Lobster-tailed Breeds- Sumatra and Cubalaya

[Pigeony]

I absolutely adore the lobster-tailed body type, are there any other breeds besides Sumatras and Cubalayas that have it? I'm also curious about the genetics side of it as it's something I'd like to incorporate into a future project, although I know body type genetics aren't as straightforward as color genetics.

Has anybody kept Sumatras or Cubalayas that would like to share their experiences on what they thought of the birds? I'm definitely considering adding some of one or both breeds to my flock at some point.

 

[CHlCKEN]

I currently have one Sumatra. She is in chicken jail this week because of her absolutely relentless bullying. She completely terrorizes one of my d’uccle bantams in a territorial way. She will not let her on top of the coop, on top of the perches, near the feeder, near me , etc. If she does go to these places, my Sumatra will chase her and attack her physically- literally pins her down as if she is mating but attacks rather than mounts. The territorialism got to the point that my victim bird had to start roosting completely alone on the other side of the run. This is the only bird she will bother- she doesn’t even look twice at my other d’uccle bantam- but it has stressed out the whole flock and one eventually started pulling out her own feathers.

Despite all that she is one of the sweetest birds I have. I absolutely adore her with her incredible personality and friendly temperament. She jumps on my shoulder any time I come to the run and just loves to chat with me. She’ll fly up onto a perch just to be at eye level with me sometimes.

I don’t recommend the breed if you have little free-range time and a small run. My run has plenty of room for her to fly around in but it’s still not ideal and she really hates the confinement. I try to let her out as much as I can.

Sumatras are generally just awful egg layers. I don’t know that mine has even laid one at all yet (she hatched this spring). But they apparently are frequent to go broody and good at it too.

She seems to be one of the best in my flock at keeping safe from predators. On top of that, the hawks seem to think she’s actually a crow which deters them from messing with any of the flock most of the time. I really like that aspect of the breed.

Again, if you can’t do daily free range and have a small run, I do not think this is a good breed for you. Do I love mine to death? Absolutely. Will I ever get another one? Absolutely not.

 

[Pigeony]

I currently have one Sumatra. She is in chicken jail this week because of her absolutely relentless bullying. She completely terrorizes one of my d’uccle bantams in a territorial way. She will not let her on top of the coop, on top of the perches, near the feeder, near me , etc. If she does go to these places, my Sumatra will chase her and attack her physically- literally pins her down as if she is mating but attacks rather than mounts. The territorialism got to the point that my victim bird had to start roosting completely alone on the other side of the run. This is the only bird she will bother- she doesn’t even look twice at my other d’uccle bantam- but it has stressed out the whole flock and one eventually started pulling out her own feathers.

Despite all that she is one of the sweetest birds I have. I absolutely adore her with her incredible personality and friendly temperament. She jumps on my shoulder any time I come to the run and just loves to chat with me. She’ll fly up onto a perch just to be at eye level with me sometimes.

I don’t recommend the breed if you have little free-range time and a small run. My run has plenty of room for her to fly around in but it’s still not ideal and she really hates the confinement. I try to let her out as much as I can.

Sumatras are generally just awful egg layers. I don’t know that mine has even laid one at all yet (she hatched this spring). But they apparently are frequent to go broody and good at it too.

She seems to be one of the best in my flock at keeping safe from predators. On top of that, the hawks seem to think she’s actually a crow which deters them from messing with any of the flock most of the time. I really like that aspect of the breed.

Again, if you can’t do daily free range and have a small run, I do not think this is a good breed for you. Do I love mine to death? Absolutely. Will I ever get another one? Absolutely not.

She sounds like quite a character! My birds do free range daily, they aren't confined pretty much ever unless they've been placed in chicken jail for some reason.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

@MysteryChicken
And I think @NagemTX I think has some

 

[NagemTX]

@MysteryChicken
And I think @NagemTX I think has some

I have Phoenix. I don't think they have the lobster tail structure. I do like that tail structure tho. Was wanting to do that with my project of long tailed EE but decided against Sumatra because of temperament.

 

[Egg Snatcher]

I have Phoenix. I don't think they have the lobster tail structure. I do like that tail structure tho. Was wanting to do that with my project of long tailed EE but decided against Sumatra because of temperament.

Oh I thought you had Sumatras

 

[NagemTX]

Oh I thought you had Sumatras

No, at lest not yet.

 

[NagemTX]

Oh I thought you had Sumatras

Two years ago at a show i almost came home with a trio. My brother talked me out of it as I didn't have a quarantine space available. I love the beed and I know it was used in some lines of Ameraucana for either a fuller tail or for the black color.

 

[MysteryChicken]

@MysteryChicken
And I think @NagemTX I think has some

I've got 1 Sumatra Hen, no Cubalayas though.
I got Indian Malays that have Shrimp Tail.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Shrimp Tail, Lobster Tail, & Temper Tail are all different words used to describe the same mutation. This is just to clear any confusion if there's any.