Catalana

The Catalana, sometimes called the Catalana del Prat, was developed in Catalonia in the northeast of Spain. It is a dual-purpose fowl, bred to give a fair few eggs as well as a decent carcase for the table. The plumage runs to a warm buff or golden shade with a black tail, a combination that marks it out from most other Mediterranean breeds.

The breed was built for warm, dry conditions, and it shows. Catalanas keep working through summer heat that would have many northern breeds panting in the shade, and they are strong foragers, covering plenty of ground after insects, seeds and greens. Given room, a Catalana feeds itself for a good part of the day.

It is an independent, energetic bird rather than one for the lap. It puts up with handling well enough but would sooner be out on the range, which makes it a practical fit for free-range keepers and smallholders rather than anyone working with a small fixed run.

Who it suits

The Catalana suits keepers with room for foraging, ideally somewhere warm or at least sheltered from the worst of the weather. It rewards anyone after a productive, low-fuss bird who isn't looking for a calm, cuddly pet. Keepers in a cold, damp climate, or those confined to a small, fixed run, may find the breed restless and harder to settle, so bear the Irish weather in mind before taking one on.

The Catalana takes its name from Catalonia, the region of northeastern Spain where the breed was shaped. It has close ties to the town of El Prat de Llobregat near Barcelona, and the fuller Spanish name, Catalana del Prat, points straight back to that origin. Local farmers built the breed up over generations from common Mediterranean farmyard stock, aiming for a bird that would earn its keep at both the egg basket and the table.

The breed was established as a recognised type in Spain during the 19th century. It went on to become one of the most widely kept native fowls in the country, and something of a point of pride in Catalonia, where it stayed a fixture of farms and markets for generations.

Spanish emigration and trade carried the Catalana across the Atlantic, and it took hold in parts of South America, its heat tolerance suiting the climate there far better than it would ever suit an Irish winter. The breed built up a following in Argentina and elsewhere on the continent.

Outside Spain and South America the Catalana has stayed fairly scarce, and Ireland is no exception. It is recognised in poultry standards in several countries but is kept in much smaller numbers than the standard commercial and exhibition breeds, and these days it is valued mostly as a heritage fowl.

The Catalana is a medium-sized bird with an upright, alert stance. The body is solid and nicely rounded for a dual-purpose fowl, carried on clean, unfeathered legs. The overall shape is balanced rather than heavy, in keeping with a breed built to range and forage rather than sit about.

The single comb is red and stands upright on cocks, while hens usually carry the back of the comb flopped over 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 colours

The defining colour is a warm golden buff across the body, set off by a black tail and black through the flight feathers, and sometimes the neck hackles too. In good light the black often carries a green sheen. A bantam version of the Catalana turns up in some regions, keeping the same buff-and-black pattern at a much smaller size.

The Catalana is an energetic, self-reliant bird. It spends most of the day on the go, scratching and hunting across the range, and stays watchful of whatever is going on around it. That alertness means quick reactions to a fox or a bird of prey, but it also means the breed can turn flighty if startled or kept somewhere cramped.

Around people the Catalana is even-tempered without being affectionate. It accepts handling and day-to-day care well enough, but keeps its distance and rarely settles into a lap-bird role. Within the flock it generally mixes well and gets along with other poultry once there is enough room for everyone to spread out. Shut up in a small run, it tends to grow restless, so space matters more with this breed than most.

Hens are not great ones for going broody, so keepers after chicks usually turn to an incubator or borrow a broody hen of another breed.

The Catalana is a tough breed that asks for little beyond sound, basic poultry care. Its main requirements are space to range and protection from the conditions its homeland never really gave it, chiefly cold and damp, which happen to be two things an Irish winter has in plenty.

Grooming

• Provide a dry dust-bathing spot so the birds can look after their own feather condition.
• Check legs and vent regularly for mites and lice.
• Keep an eye on the smooth single comb for frost damage during cold snaps.
• Trim nails or beak only if they grow too long, which is uncommon in a bird that is out ranging most of the day.

Exercise

• Allow daily free-range or open-run access so the birds can forage.
• Give as much ground as the site allows, since the breed does not take kindly to close confinement.
• Provide perches and scatter some scratch feed to keep birds occupied.
• Fence securely, as an active Catalana will happily fly over a low barrier.

Environment

The Catalana copes well with heat and dry ground but is far less suited to a cold, wet Irish winter. Provide shade and fresh water for the summer months, and a dry, draught-free coop with good ventilation once the weather turns. A well-bedded house and a sheltered run go a long way toward keeping the breed healthy through the year.

A complete commercial poultry feed forms the base of the Catalana's diet, with the type matched to the bird's age and purpose. Because the breed forages so well, free-range birds top up their own intake with insects, seeds and green plants, which can cut down on the amount of prepared feed they actually need. Clean, fresh water should always be to hand alongside the feed.

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

Treats and supplements

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

The Catalana is generally healthy and long-lived for a hen, with a usual lifespan of 6 to 8 years under good care. It carries no widespread breed-specific disorders. Most health issues it faces are the ordinary ones that affect any flock, and good husbandry heads off the majority of them. The breed's heat tolerance is a real strength, but the upright single comb can be vulnerable to frostbite in a hard Irish winter.

Preventive care

• Keep the coop clean, dry and well ventilated.
• Run a routine parasite and worming programme.
• Quarantine new or returning birds before letting them in with 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 a good stretch of ground. Housing should give the flock a secure, dry place to roost and lay, backed up with as much outdoor space as the site allows. The breed suits warm, dry regions especially well, but in a cooler climate like Ireland's the coop has to keep birds dry and out of draughts right through the winter.

Setup checklist

• Sturdy, predator-proof coop with secure latches.
• Raised perches above the bedded floor.
• Clean, shaded nest boxes with dry bedding.
• Dust-bathing area in the run.
• Shade and fresh water across the range for warm spells.
• Fencing tall enough to hold in an active, light-bodied bird.

Catalana hens are not great sitters, so reliable hatching usually comes down to an incubator or a broody hen of another breed. The breed's eggs follow the standard chicken incubation pattern, hatching at around 21 days. Set clean, well-shaped eggs and store them pointed end down at a cool room temperature for no more than about a week before setting.

Hatching steps

1. Pick 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.