Catalana

The Catalana, sometimes called the Catalana del Prat, originates in the Catalonia region of north-east Spain. Farmers there bred it as a dual-purpose fowl: a bird capable of laying a decent run of eggs whilst also yielding a worthwhile carcass. Its plumage is a warm buff or golden shade offset by a black tail, a combination that marks it out from most other Mediterranean breeds.

The breed copes well with warm, dry conditions and shrugs off summer heat that leaves many northern breeds sluggish. Catalanas forage keenly, ranging widely for insects, seeds and greenery, so a flock with room to roam will find much of its own food.

Independent and full of energy, the Catalana is not a breed that settles readily onto a lap. It puts up with handling well enough but prefers to be left to its own devices, which suits free-range and smallholding setups far better than a small fixed run.

Who it suits

The Catalana suits keepers with room for foraging in a warm or temperate climate. It rewards those after a productive bird that needs little fuss rather than a docile pet to handle. Anyone in a cold, damp area, or keeping birds in a small fixed run, may well find the breed restless and harder to settle.

The Catalana takes its name from Catalonia, the region of north-east Spain where the breed was developed. It is particularly associated with the town of El Prat de Llobregat, close to Barcelona, and its full Spanish name, Catalana del Prat, reflects that connection. Generations of local farmers refined it from ordinary Mediterranean farmyard stock into a practical bird suited to both the egg basket and the table.

By the 19th century the breed had become an established, recognised type in Spain. It grew into one of the country's most widely kept native fowls and a source of regional pride in Catalonia, remaining a familiar sight on farms and at markets.

Spanish emigration and trade routes carried the Catalana across the Atlantic, where it settled well in parts of South America thanks to its tolerance of heat. Countries such as Argentina took the breed up, and it built a following there.

Beyond Spain and South America the Catalana has stayed relatively uncommon. Various poultry standards around the world recognise it, but numbers remain modest compared with the major commercial and exhibition breeds, and it is now regarded chiefly as a heritage fowl worth conserving.

The Catalana is a medium-sized bird that carries itself in a fairly upright, alert stance. Its body is solid and well rounded for a dual-purpose fowl, set on clean legs free of feathering. The overall shape is balanced rather than heavy, in keeping with a breed built for ranging and foraging.

Cocks carry a single red comb standing upright, while in hens the rear of the comb typically folds to one side. The face is red, the earlobes white, and the beak and legs run to a light slate or bluish shade.

Coat and colouring

The defining shade is a warm golden buff across the body, set off by a black tail and black through the flight feathers and, in some birds, the neck hackles. In good light the black often shows a greenish sheen. A bantam Catalana exists in some areas, carrying the same buff-and-black pattern on a smaller frame.

The Catalana is an energetic, self-sufficient chicken that spends most of the day on the move, scratching and hunting across the range while keeping a close eye on its surroundings. That watchfulness makes it quick to spot danger, though it can also turn flighty if startled or kept somewhere cramped.

Around people the breed is level-headed rather than affectionate. Catalanas accept handling and routine care but keep their distance, and they rarely take to being carried about. Within the flock they mix reasonably well and get on with other poultry provided there is enough space for everyone to spread out. Shut up in a small run, they tend to grow restless, so space matters more than for most breeds.

Hens show little inclination to go broody, so keepers wanting chicks generally turn to an incubator or borrow a broody hen of another breed.

The Catalana asks for little beyond sound, basic poultry husbandry. Its chief requirements are space to range and protection from conditions its Spanish homeland never troubled it with, chiefly cold and damp.

Grooming

• Provide a dry area for dust bathing so birds can manage their own feather condition.
• Check legs and vent regularly for mites and lice.
• Inspect the smooth single comb for frost damage during cold spells.
• Trim nails or beak only if they become overgrown, which is uncommon in birds that range actively.

Exercise

• Allow daily access to free range or an open run for foraging.
• Give as much ground as you can manage, since the breed dislikes close confinement.
• Provide perches and scattered scratch feed to keep birds occupied.
• Fence securely, as active birds will fly over low barriers.

Environment

The Catalana handles heat and dry conditions with ease but is less suited to cold, wet winters. Provide shade and fresh water through summer, and a draught-free, dry coop with good ventilation once the weather turns colder. A well-bedded house and a sheltered run help keep the flock healthy right through the year.

A complete commercial poultry feed, matched to the bird's age and purpose, should form the base of the Catalana's diet. As the breed forages so readily, free-range birds supplement their intake with insects, seeds and green plants, which can cut down on the amount of prepared feed they need. Clean, fresh water should always be available alongside feed.

Laying hens require extra calcium for strong shells, usually given as crushed oyster shell or limestone grit offered free choice. Birds kept without access to soil also need insoluble grit to help grind their food.

Treats and supplements

Keep treats such as scratch grains, leafy greens and kitchen scraps to around 10 per cent of the total diet so they do not throw the main ration out of balance. Offer grit and oyster shell separately rather than mixing them through the feed. A vitamin and electrolyte supplement in the drinking water can help birds through heat stress or while recovering from illness.

The Catalana is generally healthy and long-lived for a chicken, with a lifespan of 6 to 8 years typical under good care. It carries no widespread breed-specific disorders. Most health problems that arise are the ordinary ones affecting all poultry, and sound husbandry heads off the majority of them. Heat tolerance is one of the breed's strengths, though the upright single comb can be prone to frostbite during a hard winter.

Preventive care

• Keep the coop clean, dry and well ventilated.
• Run a routine parasite and worming programme.
• Quarantine new or returning birds before adding them to the flock.
• Follow local vaccination advice where it applies.
• Provide balanced feed and constant clean water.

The Catalana is built for an open, free-range life and does best where it can forage over wide ground. Housing needs to give the flock somewhere secure and dry to roost and lay, matched with as much outdoor space as the site allows. The breed suits warm, dry regions particularly well, but in cooler areas the coop must keep birds dry and out of draughts through the winter months.

Setup checklist

• A sturdy, predator-proof coop with secure latches.
• Raised perches set above the bedded floor.
• Clean, shaded nest boxes with dry bedding.
• A dust-bathing area within the run.
• Shade and fresh water across the range on hot days.
• Fencing tall enough to contain active, light-bodied birds.

Catalana hens are not strongly broody, so reliable hatching usually depends on an incubator or a broody hen of another breed. The breed's eggs follow the standard pattern for chickens, hatching at around 21 days. Set clean, well-shaped eggs, storing them pointed end down at a cool room temperature for no more than about a week before setting.

Hatching steps

1. Choose clean, undamaged eggs of a normal shape and size.
2. Let stored eggs warm to room temperature before setting.
3. Set the incubator to 37.5 C and let temperature and humidity settle.
4. Turn the eggs regularly through day 18.
5. Stop turning on day 18 and raise the humidity for lockdown.
6. Leave hatched chicks in the incubator until dry and fluffed up, then move them to a warm brooder.