Understanding Chicken – The Egg Layers MINORCA, THE BLACK CHICKEN WITH BIG WHITE EAR PATCHES

By Manny Pinol

In an effort to give followers of this page a deep understanding and knowledge of the domesticated chicken, manokpinoy.com has started a series on the different breeds of chicken from all over the world.

I have classified the breeds into egg-layers, meat producers and dual-purpose.

Most of the articles reposted here were downloaded in part from wikipedia.com and ask.com.

Today, we will continue our series on the prolific egg-layers.

The Spanish Black Minorca

The Minorca is a breed of chicken originating in Spain.

They are classified in the Mediterranean Class by the American Poultry Association. They lay white eggs. Color varieties include buff, black, white with the British recognizing a blue phase.

Minorcas mature quickly and begin crowing sooner than other breeds. It closely related to White-faced Black Spanish and Castilian Black.

Minorcas tend to be very flighty.

Characteristics

The Minorca is the largest of the Mediterranean class of fowl in roosters weighing 9 pounds and hens 7½ pounds.

They are utility fowl and were once in the class of widespread large flocks for laying and meat production like the Leghorn breed which is the smallest of this class.

This chicken does not go “broody” and are usually very flighty but can be trained if handled regularly while still chicks. The distinction of the Minorca is its rather large white ear patch much like the White Faced Black Spanish, another of this class which makes it recognizable at a distance.

The white phase of this breed which once numbered in the thousands is thought now to only have 100 chickens in all of the United States. The breed was developed in England from imported Castilian fowl of Spain.

Another of this Minorca group is the Blue Andalusian noted for its equally Minorca large-sized comb which limits this breed from the frigid northern areas of the United States and Canada where comb frostbite is a problem for these birds.

Approximate Weight

Cock 3.2 – 4.1 kg 7.1 – 9.0 lbs

Hen 2.7 – 3.6 kg 6.0 – 7.9 lbs

Bantam Variety Minorca

Rooster 960 g 33.9 oz 2.1 lbs

Hen 850 g 30 oz 1.9 lbs

In popular culture

In George Orwell’s 1945 novel Animal Farm, three Black Minorca hens are mentioned rebelling against Napoleon’s regime on the farm.

References:

Ekarius, Carol (2007). Storey’s Illustrated Guide to Poultry Breeds. 210 MAS MoCA Way, North Adams MA 01247: Storey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58017-667-5.

Graham, Chris (2006). Choosing and Keeping Chickens. 2-4 Heron Quays London E14 4JP: Octopus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7938-0601-0.

PoultryHub.org Fancy Chicken Breeds – Minorca

(Photo credit: Photo downloaded from feathersite.com)