Poultry Breeds of Spanish Ancestry

[ronott1]

Hi Spanish Breed Chicken fanciers,
I just joined BYC today, although I have been lurking for a while. I love all Large Fowl Heritage Breeds, but am mighty interested in the Marraduna Basque and the Pita Pintas.
I am not a breeder, but I want a good looking flock of whatever breed I decide on and as close to the standard as is viable at this time. I have never incubated and hatched eggs, preferring to purchase 6-16 weeks old.

Right now I have 2 Marraduna pullets purchased from Worth-It Farms in GA They are not to standard in color, except one has beautiful yellow legs.

I first came across the Marraduna Basque on the Euskal Oiloa Basque thread on BYC started by Skyline Poultry in Old Fort, TN. Old Fort is not too far from me, but I can't get in touch with them.

All of the sites at BYC have been extremely helpful and interesting to visit.

Those ave very good choices for breeds!

Slyline has been out of it for this year. I do not know what is up.

There are others near you that have Basque hens though.

Pita Pintas have not traveled out of California yet as far as I know but will likely start heading your way next spring.

 

[Henthused]

Hi Ron,
Thanks for your quick reply. Seems I remember Young Heritage from the other site, but not any others in GA. I have had no luck in tracking Young Heritage, thus far. I was interested in Meg's Basque and Pita Pinta's never guessing she wouldn't be breeding them forever

, and that I could shop at my leisure.

 

[ronott1]

Hi Ron,
Thanks for your quick reply. Seems I remember Young Heritage from the other site, but not any others in GA. I have had no luck in tracking Young Heritage, thus far. I was interested in Meg's Basque and Pita Pinta's never guessing she wouldn't be breeding them forever

, and that I could shop at my leisure.

We have some options going for Megan's Basque and Pita Pintas.

I have Pita Pintas now and have have a Basque pullet. @chrissyr has been hatching out Megan x skyline chicks this summer. She has a nice cockerel from Megan and the combination is hatching out nice chicks.

Have you heard from Megan?

 

[Lacy Blues]

Welcome Henthused!

I sure hope you can find what you're looking for. Ron is very helpful and can probably get you going in the right direction.

 

[Henthused]

No,
I have not heard from her. I actually took a break over the summer to spend more time with my horses and DH.
We never had any arrangements for my purchasing any of her stock in a given time frame. Though when I saw she had imported from Spain, I wanted to take the leap, then and there. She just became less and less visible on the sites.

Do you ever ship juvenile pullets? I don't have enough hens for a rooster ,yet. And, I need to learn much more than I know now.

 

[ronott1]

No,
I have not heard from her. I actually took a break over the summer to spend more time with my horses and DH.
We never had any arrangements for my purchasing any of her stock in a given time frame. Though when I saw she had imported from Spain, I wanted to take the leap, then and there. She just became less and less visible on the sites.

Do you ever ship juvenile pullets? I don't have enough hens for a rooster ,yet. And, I need to learn much more than I know now.

It is expensive to ship pullets. You know what you are getting but for the cost I like hatching eggs.

Of course I am a big hatching addict...

Pita Pinta eggs and Basque eggs ship well too. Megans came by plane and the eggs hatched very well.

 

[Henthused]

Honestly, Ron, Every thing you say makes sense for a breeder who needs to make the books balance, but, Since I have never incubated and hatched , if I purchased an incubator, all the needed "stuff", paid for the eggs and so on, I would be in pretty deep.

I am not a spendthrift by any means, but I don't want to get in over my head when I am not sure that I want to propagate either breed. Knowing this, can you help me find a couple or three of nice marraduna basque and pita pinta pullets and maybe a rooster? If not, then maybe day old chicks?

I am sorry if this might seem to be off topic, but I am here to learn all I can of these 2 Spanish Breeds I also have 1 black Australorp, a joy to have.

 

[ronott1]

Honestly, Ron, Every thing you say makes sense for a breeder who needs to make the books balance, but, Since I have never incubated and hatched , if I purchased an incubator, all the needed "stuff", paid for the eggs and so on, I would be in pretty deep.

I am not a spendthrift by any means, but I don't want to get in over my head when I am not sure that I want to propagate either breed. Knowing this, can you help me find a couple or three of nice marraduna basque and pita pinta pullets and maybe a rooster? If not, then maybe day old chicks?

I am sorry if this might seem to be off topic, but I am here to learn all I can of these 2 Spanish Breeds I also have 1 black Australorp, a joy to have.

You are making good sense.

One thing to try is to see of someone is going to a Poultry show close enough for you to drive to and pick up chickens. There are enough basque hens out there for that. The Pita Pintas are very rare so they would need to be shipped, likely next spring.

 

[Henthused]

Thank you Lacy Blues,
I think there is so much to learn about this hobby or enterprise of ours. Last year, I was sure a hobby for me. These Spanish Breeds seem very versatile, and, may I say, very proud and majestic. I have studied the SOP for each the Marraduna Basque and the Pita Pinta. But, with the dilutions over the years with other land breeds,, it is not going to be an easy endeavor to meet.
I also really like your Andalusian breed. The world is small isn't it?

 

[Lacy Blues]

Yes it is small, and thank you.

My birds are not as nice as many out there. All I can do is work with what I have as every time I try to get others to improve mine, everything always falls through.

I've been told by some that I should just dump all of them and start over. Well, if I cannot get any to add to my flock, how on earth will I replace them. They're not trash to me, I see their potential and I'm willing to work with them to bring that potential to the surface. I don't mean to rant, sorry if its taken that way, I was just sharing my predicament.

I am very very happy with some of my youngsters growing out this year. They are an improvement over their parents. That's the first step. I'll just keep taking itty bitty steps once a year until my birds are something to envy! Ha ha ha! Not likely, but I can dream eh?