Cubalaya Thread For Sharing Pics and Discussing Our Birds

[cubalaya]

if that colored one came from the white cock and the bb red wheaton hen, then it could be red pyle. all my whites were sports from the red pyle but they breed true to the white color. if it turns out to be a stag, breed it back to the wheaton and you should get some very pretty red pyles or sport wheatons. red pyles just aren't my thing. every time i think that i have sold them all, someone will give me some. i am going to take some pics today of some young birds and post them on uf since it is hard to post pics on here now

 

[wood&feathers]

I think I have some pretty whites out of this batch too...

 

[gallorojo]

Those white chicks look nice. Maybe it's just the picture, but they all seem to have yellow legs? I find that my whites will produce a lot of yellow legged offspring. They ought to have white legs of course, by this age if they were going to be white, they would be. There is and are more important things than leg color, of course. If they are exceptional otherwise, they could be kept and bred back to a good white legged mate. Just want to point this out because if you breed two with yellow legs together you will get all yellow legged chicks. If they do have yellow legs, cross back to white.
Good luck and keep posting!!

 

[cubalaya]

both of the whites that you got from me had pinkish white legs?

 

[gallorojo]

You can get blue and yellow legs out of white x white legs matings unfortunately. So neither of you should be terribly concerned about it. Happens to me plenty.

 

[wood&feathers]

All three birds from Cubalaya had the pinkish white legs and matching beak/skin. The chicks' legs are all turning now - this picture is about 5 days ago. Now most have become a peachy color, starting to fade paler. A couple of the red pyles have a grey shading on the front of their legs. I think maybe two chicks still have a yellowish cast, but they aren't the ones I plan on keeping anyway.

I have a couple that have a nice short, strong beak/head, but unfortunately they are also a heavier build, like there is some Shamo or Cornish in there? Quite a few are getter a nicer tail than daddy - lower set, very full with lots of quills- though a couple bunnytails are probably not keepers.

Best of all, one of the nicest looking white hens is VERY tame. She might turn into a good show bird for the kids.

 

[gallorojo]

If you have cubalayas with Cornish or Shamo builds/body type, KEEP THEM!!! Nowhere does the standard say they should be skinny or scrawny birds, they were bred from breeds with quite meaty bodies. Most of what we have here now in the USA are not only way too small, but are built wrong for either an Oriental type or even a Western Game type. They ought to be usable and practical as a small meat bird-, no, they don't grow fast or get huge, but they ought to be a better meat type than they are. The situation is similar to that with Houdans or La Flèche- those ought to be gourmet meat birds, but, the type in both is currently wrong aside from both being too small. The situation with the Cubalayas is the same. The SOP mentions their use as a gourmet meat bird,also, Craig Russell , SPPA President, considers they ought to on a par with Old English Games, La Flèche, etc. , IF of course we assume they have the right type to make an acceptable carcass. I would LOVE to have Cubas with a meatier build, if you have some, please consider keeping them even if some faults are there. Or, send them up my way and I will gladly use them here. As for the bunny tails, it's way to soon to judge tails. Any of my birds that are silver or golden feather very slowly, especially in the tail. Right now I have some silver birchen pullets at 12-14 weeks with essentially NO tails at all. They will get tails , in their own time. The Cubalayas is not really a true long tail breed . They ought to be built more like an Oriental and less like a Phoenix as most seem to be now.

 

[wood&feathers]

Here's my favorite pullet (I think). In addition to her tameness, I think she has a stouter head and shorter beak than most of the hatch. Once again, there is some yellow look from the pic on her beak, but you can see her feet are pink now. The black spots have faded more since this photo too.

 

[wood&feathers]

Cubalaya - I am not surprised that the larger, beefier chicks are the red pyles. The wheaton hen you sold me is considerably larger than the white. I haven't weighed her, but she seems nearly as heavy as the rooster. I guess it is time to weigh her...

 

[gallorojo]

That pullet does look to have a nice head and beak. She also looks like she will be good sized. The legs look like they will be white with a partial slate/blue overlay. Not yellow, good. Too soon to tell anything else. Thanks for posting!!