Pita Pinta Austuriana
chickens, also known as Asturian Painted Hen ,
belongs to the Atlantic branch of domestic chickens and has common ancestry
with other breeds in northern Spain, such as the Euskal Oiloa of the Basque
Country. Their name comes
from the Asturian language, in which pita means "hen" and pinta
meaning "painted" or “mottled”.
With the
industrialization of egg production in Asturias in the 1950s and 1960s, the
number of Pita Pinta Austuriana chickens dropped dramatically, almost to the
point of extinction. They started to recover between 1980 and 1990. A breeders'
association, the Asociación de Criadores de la Pita Pinta Asturiana, was
founded in 2003; its 52 members have a total of 1842 birds. In 2005 the numbers
of Pita Pinta Austuriana chickens started being recorded. By the end of 2013,
there were a total of 2172 entries.
Pita Pinta
Austuriana chickens are compact and of medium weight, males weigh roughly4–4.5
kg and females weigh 2.5–3 kg. They have a single comb with 5 to 7 points;
roosters have bigger combs than hens. Their earlobes take on a vibrant red and
their eyes a deep orange. Typically for a Pita Pinta their ring size is 20 mm for
cocks and 18 mm for hens.
There are found
in four colors: the Pinta Negra is a beautiful mottled black, the Pinta Roxa is
mottled rust red. You can also see a white and a non- mottled black. In the
Pinta Negra variety, the feathers are black, edged with white, giving the
characteristic mottled look.
About Pita Pinta Austuriana Chickens
