Catalana

The Catalana, sometimes called the Catalana del Prat, originates in Catalonia in the north-east of Spain. It is a dual-purpose fowl, bred to lay a decent run of eggs while still producing a worthwhile carcass for the pot. The plumage carries a warm golden-buff body with a black tail, a combination that marks it out from most other Mediterranean breeds.

The breed handles heat and dry spells with ease, which suits large parts of South Africa, from the Karoo through to the Lowveld. Where a highveld flock might slow down in the summer heat, Catalanas keep foraging. They are keen foragers that range widely for insects, seeds and greens, so a bird with room to work will find much of its own feed.

The Catalana is an independent, busy bird rather than a docile lap fowl. It puts up with handling well enough but is happier with space to move, which suits a smallholding or a free-range camp far better than a small, fixed run.

Who it suits

The Catalana suits keepers with room for a flock to forage, in a warm to temperate part of the country. It rewards an owner after a productive, easy-care bird rather than a calm pet that likes being held. In damp, cold regions, or where birds are kept in small, fixed runs, the breed tends to grow restless and is harder to settle.

The Catalana takes its name from Catalonia, the region of north-eastern Spain where farmers developed it. It is tied closely to the town of El Prat de Llobregat, near Barcelona, and the fuller Spanish name Catalana del Prat records that link. Local farmers worked the breed up over generations from ordinary Mediterranean farmyard stock, aiming for a bird that could do double duty at the table and in the egg basket.

Spain recognised the breed as a distinct type during the 19th century. It went on to become one of the country's most widely kept native fowls and a source of regional pride in Catalonia, where it stayed a fixture on farms and at markets.

Spanish emigration and trade routes carried the Catalana across the Atlantic, and it settled well in parts of South America, where the climate suited its tolerance for heat. Argentina and several neighbouring countries built up their own followings for the breed.

Outside Spain and South America the Catalana has stayed a minority breed. Poultry standards in a number of countries recognise it, and it has picked up a small following among South African heritage-poultry keepers, but numbers remain modest next to the commercial layers and broilers most keepers know. It now stands mainly as a heritage fowl.

The Catalana is a medium bird that carries itself in a fairly upright, alert stance. The body is solid and nicely rounded for a dual-purpose fowl, set on clean legs without feathering. The whole shape stays balanced rather than heavy, in keeping with a breed built for ranging and foraging rather than sitting in a cage.

The single comb is red and stands upright in cocks, while in hens the back of the comb usually flops 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 signature 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. In good light the black often carries a green sheen. A bantam Catalana turns up in some regions, keeping the same buff-and-black pattern on a smaller frame.

The Catalana is a busy, self-sufficient chicken. Birds spend most of the day scratching and hunting across the range, staying alert to whatever moves nearby. That watchfulness helps them pick up on a mongoose or a bird of prey overhead well before most breeds would, but it also means they can bolt if startled or cooped up too tightly.

Around people the breed is level-headed rather than affectionate. Catalanas put up with handling and routine care, but they keep a bit of distance and rarely turn into a lap fowl. Within the flock they generally get on well, and they will share ground with other poultry as long as there is enough space to spread out. Shut them into small runs and they grow restless, so they do best with room to move.

Hens do not go broody easily, so keepers after chicks usually turn to an incubator, or borrow a broody hen of another breed.

The Catalana is a tough breed that gets by on sound basic poultry care. Its main requirements are space to range and protection from what its Mediterranean homeland rarely has, namely cold and wet conditions, which matter more in parts of South Africa than the heat does.

Grooming

• Give the flock a dry dust-bathing patch so birds can manage their own feather condition.
• Check legs and vents regularly for mites and lice, which spread fast in a warm climate.
• Look over the single comb for frost damage after a cold highveld night.
• Trim nails or beak only if they overgrow, which is rare in birds that range actively.

Exercise

• Allow daily access to free range or an open run for foraging.
• Give as much ground as the property allows, since the breed does not care for close confinement.
• Set out perches and scattered scratch feed to keep birds busy.
• Fence securely, since active birds will clear a low barrier without much effort.

Environment

The Catalana copes well with heat and dry spells but struggles more in cold, wet winters, the kind found on the highveld or in the southern Cape. Provide shade and fresh water through summer, and a dry, draught-free coop with decent ventilation for the colder months. Good bedding and a sheltered run keep the breed healthy right through the year.

A complete commercial poultry feed should form the base of the Catalana's diet, matched to the bird's age and purpose. Because the breed forages so effectively, free-range birds top up their own intake with insects, seeds and green plants, which cuts down on how much prepared feed they actually need. Keep clean, fresh water on hand alongside feed at all times.

Laying hens need extra calcium for strong shells, usually given as crushed oyster shell or limestone grit offered free choice. Birds kept off 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 percent 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 into 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 lives longer than many chickens, usually 6 to 8 years under decent care. It carries no widespread breed-specific disorders. Most problems that crop up are the ordinary ones affecting any flock, and sound husbandry heads off most of them. The breed's heat tolerance works in its favour, but the upright single comb is exposed to frostbite on a hard highveld or Free State winter night.

Preventive care

• Keep the coop clean, dry and well ventilated.
• Run a routine parasite and deworming programme.
• Quarantine new or returning birds before they join 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 with a wide area to forage. Housing should give the flock a secure, dry spot to roost and lay, backed by as much outdoor space as the property allows. The breed suits warm, dry regions particularly well, but in cooler parts of the country the coop still has to keep birds dry and out of draughts through winter.

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 patch in the run.
• Shade and fresh water across the range on hot days.
• Fencing tall enough to hold in active, light-bodied birds, and sturdy enough to keep out mongoose and other opportunistic predators.

Catalana hens are not strongly broody, so reliable hatching usually comes down to an incubator or a broody hen of another breed. The 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. 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, then move them to a warm brooder.