this bird is.

Go to your Std. and look up the female counterpart to the BBR, SDW, and GDW in the OEG. I think you'll see the similarities. Not a perfect match but as close to that as wheaten.... or closer.