Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

When breeding chickens at home and on small farms, their indicators such as egg production and nutritional quality come first. Both of these characteristics depend both on the breed of birds and on the correctness of their rearing. Therefore, it is worth considering the main features of Minorca chickens and finding out what conditions need to be created for their maintenance.

The story of

These birds got their name in honor of the Spanish island of Minorca, where farmers first crossed several breeds of local black chickens. In 1708, the island was captured by a joint Anglo-Dutch army during the War of the Spanish Succession. The British highly appreciated the achievements of Spanish breeders, so several chickens were transported to foggy Albion, where the development of this breed continued.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

By 1780, a full-fledged export of these chickens from Minorca to England was established. By the end of the XNUMXth century, the breed had firmly established itself in Great Britain under the name “Barbezier”.

In the seventies of the XIX century, the first minors appeared in Germany, and after another 15 years they were first brought to the USA. In 1885, such chickens appeared in the Russian Empire (it is interesting that they were a gift from the Sultan of Turkey). The first domestic standard defining the characteristics of this breed was developed in 1911. Due to its relatively low weight, the Minorca is rarely seen as an industrial species, but is popular among farmers and connoisseurs of beautiful birds.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

Description of the species

Currently, there are 3 varieties of minorok, which differ mainly in the exterior.

  • Black Spanish. It is distinguished by a jet-black color of plumage with a slight emerald tint. It has a small head relative to the body with a leaf-shaped comb, on which there are from 4 to 6 teeth. Under the beak there are pronounced long earrings of rich red color. They look especially impressive in roosters, which also have no facial plumage, and the skin also has a red color.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

The color of the Spanish beak is necessarily black, although males are allowed to have a light tip. The claws of this breed are also distinguished by black color. The eyes of these birds are brown or black. The figure is characterized by a long neck, a rounded chest, a trapezoidal elongated torso, powerful wings and a pronounced belly. The mass of the female reaches 2,5 kg, and the males can carry up to 3 kg.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

  • White British. The standards of this subspecies determine for it the only acceptable color: white with a slight silvery sheen. Their crest is generally the same as that of the black variety, only flatter and less intensely red. There are among white minors and owners of a pink crest. Its presence means that among the ancestors of this bird were representatives of the Hamburg chickens. Unlike the black breed, the British variety has pinkish eyes, and its claws and beak are painted in light shades of yellow or pink. The mass of females reaches 3,5 kg, and males can reach a mass of 4 kg.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

  • Dwarf German. Most of the external features of the dwarf variety coincide with the characteristics of the British Minor. Only their mass differs, which for an adult female is up to 800 g, and for a male – 1 kg.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

Regardless of the subspecies, all Minorca have pronounced white-colored earlobes. And also for all females of this breed, the comb necessarily hangs to one side, and for males it stands straight. Toward the end, the scallop should be slightly rounded, and all its teeth must certainly be of equal length.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

Productivity

The dwarf breed is usually grown for ornamental purposes, so all data is given for the white and black varieties. The average number of eggs obtained from one minor hen per year reaches 200 units, which significantly exceeds the characteristics of meat breeds, but is noticeably inferior to the recognized leghorn record holders, which can produce up to 360 units per year.

The egg-laying period in these birds begins when they reach the age of 5 months and lasts a lifetime. Their biological life expectancy is about 15 years. In practice, the fecundity of all hens decreases with age by an average of 15% per year. Therefore, keeping birds over 5 years old becomes economically unprofitable. In addition, up to half of them by this age begin to suffer from ovarian cancer.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

Therefore, most owners slaughter laying hens for 3 years of their life.

An important difference between the Minorok and the breeds more familiar to Russia is that with the onset of winter, these chickens do not stop producing eggs, since the formation of the breed began in the warm island climate. The mass of one egg laid by such a hen is usually in the range from 70 to 80 g. The color of their shell is necessarily bright white, and the surface is smooth.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

Minorok meat is also quite highly valued: it is very nutritious, has high palatability and uniformity, and all its fibers are white. It is important to know that all these figures are valid only for birds that fully comply with the breed standards.

