inheritance breeds have fascinating histories and are also superior to many young breeds when it comes to hardiness and versatility . The Cubalaya , a heritage breed that developed in Cuba , has all these qualities and more . arresting to attend at and easy to handle , it is both uncommon and unique .
“ Cubalayas are truly majestic - looking bird , and seem to hump it , carrying themselves proudly , ” allege stock breeder Ronald Seagrave . He is the owner of Seagrave Williams Farm , located in Dinwiddie , Virginia , and dedicate to the preservation of endangered and inheritance breed poultry .
History
In the 16thcentury , when the Spanish initiate colonizing the island of Cuba , they had already taken over the Philippines . When settler began arriving in Cuba , they take southeastern Asian biz fowl with them , introduce the ancestors of today ’s Cubalaya to the island . Centuries later , in the mid-1800s , more Asian poultry were brought to Cuba from the Philippines . These birds were crossed with other European breeds , finally creating the Cubalaya .
When Cuban chicken - keepers begin breeding these fowl for sure characteristics , they focus on a fierce expression , a curved snoot , a stretch out out tail and little to no spurs . As with most breeds of the fourth dimension , those who kept chickens also want a bird that was good for the board and excellent at orchis product .
Cockfighting was a popular sport at the time , and these shuttle were used for this activity as well . Breeding for no spurs helped ensure the boo would n’t be permanently damaged during competitions .
In 1939 , the Cuban National Poultry Association accept the Cubalaya into its register . The strain was first show at the International Poultry Exhibition in San Francisco , California . This was the first opportunity American chicken - keeper had to see the Cubalaya .
The American Poultry Association promptly accepted the breed into its Standard of Perfection , including the Bantam class .
Read more : Check out these rare and heritage strain chickens for something fresh in the barnyard !
Kruppert/CC BY-SA 3.0
Characteristics
The Cubalaya is known for several unique feature , and its stunning appearance is the most obvious . consider an elegant , handsome bird , Cubalaya roosters have a stunning “ lobster tail , ” which resembles a lobster claw , cloak down at an slant and is plentiful with lavish feathering . This strange tail sets Cubalayas apart from other chicken breeds because they are the only doll with this feature .
“ The cocks have long , feed lobster tooshie , carried slightly erect , and long neck feathers . And the hens are beautiful cinnamon people of color , ” Seagrave says .
Cubalaya roosters also have pea plant combs with burnished - violent earlobes and wattles and flowing feathering throughout their bodies . They ’re still bred to have slight to no spur to prevent Male from injuring each other severely during struggle for dominance .
Kruppert/CC BY-SA 3.0
Three colour assortment in Cubalayas are recognized by the APA : Black , Black - Breasted Red and White . The Black variety has shank that are slate in color . The Black - Breasted Red has a stock ignominious breast with red plume . The White miscellanea has received white plume . Both the Black - Breasted and White havepinkish - white shank .
The biddy of this strain also have tails that robe down similar to the cock ’s lobstertail but are substantially smaller . Theyare often a wholemeal color with a dingy Ceylon cinnamon tree - colored promontory and neck opening or are solid pitch-dark . Some are a blue - red wheaten , which is referred to as “ ashen . ”
Cubalayas come in standard ( full sizing ) and bantam variety . The standard Cubalaya rooster weigh about 6 pound ; a standard biddy , about 4 . A bantam diversity rooster only weighs about 26 snow leopard , with a bantam hen weighing about 22 .
It ’s a tardily - grow breed , and person can take three years to pass on their full adult sizing .
As with many inheritance breeds , Cubalayas are valued for their versatile uses . Cubalayas are excellent layers , with biddy reliably producing small- to medium - sized , emollient - tinge testis . They also make good meat birds and are used often for this aim in their native Cuba . Kruppert / CC BY - SA 3.0
Personality
Despite their sharp bill and fierce optic , Cubalayas are surprisingly friendly boo — at least with humans . While Cubalayas can be aggressive with other bird , they ’re known for developing relationships with their human caretakers and make cracking pets .
“ Cubalayas are proud bird , but very curious and friendly , ” Seagrave says . “ They have wonderful temperament . Even as dame , they are curious and not flighty . ”
Happiest when they are gratuitous - ranging , these fighting birds delight hot , humid weather and make corking foragers . Some keepers say Cubalayas do n’t like being throttle and can get rather noisy when they ’re feeling cooped up .
As with many heritage breeds , Cubalayas are hardy and a good selection for beginning chicken proprietor .
“ Cubalayas are easy to keep due to their serious nature , and they tend to be extremely sizeable birds , ” Seagrave says . “ Due to their favorable , peculiar nature , they bestow themselves to being a adept breed for young or beginner keepers . ”
If you want to engender chickens , Cubalayas are a good choice because the hen incline to be ruminative . So no aid is needed in raising Cubalaya offspring . The chicks are commonly fearless and must learn caution against predator from other fowl in the batch .
“ The hens are good stratum , with good mothering inherent aptitude , ” Seagrave say .
Preservation
The Cubalaya is a rarefied stock that has been ranked on TheLivestock ConservancyConservation Priority List as “ Critical . ” This means the breed has fewer than 500 chick in the U.S. , with five or few primary nurture flocks ( 50 birds or more ) and an estimated ball-shaped universe less than 1,000 .
The Livestock Conservancy exists to help save inheritance breeds such as the Cubalaya , which are lose numbers as a final result of modern agriculture . A few specialized types of fowl make up the majority of chickens used in Agriculture Department , and traditional breed have fallen out of favor . pocket-sized sept farms where these breeds once thrived are disappear at an alarming rate , and with them , historical breeds are disappearing as well .
Even in the breed ’s native Cuba , the Cubalaya is becoming scarcer . American breeder seem to be the breed ’s greatest hope to nullify extinction .
“ After educating ourselves on these bird andseeing them in mortal — they are simply majestic - look snort — they were an gentle choice to tot to our political program , ” enjoin Seagrave , whose farmis a not-for-profit that helps protects endangered farm animal and fowl breeds from quenching .
In 1873 , when the APA first began register stock poulet breeds , these wimp were well adapted to outdoor product in various climate . They were hearty and long - exist and reproduced well , providing an important source of protein to the growing population of the U.S. well into the mid-20th century .
When chicken breeding for egg and substance production became industrialized , rapidly grow hybrids were prefer . Breeds such as the Cubalaya were sidelined . Today , the Cubalaya is one of three dozen strain of chickens in danger of extinguishing .
The Cubalaya is beautiful and exotic , with many positive qualities that make it agreat choice for chicken steward . Consider adding this peculiar strain to your flock . You ’ll aid to bear on a piece of history .
This article in the first place appeared in the November / December 2022 government issue ofChickensmagazine .
