Cubalaya Thread For Sharing Pics and Discussing Our Birds

[troyer]

Thank you for clearing up the spangle/mottle coloring in my mind. I was never able to figure out when you can call it spangled or mottled.

 

[gallorojo]

You can call it what ever you want really, but I'm speaking I guess of how the standard describes them. I sometimes maybe explain things too much, but, I do that so the 90% of readers who never post can hopefully learn something. You seem to have hatched a lot of birds this year, I really hope you end up a few good ones.

 

[jeremy]

Quote:
Can I get some Mottled Red Pyle birds from you? I like that hen. Do you have a picture of what the male would look like?

 

[gallorojo]

Hi jeremy,

Sorry, I have no more hens like that. I only hatched one out like her last year, and none this year. According to the chicken calculator, the chances of producing a female like that from the mating I used last year was one in 256!!!! Practically one in a million. I did not pair up any birds this year that will produce that color. I could get more like that if I wanted to I guess, but creating colors is not my priority at this point. You need to know that nobody else has this color, that hen is probably the only one of her kind on Earth, there is no male counterpart. More could be made though, of course. The birds I used to make that hen were all some version of "white', but, BUT, they really all should be considered "project" birds-none were perfect Cubalayas by any means, and they certainly don't breed true at all in any way either, not in type or color. All the parents I am sure or mostly sure had other colors and strains, or even breeds added in the recent past, not to make any color, but to improve the health, vigor, size, type, etc. They need so much work to stabilize them to correct type and to get them to breed true that I can't keep any just for colors sake , they have to be exceptional in multiple areas to be kept. That is a beautiful bird, but, I had some with better characteristics overall, so,, I kept them and gave that spangled pyle to Troyer. Maybe he will get some interesting colors himself, he has hatched lots of chicks this season. I do have some extra mottled and spangled chicks, even a pyle or 2, but no spangled pyles. Troyer could easily make more like her by crossing one of his mottled stags over her next year, 1/2 of the pullets would look like her. 1/4 is way better odds than 1/256...lol!!! As to what the male would look like, I think it would be red hackle and saddle, red wing bow, all red parts spangled with white, the rest would be white, so, white breast, white tail, white flights, etc.

 

[gallorojo]

Here is a picture from today of my mottled cockerel. He is a little over a year old, so maybe he should be a cock now, lol.. He is not a perfect bird, but, I really do like him. Points in his favor- Correct weight and build, he is 6 pounds and wide backed, wide breasted, thick legged, big headed, and heavy browed. He is the largest male I have had, he also has the closest to standard head and comb I've had. He is homozygous(pure) for multiple spurs, he has 3 already on each leg, with more slowly growing in. Correct leg color and skin color. Great heavy scales on the legs, although that is not mentioned in the standard, I prefer it. Excellent temperament, easy to handle, does not scream while picked up, not a manfighter, easy on his ladies, and young birds in with him. Wing carriage is good. Now, the negatives- I would like to see a fuller, more rounded breast, although I have not seen that on any real bird, just the Schilling drawing. The tail is too high, not DQ high, but, it should follow the angle of the back downwards smoothly. The tail is not spread correctly either, that has to be seen from behind to tell, but, it should be fanned or open more. The eye is a bit light, not pearl, but not as dark as I'd like it. The comb is a bit "sloppy", and he has wattles, although his wattles are well within the standard, I just don't like them to be there at all. I, would prefer his beak was shorter and heavier, but, it's ok. Better for sure than some I've had. The color is not important since this is a non standard color/project type bird anyway. The white hen behind him is his mother. The wheaten hen behind him is the largest I've ever hatched, almost standard weight, lays a big egg, but, tail is bit high and beak a bit long, but none horrible or DQ level bad.

I'm not fortunate enough to have any perfect examples of the breed, so, I work with what I have to make them better.

 

[Luke0987654321]

Since this seems to be the Cubalaya thread on BYC, I wanted to take a few minutes to make my case for why this a great breed. In my opinion, this is THE IDEAL "homesteader's" chicken breed. Why? Let me list off the reasons!!

1) Foraging ability- they are the best foragers of any breed we have had, they FAR SURPASS any American or European Dual purpose breeds, which just get fat and lazy and hang around the feeders. The Cubalayas will roam literally 5 -10 times farther away than any other breeds we have had, except some mixed breed bantams.

