A brief history of the original production laying breed.

1. Poultry
Breed:
Minorca
Jacquelyn Veith
Fall 2015
Intro. To Animal Science

2. Minorcas

3. Origins
• Developed in the Mediterranean on the
island of Minorca off the coast of Spain.
• Found in England since at least the 1830’s
• Brought to the United States soon after
• Recognized by the APA, for the first time in
1888, at that time it was the Single Comb
Black & Single Comb White varieties

4. Characteristics
• Largest of the Mediterranean breeds
• Long, angular birds that appear larger than
they are
• Long tails, large wide feathers closely held
to narrow bodies.
• Large single combs, and wattles – prone
to frostbite
• Not fond of confinement
• Excellent layers – original production bird,
prior to Leghorns

5. Varieties
• Single Comb Black * Single Comb
White
• Rose Comb Black * Rose Comb
White
* Single Comb Buff

6. • All varieties lay large white eggs
• Not a broody breed
Eggs / Laying

7. Refrences
• https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/black_
minorcas.html
• http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/poultry
/chickens/minorca