In regard to breeds it would seem that the Rhode Island Red has the preference in Cuba, although many others, including the Wyandotte, Plymouth Rock and Orpington, as well as the Black Minorcan and other Mediterranean breeds, have their advocates here as in the United States.
The native hen of the Island sprang probably from some Mediterranean breed, that through lack of care has sadly degenerated. She is rather prolific as a layer, however, and asks no assistance in finding her own food, nor will a quarter of a mile flight give her the slightest difficulty.
The one breed that has been given a very high degree of attention in Cuba is the fighting cock, whose value may run anywhere from $5 to $100 or more. On these is bestowed more care than is received by any prize chicken in the north. They are serviceable, of course, only for purposes of sport, fighting chickens being a favorite pastime of the country people in all Latin American countries. The native hen of Cuba, when crossed with well bred Rhode Island Red or Plymouth Rock roosters, produces a very good all around chicken, which will thrive even under adverse conditions.
In the fall of 1915, President Menocal imported from the United States several thousand excellent hens for experimental and breeding purposes. These are installed in modern poultry houses on his farm, “El Chico,” only a few miles from the City of Havana, and have done very well.
Turkeys, too, do remarkably well in Cuba when given free range, and they are not subject to those ills which result from sleet, snow and chilling winds that decimate the little ones in most parts of the United States.
Cuba seems to be the natural home of the Guinea hen since those foods which this fowl likes best are found in all parts of the Island, and in many sections Guineas have escaped from domestication, taken to the forest and formed great flocks of both white and grey varieties. These furnish splendid wing shooting to those who enjoy the sport.
In view of the rapidly increasing demand for Guinea pullets in all of the big hotels in the United States, where they seem to be taking the place of the prairie chicken of the past, it would seem that the raising of Guinea hens for the American market should certainly prove extremely profitable. Fields of the short or white millet planted on any farm will serve to keep them satisfied, and at the same time diminish the tendency to wander away from home. In a country where neither shelter or food is needed, and where the birds command very remunerative prices, Guinea raising ought to be tempting.
Very few have gone into poultry raising along scientific or intelligent lines, which seems rather odd when we consider that fresh eggs vary in price from four to five cents, under normal conditions, all the year round, and chickens of the most scrawny type bring from sixty cents to one dollar.
The poultry business offers many advantages in Cuba; first of which may be mentioned, an excellent local market for both chickens and eggs; second, that green food and insects may be found in abundance throughout the year; that open or wire screen houses alone are necessary for protection, the necessity for artificial heat being, of course, non existent.
In a country free from frost and where flowers bloom more or less continuously throughout the year, we might expect to find and do find a Bee paradise. Often, in seeking shelter either from a tropical sun or a threatening shower, in the shade of one of the Magotes of Pinar del Rio, or while passing through the deep, rock-walled pass of the Paredones, in the Sierra de Cubitas, one will find pools of a strange looking substance in the dust at his feet. Investigation discloses the fact that it is honey, fallen from overhanging rocks where wild bees have made their homes in the cavities above, the warmth of the sun having melted an overfilled comb so that the honey collected at the foot of the cliff below.