Cubalaya Chickens
Rare and Beautiful!
Over the years we have raised a variety of rare breed chickens for fresh eggs for family and friends. Of all the breeds we've enjoyed here at Many Rocks, the rare Cubalaya chicken brings back the fondest memories. We are not interested in starting a large layer operation, but have decided to now concentrate on the Cubalaya since it is very rarely raised on farms and it is considered a highly threatened breed.
The ancestry stock was brought into Cuba in the 1800’s from the Philippines. The Cubalaya breed as it is today was developed in Cuba and brought to the United States in the 1930's. The Cubalaya is classified as an oriental game bird. The Cubalaya exhibits an upright stately carriage, fierce bay colored eyes, and a very friendly nature. They are curious birds and are full of interesting antics. They are somewhat fearless in the face of danger which is not always a good trait when foxes are involved, but our birds will have a secure, spacious house to return to at night where they will be protected from would-be predators.
The Cubalaya has a very nice white meat and lays an average of 4 – 5 brown-tinted eggs per week during its peak egg-laying season. The Cubalayas are very heat-tolerant which make them ideal for our hot, sultry Maryland summers. They are a slow-maturing, medium-sized bird (4-6 lbs). The hens are excellent brooders and protective mothers. Today's modern commercial breeds of chickens were developed to lay large numbers of eggs and/or rapidly produce large amounts of meat. The modern commercial chickens have all but completely lost their natural ability to hatch eggs and to raise their own chicks (a part of the process most farms have chosen not to be bothered with).
In 2012, Many Rocks Farm will offer a limited number of fresh lightly-tinted Cubalaya eggs sold in quantities of six for those individuals that want farm fresh eggs, but do not need a full dozen large eggs every week. We may offer a few birds for roasting in the future when some of our hens provide us with offspring. In line with our current farm policy, meat sold from Many Rocks Farm ONLY originates from livestock born and raised at the farm.
We received our newly hatched Cubalaya chicks at the end of February, 2012. Our flock is registered with the State of Maryland Department of Agriculture and (in-line with MD law) has official documentation that the birds originated from a National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) disease-tested hatchery.
The ancestry stock was brought into Cuba in the 1800’s from the Philippines. The Cubalaya breed as it is today was developed in Cuba and brought to the United States in the 1930's. The Cubalaya is classified as an oriental game bird. The Cubalaya exhibits an upright stately carriage, fierce bay colored eyes, and a very friendly nature. They are curious birds and are full of interesting antics. They are somewhat fearless in the face of danger which is not always a good trait when foxes are involved, but our birds will have a secure, spacious house to return to at night where they will be protected from would-be predators.
The Cubalaya has a very nice white meat and lays an average of 4 – 5 brown-tinted eggs per week during its peak egg-laying season. The Cubalayas are very heat-tolerant which make them ideal for our hot, sultry Maryland summers. They are a slow-maturing, medium-sized bird (4-6 lbs). The hens are excellent brooders and protective mothers. Today's modern commercial breeds of chickens were developed to lay large numbers of eggs and/or rapidly produce large amounts of meat. The modern commercial chickens have all but completely lost their natural ability to hatch eggs and to raise their own chicks (a part of the process most farms have chosen not to be bothered with).
In 2012, Many Rocks Farm will offer a limited number of fresh lightly-tinted Cubalaya eggs sold in quantities of six for those individuals that want farm fresh eggs, but do not need a full dozen large eggs every week. We may offer a few birds for roasting in the future when some of our hens provide us with offspring. In line with our current farm policy, meat sold from Many Rocks Farm ONLY originates from livestock born and raised at the farm.
We received our newly hatched Cubalaya chicks at the end of February, 2012. Our flock is registered with the State of Maryland Department of Agriculture and (in-line with MD law) has official documentation that the birds originated from a National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) disease-tested hatchery.
Here are some of our Cubalayas at 5 months of age. They are VERY active foragers and good flyers. Some of the hens have taken to roosting up in a tree near the coop. I'd prefer they didn't do that in case an owl figures out their location, but they won't listen to reason, and I'm no good at climbing trees.......LOL!