2) Predator avoidance- they are good at avoiding becoming dinner themselves, very, very fast, alert, good flyers, agile. We never lose adults, sometimes, a small chick, but never any adults. The males WILL defend their flock, I have seen therm attack hawks, cats, and dogs, and WIN.

3) Very hardy- neither cold nor heat really bothers them, I can't say the same for the fat, panting, dual purpose fatties. I have never had any get sick, get mites, anything like that. I have never even seen them suffer at all in heat or cold, and we have lost other types of chickens in both extreme heat and cold before.

4)Amazing brooders- the best broodies I've ever had, they all, 100%, go broody at least once a year, often twice, and go broody the first year. They never poop the nest, attack chicks, abandon chicks, anything like that. I have never had cocks bother sitting hens, or bother even newly hatched chicks. They will brood chicks for months, trying to cover huge nearly full grown chicks at night. They will easily tolerate moving to a broody coop to set, and they are DEDICATED, I have had them hatch muscovy eggs.

5)Great temperaments- they are wonderful, pleasant birds!! Very friendly, curious, NOT AT ALL NOISY OR FLIGHTY!!! Very relaxed around people, they don't scream when picked up, or even when they are going to the knife, they have courage and stay calm. They are also the most intelligent chickens I have had, they can figure out things that seem beyond other chickens. They are NOT "game", the cocks can be more aggressive than some breeds, for sure, but, they are not "homicidal maniacs". I have the greatest respect for gamefowl and the breeders of them, but, I am looking for the ideal, sustainable, low-input chicken, and the games, although fantastic in many ways, would need more input from me to keep them from killing each other. The cubalayas are the best choice I can find for temperament without being "dead game".

6) Slow growers, and normal layers- So, why do I list these 2 as positives? A fast growing bird will need more food, and better food, to maintain growth and be healthy. My goal is to eventually produce all my own feed, so, most of the birds feed has to come from their own efforts. I don't see fast growing birds as well suited to that, they are more well suited to be fed heaps of grain, with foraging as more of a vitamin supplement. I have friends from Mexico, Laos, and Zambia, there are no bagged chicken feeds there, yet, everyone has chickens , and somehow they survive. Also, the normal layers comment-they lay in spring thru fall, and STOP in the winter. This is great!! There is no food to forage here in the winter, and no market for eggs then, so, why should they even lay? I sell pastured eggs, well, in the winter, they sure are not pastured, so, I can't honestly sell them as such, plus , the market I sell them at is closed. So, what do I do with all the dual purpose breeds who stupidly lay eggs all winter? I'm in the process of phasing them all out, in favor of birds that lay when the grass is green, and quit in the winter.

7) Finally, they are BEAUTIFUL!!! Hard to beat such elegant, graceful fowl. Why should productive livestock not also be beautiful to watch?

I feel strongly these are a much better choice for people just looking to put eggs and meat on the table in a sustainable way, than any dual purpose breed ever will be. No, these are not super productive, BUT, they are very low input, which, it seems to me is way better if you primarily want eggs and meat for your own family, for the least work, time, cost, and hassle. And they are beautiful, with great personality!!

 

[fowlsessed]

are cubalayas considered oriental gamefowl? I know they aren't game though.

 

[cubalaya]

i consider them oriental gamefowl but some sites are calling them longtail fowl. here is a young brown red stag and some other young ones;
my gold duckwing pen

 

[gallorojo]

Well, they are in the book " Oriental Gamefowl"..lol..They are for the most part not game, lots of attitude and spirit though. They are definetly NOT longtail fowl any more than a leghorn is a longtail. The low tail makes the tail appear longer than it is. they simply don't have the genes to be considered longtails. Actually, my buff leghorns are more longtails than my Cubalayas, as they have some degree of multiple feathering in the tail and extra long sickles, the cubas have no extra feathers, or non moulting genes, saddle growth genes, nothing.
It's maybe best to just consider them "orientals", period , and leave out the game part.

 

[cubalaya]

yes, when they come to round up all the 'game' fighting birds, just tell them that the cubalaya are not game, lol. you should still call them oriental gamefowl because of the phillipine game and spanish game that they are descendents of, not to mention the asil and shamo that has been graded in over the years. sorry for the bad pics but the birds look way better than that.