The presence of at least a small marriage or crossing with other types of chickens can significantly reduce the egg production of the minorka.

Advantages and disadvantages

The main advantages of the Minorca over other breeds, egg oriented:

  • in minors, no more than 3% of chickens die, and the surviving individuals quickly gain weight;
  • chickens of this breed begin to rush already at the age of 5 months, while giving eggs all year round;
  • these birds have a mild character and get along well in the chicken coop with each other and with other breeds;
  • the productivity of the Minorca is on average higher than that of other breeds, and its eggs have a high nutritional value;
  • despite the fact that this breed is not usually referred to as meat, its meat is very pleasant to the taste.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

Minorok also has a number of disadvantages:

  • low temperature and high humidity can quickly lead to the development of diseases;
  • this breed prefers spacious chicken coops and needs an aviary;
  • the soft character also has a downside: these chickens are very shy;
  • the fecundity of chickens directly depends on their thoroughbredness, which is not very convenient when keeping different breeds together;
  • having laid eggs, the chicken completely loses interest in them, therefore, to breed a Minorca, you have to lay her eggs under other breeds or use an incubator.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

How to distinguish a non-pedigreed individual?

The main external features allowing to distinguish a bird to be culled from a quality bird are considered:

  • flat back;
  • narrow body;
  • the presence of bulges on the back;
  • the structure of the comb that does not correspond to the sex (it is hanging in cockerels, straight in chickens);
  • non-standard comb shape (teeth of different lengths, number of teeth less than 4 or more than 6, lack of rounding in the back);
  • small sizes of ear lobes, violation of their color (red or pink instead of white);
  • gray color of the scalp;
  • discrepancy between the color of the bird and the color of the beak and claws (light claws in a black individual, dark claws in a white one);
  • white, brown, yellow and other tint colors other than silver for whites and green for blacks;
  • the presence of spots;
  • insufficiently saturated color of feathers and their short length.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

In the Russian market, relatively few chickens that fully meet the standard are currently available.

Care instructions

The most important requirement for keeping minorocas is to provide them with a warm, dry climate familiar from the time of island life. Drafts, a leaky or leaky chicken coop roof can cause serious illness or even death for the entire livestock. The minimum temperature that Minorca tolerate is + 8 Β° C.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

The scallops of these birds are especially vulnerable to cold, so in frosts it is worth lubricating them with petroleum jelly or fat.

Minorcas have a shy nature, so they need to be protected from harsh and loud sounds. Also, don’t try to pick them up. These birds are very demanding on the amount of space provided to them, so the chicken coop for them should be quite wide. It is better to arrange a perch at a height of 75 cm from the floor. In summer, for minors, you need to organize an aviary. So that they do not run away, a fence up to 1,6 m high will be enough.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

It is best if the aviary is separated from the street not by an ordinary fence, but by a hedge.

You can feed Minoroc chickens in the same way as representatives of other breeds: in the first days with a boiled egg, then with a mixture with an increasing content of bran, yeast, herbs, grains, grated vegetables (potatoes, beets, carrots). Adult nutrition can be organized using standard chicken feed or grain mixtures with sources of vitamins and minerals. Make sure that in the diet of birds there are products of animal origin: meat and bone or fish meal, cottage cheese. Even if you feed chickens with compound feed, it will be better for their digestion that there are always containers of gravel or sand in the chicken coop or aviary.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

Breeding

For offspring, you need to take eggs from females, whose age is 2 years. At an early age, the first sample of chicks is taken according to the general level of health and weight. Then, when the characteristic features of the breed begin to appear in the birds, a second sample is made – already in accordance with the standard. For roosters, this time comes when they have a well-defined comb, and for hens, sampling is done after reaching 5 months of age, when their productivity can already be assessed.

Spanish chickens. Feeding and care

About Minorca chickens, breed features and conditions of detention, see the video below.

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Anna Evans

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