Cubalayas have a stately carriage with tails that are long, broad and carried well below the horizontal. The Cubalaya is a great show bird and hard to find breed. They possess a friendly, curious disposition, are very heat tolerant and make excellent foragers when allowed to range.
Black Breasted Red Cubalayas for sale February to June.
Production: The hens lay small off-white eggs and are good brooders.
Standard Weights at maturity are males-6 lbs. and hens-4 lbs.
Type: They have a small pea comb. The males do not produce a natural spur and or the spur is just a nub.
History: In the middle 19th century, the Spaniards brought to Havana, Cuba, several varieties of Asiatic game fowl that originated in the Philippine Islands. The Cubans crossed the Asiatic breeds, and subsequently re-crossed them with birds of European origin. These birds were then selectively bred for wide, extended tails and a curving beak, fierce eyes, and a courageous expression. In this manner the Cubalaya chicken was created, independent from any scientific control. In 1935, the Asociacion Nacional de Avicultura (Cuban National Poultry Association) approved the breed. Their name was chosen in honor of the Republic of Cuba, which had patronized and refined them. First shown in the U.S. at the International Poultry Exhibition in 1939, the Cubalaya breed is currently recognized by the American Poultry Association (APA) and the American Bantam Association (ABA). The breed has been developed in standard and bantam size.
Colors accepted by both the APA and the ABA are limited to black; black breasted red and white, though an array of other colors is found in the U.S.
